ABSTRACT
The origins of the Triers and Ejectors system did not primarily lie in the proposed religious settlement of 1648, but in the Humble Proposals drawn up in 1652 by, amongst others, John Owen, Philip Nye, and Thomas Godwin, opponents of the covenanted interest. The result of the meetings was An Ordinance of the better support of the Universities in Scotland and encouragement of publick preachers there, more commonly known as Gillespie's Charter. The re-establishment of the Church can be divided into three phases. The first phase runs from May 1652 with the initial restoration of parishes after 'conventicling' to proposals for transplantation in May 1653. The second phase examines the period of proposed transplantation to the establishment of the Protectorate in December 1653. The third phase examines factors that developed under Lord Deputy Fleetwood that allowed the Church to re-estabish itself from December 1653 to July 1655.
