CALAMY, EDMUND

born February 1600, London died Oct. 29, 1666, probably London English Presbyterian theologian who contributed significantly to the writings of Smectymnuus (1641), the pen name under which was published the Calvinists' famous reply to the Anglican apology for bishops and liturgical worship in the church. The leader of the Presbyterian ascendancy in Parliament during the Commonwealth (164353), he nevertheless helped restore Charles II (1660). He was later expelled from his ministry as the principal Nonconformist to refuse the Anglican episcopal structure imposed by the Act of Uniformity (1662). His grandson, Edmund Calamy (16711732), wrote the history of the Nonconformists.