This study focuses on how Puritans in England and especially New England used the church fathers when reading the Bible and defending Congregationalism. The analysis of a variety of textual genres and largely unedited sources written between 1592 and 1728 shows that patristic sources are often cited. Contrary to the widespread assumption that they embraced a fundamentalist Biblicism, Puritans prove to be fully engaged in the rich traditional theological discourse and display a remarkable knowledge of the church fathers. Their authority was that of close witnesses of the primitive age rather...