thumb|Portrait of Mr. Christor. Love, minister
Christopher Love (1618, Cardiff, Wales – 22 August 1651, London) was a Welsh Presbyterian preacher and activist during the English Civil War. In 1651, he was executed by the English government for plotting with the exiled Stuart court. The Puritan faction in England considered Love to be a martyr and hero.
Life
Love was born in 1618 in Cardiff. At age 14, Love became an adherent to the Puritan congregation. His father disapproved of Love's interests in religion and sent him to London to become an apprentice. However, in 1636, Love's mother and his religious mentor sent him to Oxford University instead. When William Laud, the Archbishop of Canterbury, introduced his Canons of 1640 to reform the English church, Love was one of the first Puritans to renounce them. As a young man, Love became the domestic chaplain to John Warner, the sheriff of London.
St Anne's, Aldersgate invited Love to become a lecturer, but William Juxon, the bishop of London, refused to provide Love with an allowance for three years; Archbishop Laud had warned Juxon to keep an eye on Love.
On 23 January 1644, at Aldermanbury, London, Love received Presbyterian ordination from Thomas Horton. Love was one of the first preachers in England to receive this appointment. He then became the pastor of St Lawrence Jewry. According to William Maxwell Hetherington, Love was a superadded member of the Westminster Assembly. However, this assertion was questioned by Alexander Ferrier Mitchell, for lack of evidence and the more careful edition of the minutes of the Westminster Assembly by Chad van Dixhoorn shows that Hetherington was in error and Love was not made a member of the Assembly.
On 31 January 1645, Love preached an inflammatory sermon in Uxbridge. This was the same day that the commissioners for the Treaty of Uxbridge arrived there. In his Vindication manuscript, Love claimed that his preaching there was accidental; however, the House of Commons voted to bring Love to London and confine him at the House during the negotiations. On 25 November 164, Love preached before the Commons; he did not receive the customary vote of thanks. His House sermon offended the Independents, who on gaining power in the House confined Love again. A House Committee for Plundered Ministers cited Love on two more occasions. Although Love was discharged, the English authorities watched his movements.
On 14 May 1651, Love was ordered to be arrested on charges of high treason and was confined to the Tower of London. In late June and 5 July, he was tried before the high court of justice. Love was defended by Matthew Hale; presiding at the trial was Richard Keble.
On 16 July, Love was convicted of treason and sentenced to death. Robert Hammond wrote to Oliver Cromwell asking for leniency for Love. Love received first a one-month reprieve and then a one-week reprieve. On 16 August, Love wrote his final appeal for leniency to the English parliament. In this appeal, he admitted guilt to virtually all of his charges. On 25 August, Love was privately buried at St Lawrence Church. His funeral sermon was preached by Thomas Manton. Robert Wild wrote a poem The Tragedy of Mr. Christopher Love at Tower Hill (1651).
Works
After Love's execution, leading Presbyterians of London (Edmund Calamy, Simeon Ashe, Jeremiah Whitaker, William Taylor, and Allan Geare) published Love's sermons.