Edmund Calamy

Edmund Calamy , 1600-1666, English Presbyterian preacher. In 1636 his opposition to the observance of certain church ceremonies forced his withdrawal as lecturer at Bury St. Edmunds. A leader among the Presbyterians, Calamy was a member of the Westminster Assembly (1643) and was one of the authors of the Smectymnuus, directed against Bishop Joseph Hall's apology for a moderate episcopacy. At the Restoration, he was made a chaplain to the king. Ejected under the Act of Uniformity (1662), he was imprisoned for a short time for having preached after ejection. A number of his sermons were published. His grandson, Edmund Calamy, 1671-1732, nonconformist minister in London, also published many sermons, but he is particularly remembered for his Account of the Ministers Ejected by the Act for Uniformity (1702). His autobiography was published in 1829.

Calamy, Edmund (1) (1600–66), ‘the Elder’, English Presbyterian. He was one of the authors of the composite work Smectymnuus. In the Westminster Assembly of 1643 he tried to defend presbyterianism as a middle way between prelacy and congregationalism. He took a moderate line at the Savoy Conference but, refusing to conform, was ejected from his preferments in 1662.

Calamy, Edmund (2) (1671–1732), historian of Nonconformity, grandson of the preceding. His writings throw particular light on the ministers and fellows of colleges ejected in 1662.