LE3 .A278 2022

2022

Maxwell, Melody

Acadia University

Master of Arts

Masters

Theology

Acadia Divinity College

The Great Plague of London in 1665 brought tremendous challenges for the Christian church. The lack of facilities and expertise for the care and treatment of the sick left Anglican and Dissenter congregations with the responsibility of attending to both the physical and spiritual needs of the city. As many citizens, clergy, and physicians fled the city, those left behind were inundated with the needs of the sick and the poor. This thesis asserts that the theological beliefs of Anglicans and Dissenters concerning providence, fleeing and staying, and charity framed the actions of both their clergy and laity in regard to patient care and pastoral care. Anglican and Dissenter attitudes towards patient care and pastoral care sometimes coincided but more often differed. Investigation of care for the infected, visitation of the sick, worship services, written pamphlets, and plague sermons reveals the work of Anglican and Dissenting churches during this period of crisis. Anglicans most often worked through the parish system to provide for the sick and the poor. Dissenters more often had personal connections to victims of the pestilence. These two Christian groups held different theological views on providence, charity, and fleeing and staying as they pertained to the plague. The findings of this thesis suggest that what these Christians believed about their God and the plague explained to a large degree why they behaved as they did.

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https://scholar.acadiau.ca/islandora/object/theses:3883