The Westminster Assembly was one of the outstanding ecclesiastical gatherings in the long history of the Church. It was not limited in membership to the English, and its conclusions became the doctrinal basis of most dissenting bodies in England and America for two centuries. It was the crystallization of the Puritan movement in England since most of the Anglican clergy did not attend. The Assembly was regulated by Parliament, which took over the ecclesiastical functions of the king. The meetings were held in Westminster Abbey in the summer of 1643. The group proceeded to revise the Thirty-nine Articles, agreed unanimously on a Directory for Public Worship, and tackled the subject of church government. Five Congregationalists in the Assembly pressed their own opinions in favor of independence, but the majority made presbyterianism the form of government for the national Church. The Assembly completed its work by providing two catechisms. The Larger Catechism contained a full exposition of church doctrines and government while the Shorter Catechism omitted the subject of organization.
Impact: The most famous document from the Assembly was the Westminster Confession of Faith. It was strictly Calvinistic and as such not only met the needs of English Presbyterians, but it was adopted by the Church of Scotland to take the place of the Scottish creed of 1560. It became the basis of Congregationalist creeds, and it was the model for statements of doctrine by English and American Baptists.