Helwys

Helwys refers to Thomas Helwys (c. 1550–1616), an English pastor who played a pivotal role in the early Baptist movement. Working with John Smyth, he is traditionally regarded as a founder of English Baptists. After leaving the Church of England, Helwys and Smyth helped establish the first Baptist church at Amsterdam around 1609, associating with the General Baptist tradition that stressed believer’s baptism and congregational autonomy.

In 1612, Helwys returned to England and founded what is commonly described as the first Baptist church on English soil, in London. The church embodied Baptist principles that emphasized voluntary church membership and the authority of believers in the practice of baptism by immersion.

Helwys is best known for his advocacy of religious liberty. He argued that civil authorities should not coerce individuals in matters of faith and that conscience should remain free from coercion by the state. This emphasis on liberty of conscience and the separation of church and state influenced later Baptist thought and contributed to broader debates about religious freedom within English Protestantism.

He died in 1616, leaving a legacy as a pioneer of the English Baptist movement. The name Helwys is chiefly associated with his contributions to Baptist origins and to early arguments for religious liberty, and it remains linked to the broader history of Baptist confessions and churches that followed.