EARLY HISTORY OF THE WELSH BAPTISTS

EARLY HISTORY OF THE WELSH BAPTISTS

By J. Davis

The following is excerpted from The History of the Welsh Baptists, from the Year Sixty-Three to the Year One Thousand Seven Hundred and Seventy, by J. Davis, Pittsburgh: D.M. Hogan, 1835 --

About fifty years before the birth of our Savior, the Romans invaded the British Isle, in the reign of the Welsh king, Cassibellan; but having failed, in consequence of other and more important wars, to conquer the Welsh nation, made peace with them, and dwelt among them many years. During that period many of the Welsh soldiers joined the Roman army, and many families from Wales visited Rome; among whom there was a certain woman of the name of Claudia, who was married to a man named Pudence. At the same time, Paul was sent a prisoner to Rome, and preached there in his own hired house, by the space of two years, about the year of our Lord 63 [See Acts of the Apostles, 28:30]. Pudence and Claudia his wife, who belonged to Cesar’s household, under the blessing of God on Paul’s preaching, were brought to the knowledge of the truth as it is in Jesus, and made a profession of the Christian religion [2 Timothy 4:21, Fox’s Acts and Monuments, p. 137. See also Dr. Gill and Matthew Henry, on 2 Tim. 4:21. Godwin’s Catalogue. Crosby’s History of the English Baptists, preface to vol. 2. Drych y prif oesoedd, p. 179.]

Whether any of the apostles ever preached in Britain cannot be proved, and though it is generally believed tha Joseph of Arimathea was the first that preached the gospel in that part of the world, we must confess that we are not positive on that subject. The fact, we believe, is this: the Welsh lady, Claudia, and others, who were converted under Paul’s ministry in Rome, carried the precious seed with them, and scattered it on the hills and vallies of Wales; and since that time, many thousands have reaped a most glorious harvest. They told their countrymen around, what a dear Savior they had found; they pointed to his redeeming blood, as the only way whereby they might come to God.

The Welsh can truly say: if by the transgression of a woman sin came into the world, it was through the instrumentality of a woman, even painted Claudia, that the glorious news of the gospel reached their ears, and they felt it to be mighty through God, to pull down the strong holds of darkness.

How rapidly did the mighty gospel of Christ fly abroad! The very year 63, when Paul, a prisoner, was preaching to a few individuals, in his own hired house in Rome, the seed sowed there is growing in the Isle of Britain. We have nothing of importance to communicate respecting the Welsh Baptists, from this period to the year 180, when two ministers by the names of Faganus and Damicanus, who were born in Wales, but were born again in Rome, and there becoming eminent ministers of the gospel, were sent from Rome to assist their brethren in Wales. [See Dr. Heylin’s Cosmography, lib. 1, p. 257. Drych y prif oesoedd, p. 190]

In the same year, Lucius, the Welsh king, and the first king in the world who embraced the Christian religion, was baptized. [See Acts and Monuments, p. 96. Bede, Hist. Eccles. lib. 1, c. 4. See Also Salutaris luxe Evangelii a Fabricio, p. 406]

Faganus and Damicanus were two faithful witnesses, bearing testimony to the truth, and were remarkably successful in winning souls to Christ. Through their instrumentality, the light of the gospel burst forth from the Isle of Anglesea to the Isle of Thanet, like the sun in the morning after the dark night of Druidism; the glorious light of the gospel dispelled the shades of ignorance and error, in which the seed of Gomer had been enveloped from generation to generation. Fired with a sacred zeal for the cause of Christ, and the welfare of immortal souls, our Welsh apostles followed the superstitions and cruelties of paganism to their most secret chambers, and exposed them in their native deformity.

It is true they had not to stretch on the rack, neither had they to endure the flames; yet they had to encounter with pagan ignorance, and much opposition from Beelzebub the prince of darkness. Though the gospel had been preached in the island since the year 63; yet, as God had not departed from his general way of disseminating his truth among the children of men, by beginning with small things in order to obtain great things, hitherto it had been the day of small things with our forefathers, the inhabitants of the ends of the earth. but now Zion’s tent was enlarged, and the curtain of her habitation stretched forth; she broke forth on the right hand and on the left; kings became nursing fathers and queens nursing mothers. Behold King Lucius, not only embracing the religion of Christ himself, but finding the means of propagating the gospel very inadequate, sending a most earnest request to Eleutherus, for additional help. Here the Macedonian cry vibrated from the Welsh throne at Carludd, as well as from the Welsh cabin at the foot of Caderidris or Plimlimon.

About the year 300, the Welsh Baptists suffered most terrible and bloody persecution, which was the tenth pagan persecution under the reign of Dioclesian. Alban had the pain, and honor, to be the first martyr on the British shore. Next to him, were Aaron and Julius, renowned men, who lived at Carleon, South Wales. The number of persons, meeting-houses, and books, that were burnt at that time, is too horrid to relate; but, however, they were not all consumed by the flames. Religion, yes, pure religion, the religion of Christ and his apostles, was yet alive. Here, as well as in many other places, the blood of the martyrs proved to be the seed of the church. [See Acts and Monuments. Drych y prif oesoedd, p. 196]

Alban was highly esteemed, as a pious and active man, of strong constitution and brilliant imagination. His patience, humility, prudence, and piety, acquired for him the esteem of some and the hatred of many. He had to suffer buffetings, stripes, reproaches, and death, for following the meek and lowly Jesus; but the grace of God was sufficient for him, so that he could rejoice in tribulation. He deemed it the greatest honor that could be conferred upon him, to suffer for the cause of Christ, who, though equal with the Father, yet made himself of no reputation, but took upon himself the form of a servant, despised the shame, for the joy that was set before him, became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. He drank deep of the Spirit of Christ, enjoyed much of the presence of Christ, and was most wonderfully supported by him in his last hour, when he laid down his life to evidence his love to him who remembered sinners when they were in their low estate, and gave his life a ransom for many.

Aaron was a man of sound judgment, correct principles, and humble demeanor. He was a father to the youth, a friend to the distressed, and a sympathizing guide to those who were traveling the way to Zion. But notwithstanding all this, few men suffered more persecutions that he did, or were more roughly treated than he was by the sons of Belial, at different times and places, until he had the honor to suffer death in Master’s cause, at Carleon, Monmouthshire, South Wales. He bore all with Christian patience, meekness, and resignation; knowing that the sting of death was taken away, he yielded himself to the king of terrors as one ready to be offered up, when he enjoyed much consolation, and had most glorious manifestations of the love of God to his soul.

Julius was a painful laborer for the salvation of sinners, a great comforter of the people of God, and a most wonderful peacemaker between the different churches, or different individual members. He was much beloved and respected by his friends, but by his enemies he was treated with unrelenting severity, and constantly followed with persecutions and distresses, till he suffered martyrdom along with his brother Aaron, at Carleon.

Dioclesian’s strict orders were, to burn up every Christian, every meeting-house, and every scrap of written paper, belonging to the Christians, or that gave any account of their rise and progress; and, no doubt, many valuable documents were burnt that would have been very interesting to the present generation; and it is a wonder that any of them were preserved from the flames. Christianity has not existed long in the world without some severe struggles. It has made its way by the irresistible force of its evidence. None of the Princes, nor any of the great men of the earth smiled upon the religion of Christ, until it won the day by the excellency of its doctrine, the purity of its morals, and the rationality of its arguments. It triumphed on the ruins of Judaism in Palestine, Idolatry in Rome, and Druidism in the Principality of Wales.

Never, since the birth of Christ, was there such a moral phenomenon exhibited on earth, as there was in Britain at this time. The opposition with which the gospel was met, and the success which attended its career, were of a most extraordinary character, when Druidism and Pagan superstition were swaying a magic scepter from Carludd to Carguby. Yes, at this very period, light shined in darkness, our Welsh Baptist marched forward from conquest to conquest, notwithstanding the host of opposition which they had to encounter: their cause was the cause of truth, and truth will ultimately triumph. God, in a very remarkable manner, honored the Welsh nation. From among them he raised up a most wonderful defender of the faith, to the great joy and comfort, not only of the Welsh Baptists, but of all Christian professors in every part of the world, and of every age to the present time. The Roman Emperor, Constantine the Great, embraced the Christian religion, and was baptized on the profession of his faith. He abolished all the persecuting edicts of his predecessors; so that the whole system of paganism gradually dissolved. Constantine the Great was born in the Isle of Britain; his father was a Roman; his mother was a Welsh lady, of the name of Ellen, the daughter of Coelgodebog, Earl of Gloucester. Having resided in Britain for some time, they removed with their son Constantine to Rome; and there he was born again. [O Timothy Editor: We would not be so quick to agree that Constantine was born again in a biblical sense.]

As Lucius, the Welsh king, was the first king in the world who made a profession of the religion of Christ; so the first Christian Emperor in the world was a Welshman, who employed all the resources of his genius, together with all the engaging charms of his munificence and liberality, to efface the superstitions of paganism, and to further the propagation of the gospel of the glorious Redeemer of mankind, both at home and abroad. [See Drych y prif oesoedd, pp. 64 and 203. Thomas’s History of the Baptist in Wales, printed in the Welsh language. William’s Oes lyfr. Acts and Monuments, p. 104. See also Danvers on Baptism, pp. 60-61]

Historians inform us that his mother Elen, (for that was her name in Wales--the Romans called her Helina) was a very pious woman, who filled the whole Roman empire with her benevolent acts in supporting religion. [Milner’s History, vol. 1, p. 318; and also, vol. 2, p. 39]

However, some of our English historians have very judiciously said, that when princes engage in religion, they either do too much for it, or too much against it. Indeed, it was a very desirable thing at that time, to be liberated from the rage of a persecuting power; at the same time we must acknowledge, that it is an awful thing to be elated at the external prosperity of religion, while little of the spirit of godliness is to be seen. To be exalted on the pinnacle of worldly grandeur, is more dangerous than to suffer affliction with the people of God. In many parts of the world, and particularly in Rome, this state of things opened the way for Antichrist, the Man of Sin, to creep into the churches. But that was not the case in the Isle of Britain. The Welsh people of that country would not submit to the superstitions that were beginning to creep into the churches in other countries; but notwithstanding all this, the state of religion among the Welsh Baptist was not so flourishing at this time, as it had been in times past. The Welshmen, for a considerable time, had a sort of a religious quarrel with one of their countrymen, of the name of Morgan, known abroad by the name of Pelagius. The civil war between them and the Scots and Picts, was by no means a friend to religion; and the measures they took in calling in the Saxons, by stratagems too horrid to mention, drove the Welsh to the mountains, and took possession of their land. Yes, all that land, now known by the name of England, and too well known all over the world, by the adjectives prefixed to the noun, bloody and tyrannical England. But notwithstanding the troubles of the times, there were several eminent and faithful ministers among the Welsh Baptists. [Up to this time, the Welsh were the inhabitants of the Isle of Britain, now called England; but ever since, they have dwelt on a tract of land, on the western part of the island, now called Cumry, or Wales]

Here it may not be improper to mention the names of a few of the most eminent ministers belonging to the Welsh Baptists at this time.

Gildas [known by the name of Gildas Britannicus; Thomas’s History, Preface, p. 19; one of his books, supposed to have been written in Welsh, is De Exidio Britannie] was a very noted man for zeal against the degeneracy and lukewarmness of the age. He wrote many books in Latin; some of them have been translated into Welsh. Why he, being a Welshman, should have written these good books in Latin, can be easily accounted for, when we consider the connection that had subsisted between the Welsh churches and the church of Christ of the same faith and order, as founded by the Apostle Paul in Rome; but not the present church of Rome, pretended to have been founded by St. Peter.

It is, therefore, evident, that the grand design of Gildas in writing in Latin, was, to endeavor to rectify, to purge and purify the Latin church from the corruptions that had lately crept into her, and continue therein to this day. He was a man whose heart was fully resigned to the will of God; whose hope was founded on Christ as the only foundation laid in Zion; strong in the faith, full of love to God and man, and zealous in the good cause in which he was engaged.

Dyfrig was a man whose heart was engaged in the best cause, whose mental powers were great, and whose conversation was free and affable. As a Christian, he was truly humble, lovely, and pious; and as a minister, he was zealous, faithful, and experimental. His talents were far above mediocrity; his voice was clear, his countenance majestic, and his addresses manly and very engaging. Christ and his cross was all his theme, the foundation of his hope, the object of his faith, and the center of his affections. His life corresponded with the profession which he made of the religion of Christ; his conduct exemplified the rules he laid down for others.

Dynawt was a well-informed, intelligent, and learned man, of very great natural abilities, of most excellent character, and very amiable temper. A very useful preacher of the gospel of Christ, he seemed to be very well acquainted with the art of touching the consciences of his hearers, as well as enlightening their understandings. He was a steady, zealous, and powerful advocate for the truth. He possessed the wisdom and sagacity of the serpent, as well as the harmlessness of the dove. He was a man of retentive memory, sound judgment, and undaunted courage. He shone like a brilliant star in the church militant, and we have reason to hope, that in the church triumphant he shines brighter than the sun in his full meridian, where there is neither sin nor sorrow, but joys unspeakable and full of glory. He was the President of the College of Bangor, and the chief speaker in the Conference and Association of Welsh ministers and messengers who met Augustine, with whom he had a debate on baptism.

Teilo was a man endowed with a large portion of grace and excellent gifts, whose understanding was enlightened, whose will was subdued, and whose affections were set on heavenly things. Having seen the glory of Christ by faith, having tasted grace in his heart, he most earnestly urged, and by the strongest arguments, compelled his fellow sinners to be reconciled to God. He was remarkably pathetic, pungent, and forcible in his addresses to the heart; so that the most careless were arrested, and the most insensible were made to feel, while he exhibited the unsearchable riches of Christ, the Redeemer of ruined and miserable sinners. He could so rightly divide the word of truth, as to give every one a due portion in good season; so that the unconvinced might be convinced, the unconverted, and the mourners in Zion might be comforted and strengthened in the inner man.

Padarn was a faithful evangelical minister of Christ, who exhibited, at all times, a dignity of temper and conduct, becoming the nature and the requirements of the character which he sustained. The powers of his mind were strong and capacious; his taste was elegant, if not refined; his addresses to the throne of grace, in prayer, were affectionate and fervent; his sermons were doctrinal, practical, and experimental. He walked humbly and faithfully with God; he lived under the influence of the love of Christ; and endeavored to improve all his time to the best end and purpose. He was truly a messenger of peace, and by him the tidings of peach were communicated to hundreds and thousands of the children of Gomer.

Pawlin was remarkable of his kindness and benevolence. By his zeal in preaching the gospel he manifested his love to God and man. His manners were easy, blended with that politeness which is destitute of affectation. He was well versed in Scripture, and a workman that needed not to be ashamed. His preaching was solemn and instructive, and the rules which he laid down for others he practiced himself. He was well instructed in the doctrine of the cross, and was honored of his God as the instrument of bringing many to the knowledge of the truth. As a man, as a Christian, as a preacher, he bore a very excellent character.

Daniel was a man of peculiarly strong and lively feelings. His whole soul seemed to be engaged in whatever he did. He was endowed with delicacy of feeling, blended with a sense of propriety; with ease blended with politeness of manners; and with pious zeal blended with wisdom and prudence. His ministry was well calculated to awaken the thoughtless, to heal the wounded, and to dry the tears of the weeping eyes; to convince sinners, to edify saints, and to build up Zion in her most holy faith; to bring sinners to repentance, to restore backsliders, and to settle the minds of wavering souls. Religion appears to have been the element in which he breathed; religious duties his constant delight; and the dignity of his whole deportment was such, that it interested the feelings of all who knew him.

Our Welsh historians inform us, that there were several other noted ministers among the Welsh Baptist, at that time; such as Cadog, Dewi, and many more. In what respects they were noted, we have not been able to ascertain. Neither have we seen all the written documents relative to them, which might have been interesting to the public, as some of them have never been printed in any language.

Infant Baptism was in vogue long before this time in many parts of the world, but not in Britain. The ordinances of the gospel were then administered exclusively, there, according to the primitive mode. Baptism by immersion, administered to those who professed repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Welsh people considered the only baptism of the New Testament. That was their unanimous sentiment as a nation, from the time the Christian religion was embraced by them in 63, until a considerable time after the year 600. As soon as any of them renounced paganism during that period, they embraced Christianity, not as corrupted by the Romans, but as founded by Christ and his apostles. This we assert to be a fact that cannot be controverted; for the proof of which, we refer our readers to the dispute between Austin and the ministers in Wales, sometime after the year 600, when Austin came from Rome to convert the Saxons from paganism to popery. Having succeeded in a great measure in England, he tried his experiments upon the Welsh; but was disappointed. At this period the Welsh were not ignorant pagans like the Saxons, but they were intelligent, well-informed Christians. It is true, they had no national religion; they had not connected church and state together; for they believed that the kingdom of Christ is not of this world.

However, they agreed to meet with Austin, in an association held on the borders of Herefordshire. Austin said he would propose three things to the Welsh ministers and messengers of the different churches of the Principality. First, he proposed infant baptism. He was immediately answered by the Welsh, that they would keep this ordinance, as well as other things, as they had received them from the apostolic age. On hearing this, Austin was exceedingly wroth, and persuaded the Saxons to murder one thousand and two hundred of the Welsh ministers and delegates, there present; and many more afterwards were put to death, because they would not submit to infant baptism. The leading men being dead, king Cadwalader and the majority of the Welsh people submitted to popery; at that time more out of fear than love. Those good people that did not submit, were almost buried in its smoke; so that we know but little of them from that time to the Reformation. [See Acts and Monuments, p. 149. Preface to Crosby, vol. 2. Drych y prif oesoedd, p. 249. Dr. Godwin’s Catalogue, p. 43. Thomas’s History of the Baptists in Wales, first part]

Since the above was written, we find that Theophilus Evans, in his Drych y prif oesoedd, or Looking-glass of the Ancient Ages, could see the remnant of the Welsh Baptist, through the darkness of popery, to the year 1000. And Peter Williams, a Methodist preacher, who wrote an exposition on the Old New Testaments in Welsh, has followed them through the thick clouds till they were buried out of his sight in the smoke, in the year of our Lord 1115. However, it is a fact that cannot be controverted, that from this time to the Reformation there were many individuals in Wales, like the seven thousand left in Israel, whose knees had never bowed to this Baal of Rome [Thomas’s History of the Baptist in Wales, published in Welsh]. Since we wrote the foregoing translation, we have seen Benedict’s History of the Baptist denomination in America, and take the liberty of making the following quotation from his works:

"About sixty years after the ascension of our Lord, Christianity was planted in Britain, and a number of the royal blood, and many of inferior birth, were called to be saints. Here the gospel flourished much in early times, and here also its followers endured many afflictions and calamities from pagan persecutions. The British Christians experienced various changes of prosperity and adversity, until about the year 600. A little previous to this period, Austin the monk, that famous Pedo-baptist persecutor, with about forty others, were sent here by Pope Gregory the Great, to convert the Saxon pagans to popery, and to subject them to the dominion of Rome. The enterprise succeeded, and conversion (or rather perversion) work was performed on a large scale. King Ethelbert and his court, and a considerable part of his kingdom, were won over by the successful monk, who consecrated the river Swale, near York, in which he caused ten thousand of his converts to be baptized in one day. Having met with so much success in England, he resolved to try what he could do in Wales. There were may British Christians who fled hither in former times, to avoid the brutal ravages of the outrageous Saxons. The monk held a synod in their neighborhood, and sent to their pastors to request them to receive the pope’s commandment; but they utterly refused to listen to either the monk or pope, or to adopt any of their maxims. Austin meeting with this prompt refusal, endeavored to compromise matters with these strenuous Welshmen, and requested that they would consent to him in three things: one of which was, that they should give baptism to their children. But with none of his proposals would they comply. `Sins, therefore,’ said this zealous apostle of popery and pedobaptism, ` ye wol not receive peace of your brethren, ye of other shall have warre and wretche.’ And accordingly he brought the Saxons upon them to shed their innocent blood, and many of them lost their lives for the name of Jesus. The Baptist historians in England, contend that the first British Christians were Baptists, and that they maintained Baptist principles until the coming of Austin. `We have no mention,’ says the author of the Memoirs, ` of the christening or baptizing children in England, before the coming of Austin in 597; and to us it is evident, that he brought it not from heaven but from Rome.’ But though the subjects of baptism began now to be altered, the mode of it continued in the national church a thousand years longer, baptism was administered by dipping. From the coming of Austin, the church in this island was divided into two parts, the old and the new. The old, or Baptist church, maintained the original principles. But the new church adopted infant Baptism, and the rest of the multiplying superstitions of Rome." [Benedict’s History of the Baptist Denomination in America, p. 190]

Austin’s requesting the ancient British Christians, who opposed his popish mission, to baptize their children, is a circumstance which the English and Welsh Baptist consider of the greatest importance. They infer from it, that before Austin’s time, infant baptism was not practiced in the Isle of Britain, and that though he converted multitudes to his Pedo-baptist plan, yet many, especially in Wales and Cornwall, opposed it; and the Welsh Baptists contend, that Baptist principles were maintained in the recesses of their mountainous Principality, all along through the dark reign of popery.

"God had a regular chain of true and faithful witnesses in this country, in every age, from the first introduction of Christianity to the present time, who never received nor acknowledged the pope’s supremacy: like the thousands and millions of the inhabitants of the vale of Piedmont, residing on green and fruitful meadows, surrounded by high and lofty mountains, separated from other nations, as if the all-wise Creator had made them on purpose, as places of safety for his jewels that would not bow the knee to Baal." [See Doctrine of Baptism, by Benjamin Jones, P. A. Mon. p. 149; and Sir Samuel Moreland]

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