John Dury
1596–1680
Apostle of Protestant Union; tireless ecumenical traveller.
Biography
Scottish-born, educated in the Netherlands and at Leiden, Dury spent his career attempting the impossible: a Pan-Protestant doctrinal union. He travelled between Lutheran, Reformed, and Anglican synods for fifty years carrying letters, drafts, and a remarkable patience for hostile receptions. Attended Westminster in 1643-44 as a superadded divine before resuming his continental rounds. His vast correspondence with Comenius, Mersenne, Hartlib, and dozens of central European theologians anticipates the Enlightenment republic of letters. Died at Cassel in 1680.
Principal works
- Consultatio Theologica Super Negotio Pacis Ecclesiasticae (1654)
- A Memoriall Concerning Peace Ecclesiasticall (1641)
Super-added divine
Around twenty-one ministers were 'super-added' to the Assembly between 1643 and its closing years, to replace those who never appeared or had died and to bring in particular gifts. They sat on the same footing as the divines named in the original ordinance.