Burroughs studied at
Emmanuel College, Cambridge, and was graduated
M.A. in 1624, but left the university because of
non-conformity. He was assistant to
Edmund Calamy at
Bury St. Edmunds, and in 1631 became
rector of
Tivetshall,
Norfolk. He was suspended for non-conformity in 1636 and soon afterward deprived, he went to
Rotterdam (1637) and became "teacher" of the
English church there. He returned to
England in 1641 and served as
preacher at
Stepney and
Cripplegate, London. He was a member of the
Westminster Assembly and one of the few who opposed the
Presbyterian majority. He was one of the Five Dissenting Brethren who put their names to the
Independent manifesto,
An Apologeticall Narration in early 1644. While one of the most distinguished of the English
Independents, he was one of the most moderate, acting consistently in accordance with the
motto on his study door (in
Latin and
Greek): "Opinionum varietas et opinantium unitas non sunt ασυστατα" ("Difference of belief and unity of believers are not inconsistent"). In 1646, Burroughs died from complications resulting from a fall from his horse on the way back from the Westminster Assembly. ==Publications==