Bishop Alexander Burnet (1615 – 1684) was a Scottish clergyman.

Life

Born in the summer of 1615 to James Burnet and Christian née Dundas, he gained an MA from the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

in 1633. He chose to follow the career of his father, who had been minister of

Lauder The former Royal Burgh of Lauder (, ) is a town in the Scottish Borders in the historic county of Berwickshire. On the Southern Upland Way, the burgh lies southeast of Edinburgh, on the western edge of the Lammermuir Hills. Etymology Alt ...

, by becoming a churchman himself. He entered the service of his mother's kinsman the Earl of Traquair, becoming the personal

chaplain A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...

John Stewart, 1st Earl of Traquair John Stewart, 1st Earl of Traquair (died 27 March 1659) was a Scottish statesman who was created Baron Stewart of Traquair in 1628 and Earl of Traquair in 1633. Life He was the son of John Stewart, the Younger, of Traquair in Peeblesshire, ...

. This was the springboard for a high-level ecclesiastical career. He was presented to

Coldingham Coldingham is a village and parish in Berwickshire in the Scottish Borders. It lies a short distance inland from Coldingham Bay, three miles northeast of the fishing village of Eyemouth. Parish The parish lies in the east of the Lammermuir ...

in 1639 by King Charles I, but could not retain this position because of the

National Covenant The National Covenant () was an agreement signed by many people of Scotland during 1638, opposing the proposed Laudian reforms of the Church of Scotland (also known as '' the Kirk'') by King Charles I. The king's efforts to impose changes on th ...

. Burnet went to exile in England, where he became a strong

Royalist A royalist supports a particular monarch as head of state for a particular kingdom, or of a particular dynastic claim. In the abstract, this position is royalism. It is distinct from monarchism, which advocates a monarchical system of gove ...

, something which forced him to flee to

continental Europe Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous mainland of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by som ...

. He returned to Great Britain after the Restoration of the monarchy, becoming rector of a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in com ...

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

(Ivychurch) and chaplain to Andrew Rutherford, governor of

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

. The Restoration of the monarchy was followed by the restoration of Episcopacy in Scotland. Burnet became

Bishop of Aberdeen The Bishop of Aberdeen (originally Bishop of Mortlach, in Latin Murthlacum) was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Aberdeen, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics, whose first recorded bishop is an early 12th-century cleric named Nech ...

in 1663. He held this position for less than a year, receiving promotion as the successor of Andrew Fairfoul to the Archbishopric of Glasgow. As Archbishop, he took a hard line on ecclesiastical non-conformity, and led the attempts to repress the

Pentland Rising The Battle of Rullion Green took place on 28 November 1666, near the Pentland Hills, in Midlothian, Scotland. It was the only significant battle of the Pentland Rising, a brief revolt by Covenanter dissidents against the Scottish government. S ...

of 1666. His continued hard-line attitude, even after reconciliation became general policy, and his enmity against the

Earl of Lauderdale Earl of Lauderdale is a title in the Peerage of Scotland. The current holder of the title is Ian Maitland, 18th Earl of Lauderdale. History The title was created in 1624 for John Maitland, 2nd Lord Maitland of Thirlestane, Berwickshire. The se ...

, made him a controversial figure. He became too much of a liability for the King, who pressured him to resign as Archbishop. This he did on 24 December 1669. Burnet went into England again. His high ecclesiastical career was revived in 1679, becoming

Archbishop of St Andrews The Bishop of St. Andrews (, ) was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of St Andrews in the Catholic Church and then, from 14 August 1472, as Archbishop of St Andrews (), the Archdiocese of St Andrews. The name St Andrews is not the town ...

. He held this position until his death by illness on 22 August 1684. He was buried in

St Salvator's Chapel St Salvator's Chapel is one of two collegiate chapels belonging to the University of St Andrews, the other being St Leonard's Chapel, situated in the grounds of the adjacent St Leonard's School. The chapel, also known as St Salvator's Colle ...

References

* Mullan, David George, "Burnet, Alexander (1615–1684)", in the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004
retrieved 29 April 2007
{{DEFAULTSORT:Burnet, Alexander 1615 births 1684 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Roman Catholic archbishops of Glasgow Archbishops of St Andrews Bishops of Aberdeen Chancellors of the University of Glasgow Chancellors of the University of St Andrews Scottish Restoration bishops Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1661–1663 Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1667 Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1669–1674 Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1678 Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1681–1682 Extraordinary Lords of Session