Alastair Iain Macdonald Haggart (10 October 1915 – 11 January 1998) was an eminent

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

Biography

Haggart was born on 10 October 1915 and brought up in Fort William. He was raised in the

Free Church of Scotland In contemporary usage, the Free Church of Scotland usually refers to: * Free Church of Scotland (since 1900), that portion of the original Free Church which remained outside the 1900 merger; extant It may also refer to: * Free Church of Scotland (1 ...

, but became an Episcopalian in his early 20s. At age 23, he made the decision to train for ministry and studied at

Edinburgh Theological College The Edinburgh Theological College was founded in 1810 to train Anglican clergy to serve in the Scottish Episcopal Church. In 1891 the college moved to Coates Hall in Rosebery Avenue where it gradually expanded to include residential accommodation ...

. From there he won an open exhibition to

Hatfield College, Durham Hatfield College is one of the constituent colleges of Durham University in England. It occupies a city centre site above the River Wear on the World Heritage Site peninsula, lying adjacent to North Bailey and only a short distance from Durh ...

and graduated with a BA in 1941, and proceeded to an MA four years later. He married Peggy Trundle, a typist, and had two daughters. As a student, his political convictions were left wing and pacifist. In reaction to the

Spanish Civil War The Spanish Civil War () was a military conflict fought from 1936 to 1939 between the Republican faction (Spanish Civil War), Republicans and the Nationalist faction (Spanish Civil War), Nationalists. Republicans were loyal to the Left-wing p ...

, he signed the Peace Pledge. He was active in the Labour Club at Durham as well as the Union.

Career

Haggart was ordained in 1941. He began his career with curacies at

St Mary's Cathedral, Glasgow The Cathedral Church of St Mary the Virgin, commonly called St Mary's Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Scottish Episcopal Church. It is located on the Great Western Road, in the west end of Glasgow, Scotland. The current building was opened on 9 ...

and St Mary's

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the London Borough of Barnet, northwest London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient Manorialism, manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has ...

. He was

precentor A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...

St Ninian's Cathedral, Perth St Ninian's Cathedral in Perth is a cathedral of the Scottish Episcopal Church in the Diocese of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane. History The Episcopal Church in Scotland was disestablished in 1689 and all the Scottish cathedrals became the pr ...

from 1948 to 1951. After this, he was

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of St Oswald's,

King's Park, Glasgow King's Park (, ) is a district in the city of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated south of the River Clyde and borders the Glasgow areas of Croftfoot, Cathcart, Simshill, Mount Florida and Toryglen and the neighbourhood of Rutherglen#Bankhead, Bank ...

and then acting priest-in-charge of St Martin's,

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. In 1959, he became

provost Provost may refer to: Officials Ecclesiastic * Provost (religion), a high-ranking church official * Prince-provost, a high-ranking church official Government * Provost (civil), an officer of local government, including the equivalent ...

St Paul's Cathedral, Dundee St. Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican Communion, Anglican cathedral in the city of Dundee, Scotland. It is the cathedral and administrative centre of the Diocese of Brechin (Episcopalian), Diocese of Brechin in the Scottish Episcopal Church. Chur ...

, a post he held until 1969 when he became

principal Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the head of a school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in the UK Civil Ser ...

and pantonian

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of his old theological college. He became

Bishop of Edinburgh The Bishop of Edinburgh, or sometimes the Lord Bishop of Edinburgh, is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Scottish Episcopal Church, Scottish Episcopal Diocese of Edinburgh. Prior to the Reformation, Edinburgh was part of the Diocese of St ...

in 1975;Diocesan web-site
/ref> and Primus of the Episcopal Church in Scotland in 1977. He retired from both posts in 1985 and died on 11 January 1998.

References

1915 births Alumni of Hatfield College, Durham Provosts of St Paul's Cathedral, Dundee 20th-century Scottish Episcopalian bishops Bishops of Edinburgh Primuses of the Scottish Episcopal Church 20th-century Anglican archbishops 1998 deaths Seminary presidents Alumni of Edinburgh Theological College {{Anglican-bishop-stub