The most important religious figure in the colony was John Robinson, an original pastor of the Scrooby congregation and religious leader of the separatists throughout the Leiden years. He never actually set foot in New England, but many of his theological pronouncements shaped the nature and character of the Plymouth church. For example, Robinson stated that women and men have different social roles but neither was lesser in the eyes of God. He taught that men and women have distinct but complementary roles in church, home, and society as a whole, and he referred to women as the "weaker vessel", quoting from 1 Peter 3:7. In matters of religious understanding, he proclaimed that it was the man's role to "guide and go before" women.