Stoddard was a Puritan minister at a Congregationalist Church in Northampton, Massachusetts for 57 years (1672-1729). Stoddard was unusual for a New England Puritan in that he allowed an open communion and called for broader church oversight than was the Congregational standard form of church polity.
Congregational opponents such as Cotton Mather often referred to him as "Pope" Stoddard, placing him in the locally detested camp of the Roman Catholic Church.
Stoddard's grandson, Jonathan Edwards joined him in ministry at Northampton in 1724, and succeeded him as the head minister after his death.
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