Wagstaffe, John.

John Wagstaffe was a figure within the Non-juring schism, a religious and political division that emerged in the established churches of England, Scotland, and Ireland after the deposition of James II in 1688. Clergy were required to swear allegiance to the new monarchs, William III and Mary II, but some refused, leading to their designation as non-jurors. In the Church of England, this led to the formation of a separate Non-Juror Church in 1693, with Bishop William Lloyd appointing new bishops, including Thomas Wagstaffe and George Hickes. This schismatic church was never large and experienced a decline after 1715, though some congregations persisted until the 1770s. Wagstaffe himself was appointed a non-juring bishop in 1693, though he reportedly refused to exercise his episcopal authority. The movement faced internal divisions and eventually faded, with elements of its theology potentially influencing later movements.

The Non-juring schism arose from the 1688 Glorious Revolution, which saw James II deposed and replaced by William III and Mary II. Clergy in the established churches of England, Scotland, and Ireland were compelled to swear an oath of allegiance to the new rulers. A segment of these clergy, unwilling to break their prior oath to James II, refused to take the new oath. These individuals became known as non-jurors. In England, this refusal led to a formal split with the establishment of a separate Non-Juror Church in 1693. This new church appointed its own bishops, including Thomas Wagstaffe, who was consecrated in 1693. However, the majority of English non-jurors did not join this schismatic body, and the separate church itself saw a significant decline after 1715.

Thomas Wagstaffe (1645–1712) was consecrated as a non-juring bishop in 1693 by Bishop William Lloyd. This consecration was part of an effort to establish the principle that Parliament had no authority to remove or appoint bishops, a core tenet for some non-jurors. However, despite his consecration, Wagstaffe reportedly did not exercise his episcopal powers. He was one of the early figures in the formal schism, alongside George Hickes. Wagstaffe’s death in 1712 predated the significant decline of the Non-Juror Church, which accelerated after the death of Bishop Hickes in 1715. His involvement marks him as a key, albeit perhaps passive, participant in the institutional separation of the non-juring movement.

The non-juring movement was rooted in complex theological and political beliefs prevalent in the 17th and 18th centuries. A central issue was the concept of the divine right of kings and the inviolability of oaths. For non-jurors, their initial oath to James II was considered binding, making any oath to his successors illegitimate. This was often intertwined with the 'church point,' a belief that Parliament lacked the authority to interfere in ecclesiastical matters, such as appointing or deposing bishops. While the movement had Jacobite sympathies for the exiled Stuart dynasty, not all non-jurors were active supporters of the Stuarts. Many were primarily motivated by a defense of the established church's independence from state control.