Independents, a term used in English church history to refer to the first congregation of English Protestants who withdrew from the Church of England to become independent. They were later called Congregationalists. They were also called Brownists for a time after Robert Browne, whose congregation in London in 1580 became the first independent congregation.

Adapted by permission of Herald Press, Harrisonburg, Virginia, and Waterloo, Ontario, from Mennonite Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, p. 1097. All rights reserved. For information on ordering the encyclopedia visit the Herald Press website.

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