John Owen (1616–1683)

Bunyan’s preaching and writings found ready acceptance among England’s poorer classes, but appreciation for his work was not limited to those of humble condition. Among the educated and prominent men with whom Bunyan shared ideas and pulpits was Dr. John Owen.

The son of a Puritan Minister in Stadhampton near Oxford, Owen graduated from Queen’s College, Oxford, at 16 years of age, and was ordained a few years later. He served as chaplain to two Puritan families, then was appointed by Parliament to the Fordham parish in Essex. Owen became increasingly Congregational in his views on church government, expounding Congregational principles in his writings, and modelling them in his church. He worked closely with Oliver Cromwell and served as his chaplain in 1650. The next year Owen was appointed Dean of Christ Church, Oxford. From 1652 to 1657 he served as Vice-Chancellor of Oxford University.

With the restoration of the monarchy in 1660, Owen was dismissed from Christ Church. He turned down an invitation to pastor First Church of Boston, Massachusetts. Moving to London, Owen lead a Non-conformist congregation and continued his writing. Owen’s London congregation, where Bunyan sometimes preached, included such well-known people as General Charles Fleetwood, Cromwell’s son-in-law; Sir John Hartop; Sir Thomas Overbury; and the Countess of Anglesey.

John Owen’s works are still in print today (in 16 volumes by the Banner of Truth Trust, and in other editions), and he has been called perhaps the greatest of all English theologians.

It is recorded that King Charles II once asked John Owen how such an educated man as he could sit and listen to the illiterate tinker Bunyan, to which Owen replied, “May it please your majesty, could I possess that tinker’s abilities for preaching, l would most gladly relinquish all my learning.”

“The Gallery—People Around John Bunyan.” Christian History Magazine-Issue 11: John Bunyan and Pilgrim’s Progress 1986 : n. pag. Print.