Benjamin Wadsworth

Benjamin Wadsworth (1670–1737) was a prominent New England Congregationalist minister and theologian who served as pastor of the First Church of Boston and later as president of Harvard College, playing a crucial role in defending Calvinist orthodoxy during the early eighteenth century. His pastoral writings, including *Rulers Feeding and Guiding Their People*, exemplified the practical divinity characteristic of New England Puritanism, offering guidance to both civil magistrates and church leaders on their spiritual responsibilities. Wadsworth's intellectual legacy bridged the waning Puritan era and the emerging evangelical movements of the Great Awakening, establishing him as a significant figure in American religious thought.