Persecuted Toward Separatism
The quandary for the early evangelicals was how to maintain their understanding of the public proclamation of the gospel without recourse to separatism. They were well aware of Luther’s opposition to sectarianism, but it was clear that it was impossible to install evangelical clergy in the churches and the Inquisition was making evangelical existence itself precarious. The Dutch evangelicals were being driven by persecution toward separatism.
Carter Lindberg, The European Reformations, 2nd Edition (Oxford, UK: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010), 285-286