In the Scottish church of the 18th and 19th centuries, a burgher was a person who upheld the lawfulness of the Burgher Oath. The Burgher Oath was the oath that a town burgess was required to swear on taking office. The Burghers' position was in opposition to the Seceders and Anti-Burghers.

Background

The

Rescissory Act 1661 The Rescissory Act 1661 or Act rescinding and annulling the pretended parliaments in the years 1640, 1641 etc. was added to the Scottish Parliamentary register on the 28 March 1661. At one stroke, it annulled the legislation of 1640–1648 (and ...

stated that all ministers and preachers in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

needed to acquire a

patron Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows on another. In the history of art, art patronage refers to the support that princes, popes, and other wealthy and influential people ...

(usually a local

laird Laird () is a Scottish word for minor lord (or landlord) and is a designation that applies to an owner of a large, long-established Scotland, Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a Baronage of ...

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 The Killing Time was a period of conflict in Scottish history between the Presbyterian Covenanter movement, based largely in the southwest of the country, and the government forces of Kings Charles II of England, Charles II and James II of En ...

in the 1680s. Patronage in Scotland was halted in the 1690s. 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 Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

, 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".

Church splits

The

First Secession The First Secession was an exodus of ministers and members from the Church of Scotland in 1733. Those who took part formed the Associate Presbytery and later the United Secession Church. They were often referred to as Seceders. The underlying ...

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 Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

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.

Legacy

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 Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

and urged the end of patronage. That did not happen and several ministers went on to form the Free Kirk. Patronage was finally abolished by Parliament in 1874, after 300 years.

Notable Burghers

* Robert Balmer ('New Licht' - subsequently Professor of Theology of the

United Secession Church The United Secession Church (or properly the United Associate Synod of the Secession Church) was a Scottish Presbyterian denomination which existed between 1820 and 1847. History The First Secession from the established Church of Scotland had ...

) *

John Brown of Haddington John Brown of Haddington (1722 – 19 June 1787) was a Scottish minister and author. He was born at Carpow, in Perthshire. He was almost entirely self-educated, having acquired a knowledge of ancient languages while employed as a shepherd. ...

(ordained after the 1747 'Breach' and died before the 'Auld Licht'/'New Licht' division), Professor of Theology of the

Associate Presbytery The First Secession was an exodus of ministers and members from the Church of Scotland in 1733. Those who took part formed the Associate Presbytery and later the United Secession Church. They were often referred to as Seceders. The underlying ...

* John Dick, 'New Licht' Professor of Theology of the

Ebenezer Erskine Ebenezer Erskine (22 June 1680 – 2 June 1754) was a Scottish minister whose actions led to the establishment of the Secession Church (formed by dissenters from the Church of Scotland). Early life Ebenezer's father, Henry Erskine, served as ...

(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

. * Alexander Moncrieff (one of the 1733 seceeders) (died before the 'Auld Licht'/'New Licht' division) *

Michael Willis Michael Willis may refer to: * Michael Willis (actor), (born 1949), American actor * Michael Willis (minister) (1799–1879), Scottish minister * Michael D. Willis, Indologist and historian * Mike Willis (baseball) (born 1950), American baseball ...

'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)

Theological Professors

Before the 'Auld Licht'/'New Licht' division (1736-1800)

1. William Wilson (1736-1741) 2. Alexander Moncrieff (1741-1761) 2. John Swanston (1764-1767) 3.

(1768-1787) 4. George Lawson (1787-1800).

New Light (1800-1820)

1. George Lawson (1787-1800). 2. John Dick (1820)

Old Light (1800-1839)

1. William Willis (1800-1803)Annals and statistics of the original Secession church: till its disruption and union with the Free church of Scotland in 1852, page 611
/ref> 2. George Hill (1803-1819) 3. William Taylor (appointed interim Professor, 1818) (1819-1833) (died 1836) 4.

(1835-1839)

References

Citations Sources * *{{PD-notice Presbyterianism in Scotland Schisms in Christianity History of the Church of Scotland 18th century in Scotland 19th century in Scotland 18th-century Reformed Christianity 19th-century Reformed Christianity Church of Scotland