Burgher (Church history)

The Rescissory Act 1661 stated that all ministers and preachers in Scotland needed to acquire a patron (usually a local laird who would choose which minister would preach in their area). A quarter of the clergy refused to hand over authority to a person outside the church and consequently lost their jobs. They continued to preach independently and illegally, which led to armed rebellion and to The Killing Time in the 1680s. Patronage in Scotland was halted in the 1690s.[https://scotsarchivesearch.co.uk/short-history-secession-churches-scotland/ Scots Archive Search website]

A new Patronage Act was legislated in 1711. According to Dale Jorgenson, "The Patronage Act, enacted under the reign of Queen Anne (1702-1714), gave lay patrons the right to present ministers to parishes. This act of patronage was an affront to classic Presbyterianism, and resulted in a division between Burghers who accepted the Burghers' Oath and its consequent patronage, and the Anti-Burghers who would not accept the oath".

The First Secession occurred in 1733 and was triggered by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland giving priority in the appointment of minister to the parish's patron. Dissenting attendees to the General Assembly stated that church ministers should be chosen by church elders. That led to the creation of the Associate Congregation in 1740, commonly called the "Secession Church".

The "Secession Church" then split in 1747 into the Burghers and the Anti-Burghers over the lawfulness of the forms of the civil oath expected of Burgesses of Perth, Edinburgh and Glasgow. The contentious clause required the burgess, or oathgiver, to profess that the true religion was the one professed within the realm.

The Burghers continued to meet as the Associate Synod, and the Anti-Burghers created the General Associate Synod.

Both groups later had internal splits, with the Burghers splitting in 1798 into the "Auld Licht" Calvinist group, which held to the Solemn League and Covenant, and the "New Licht", which was more liberal and influential. The Auld Lichts created the Original Associate Synod.

In 1820, many of the Burgher and Anti-Burgher congregations united into one denominations. Some churches did not wish to unite and went on to form a separate church denomination.

In 1842, the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland wrote to the newly-crowned Queen Victoria and urged the end of patronage. That did not happen and several ministers went on to form the Free Kirk.[https://scotsarchivesearch.co.uk/short-history-secession-churches-scotland/ Scots Archive Search website]

Patronage was finally abolished by Parliament in 1874, after 300 years.

• Robert Balmer ('New Licht' - subsequently Professor of Theology of the United Secession Church)
• John Brown of Haddington (ordained after the 1747 'Breach' and died before the 'Auld Licht'/'New Licht' division), Professor of Theology of the Associate Presbytery
• John Dick, 'New Licht' Professor of Theology of the Associate Presbytery
• Ebenezer Erskine (one of the 1733 seceeders) (died before the 'Auld Licht'/'New Licht' division)
• Ralph Erskine (seceded 1737) (died before the 'Auld Licht'/'New Licht' division)
• James Fisher (one of the 1733 seceeders) (died before the 'Auld Licht'/'New Licht' division)
• George Lawson (1749-1820), 'New Licht' Professor of Theology of the Associate Presbytery.{{cite DNB |wstitle= Lawson, George (1749-1820) |volume= 32 |last= Paton |first= Henry |author-link= |pages = 289-290 |short=1}}
• Alexander Moncrieff (one of the 1733 seceeders) (died before the 'Auld Licht'/'New Licht' division)
• Michael Willis 'Auld Licht' Professor of Theology, son of the next
• William Willis, 'Auld Licht' Professor of Theology, father of the previous
• William Wilson (one of the 1733 seceeders)

1. William Wilson (1736-1741)

2. Alexander Moncrieff (1741-1761)

2. John Swanston (1764-1767)

3. John Brown of Haddington (1768-1787)

4. George Lawson (1787-1800).

1. George Lawson (1787-1800).

2. John Dick (1820)

1. William Willis (1800-1803)[https://archive.org/details/annalsstatistics00scot/page/610/mode/2up?view=theater Annals and statistics of the original Secession church: till its disruption and union with the Free church of Scotland in 1852, page 611]

2. George Hill (1803-1819)

3. William Taylor (appointed interim Professor, 1818) (1819-1833) (died 1836)

4. Michael Willis (1835-1839)

Citations

{{reflist}}

Sources

• {{cite book |url=https://archive.org/details/historyofsecessi01mcke |last=McKerrow |first=John |title=History of the Secession Church|publisher= Edinburgh: William Oliphant and Son |year=1839 |pages=272–278 |chapter=Controversy Respecting the Burgess-Oath }}
• {{cite book |last1=Scott |first1=David |title=Annals and statistics of the original Secession church: till its disruption and union with the Free church of Scotland in 1852 |date=1886 |publisher=Edinburgh : A. Elliot |url=https://archive.org/details/annalsstatistics00scot}}{{PD-notice}}

Category:Presbyterianism in Scotland

Category:Schisms in Christianity

Category:History of the Church of Scotland

Category:18th century in Scotland

Category:19th century in Scotland

Category:18th-century Reformed Christianity

Category:19th-century Reformed Christianity

Category:Church of Scotland