A Great Grievance
Ecclesiastical Lay Patronage in Scotland until 1750
Laurence A. B. Whitley
A GREAT GRIEVANCE
Ecclesiastical Lay Patronage in Scotland until 1750
Copyright © 2013 Laurence A. B. Whitley. All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in critical publications or reviews, no part of this book may be reproduced in any manner without prior written permission from the publisher. Write: Permissions, Wipf and Stock Publishers, 199 W. 8th Ave., Suite 3, Eugene, OR 97401.
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All scripture quotations, unless otherwise indicated, are taken from the Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV®. Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984 by Biblica, Inc.™ Used by permission of Zondervan. All rights reserved worldwide.
To Catherine, Edward and Hilarywho have brought me so much joy.
“ . . . patronages, which had their rise in the most corrupt and latter times of Anti Christianism, have always been a great grievance to this Church, as the source and fountain of a corrupt ministry . . . “
To His Grace, His Majesty’s High Commissioner and to the right Honourable the Estates of Parliament, the Humble Address of the Presbyterian ministers and Professors of the Church of Scotland. (Edinburgh: 1690)
Foreword
This book, peppered with perspicacity, represents a very welcome contribution by an engaged writer to the understanding of what was manifestly a chronic and debilitating problem in Scottish history and its church history of longue durée, namely, lay patronage of the Kirk. Underlying this was the basic issue of the Church’s funding from medieval times onwards, and thus of the resources to pay its clergy and ministers. While something of a universal problem, this was a particularly contentious issue over those centuries in Scotland when church and state, Christianity and society, faith and nation formed a notional unity or were mutually interdependent as the indigenous expression of “Christendom.” The wealthy, notably the aristocracy and landed gentry, and so the ruling classes, usually acted as benefactors and patrons of the Kirk, even if swathes of them were also often its chief plunderers and despoilers. The committed who contributed and who, after the Reformation especially, were well aware that the Church did not just belong to the clergy, naturally expected a considerable “say” in church affairs and ministerial appointments in particular. Yet in a context where there were theological sensitivities about the freedom, autonomy, independence and authority of the Church, be it in the name of hierarchy, presbytery, or Christ, the recipe for tensions and conflicts was endemic and potent. The acuteness of this politicized problem for the infrastructure of Scottish Church, Catholic or Reformed, is well known. It seems to deface much of its history, bearing in mind that economic exigencies in one of Western Europe’s poorer nations often exacerbated things.
Laurence Whitley’s particular focus in this book is on the religious, political, and church settlements from 1688 to 1712 and their aftermath in the presbyterian Church of Scotland throughout the first half of the eighteenth century. Despite this era’s crucial importance for the issue, it has surpisingly not been so intensively studied as many previous and subsequent periods. This enhances the value of this study, which will act as a bridge in treatments of the topic and serve as a reference work for many details of patronage and patrons in that era and before. As one of the diminishing number of contemporary scholar-ministers in the modern Scottish Kirk, and as someone of recognized theological, historical, and literary skills, Dr. Whitley is to be lauded for bringing this research, which embodies some years of arduous academic research, to fruition and to light. The endurance that enabled its completion will have the reward of providing a durable tool and asset for future researchers and others.
W. Ian P. Hazlett
Emeritus Professor of Ecclesiastical History
University of Glasgow
Preface
Scottish Presbyterianism as a form of church government evolved out of the Reformation of 1560, and was based on a hierarchy of courts. At parish level, the elders met in what was called the kirk session, and their meetings were chaired by the minister, who was termed the court’s moderator. Each session in a particular area sent representatives to the superior court, which was known as the presbytery. Superior to the presbytery was the provincial synod, which was in turn answerable to the General Assembly, which met once a year and was the final court of appeal. More on how the system worked in practice will be seen from the book which follows.
In the meantime, the glossary provided below will explain the political and ecclesiastical terms and labels that will occur most.
Advowson—the right of presenting to a benefice, especially in England
Argathelians—members and supporters of the house of Argyll
benefice—an office involving certain duties, for whose discharge revenues are provided
collation—institution to a benefice; the term can be used exclusively to describe institution to a living where the bishop is himself the patron. It is here applied, however, to episcopal institution in general
edict—a legally authoritative public intimation (eg., of a vacancy)
Erastianism—deriving from the Swiss theologian Thomas Erastus (1524–83), the doctrine that the State has the right to legislate in ecclesiastical matters on behalf of its national Church.
extract—a part taken from the minutes of a court by the authorised official
General Assembly Commission—a body specially commissioned at the end of each Assembly to meet (usually four times) and act in its name until the following Assembly. Originally elected without reference to the membership of Assembly, from 1705, presbyteries were to be proportionally represented on it; from 1719, only Assembly commissioners were to be included as members; from 1736, the proportion between ministers and elders was to be the same as for the Assembly. The Commission was properly only empowered to conduct such business as the Assembly had given it authority to handle, but where such a line could be drawn was a subject of intense controversy.
heads of families—the representatives of the ordinary parishioners
heritors—the owners of heritable property in a parish
High Presbyterian—pertaining to the stricter traditions of Covenanting Presbyterianism
horning, letters of—a warrant used to cite a defender to appear or pay a debt
jus devolutum—a right devolved on a party because of its not having been exercised within the appointed time by those having priority
libel—the formal indictment by which a minister or probationer is charged with misconduct or heresy
Lord High Commissioner—the Crown’s official representative at meetings of Assembly
Marrowmen—evangelicals, like Thomas Boston, who approved of the English Puritan book, The Marrow of Modern Divinity, published by Edward Fisher of Oxford in 1646.
moderate men—pro-establishment, pro-learning and pro-moderation churchmen who eschewed what they regarded as the vulgar and disruptive tendencies of the evangelicals
moderating a call—the Presbytery’s representative