ABSTRACT
Composed in 1645 but published posthumously about the time of the issue of the Cambridge Platform in 1648, Thomas Hooker (c. 1586-1647) provided in his Survey a classic statement of the principles of New England Congregationalism as the organizational form and practice of a gathered church of Visible Saints, i.e. of men and women giving clear experiential evidence of grace, of being God's chosen. His leadership and influence expanded the New England way to Connecticut through the establishment of a settlement at Hartford in 1636 and the Fundamental Orders of Connecticut (1639). His writings helped solidify the Congregationalist tradition against both Presbyterian tendencies and a variety of separatist 'heresies'.
