George Washington Sprott
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George Washington Sprott (6 March 1829 – 27 October 1909) was a Scottish minister and liturgical scholar, known as an advocate of reform of the services of the
Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...
, and of its reunion with the Free Church of Scotland.


Early life

Born at
Musquodoboit, Nova Scotia Middle Musquodoboit is a rural community in the Musquodoboit Valley region of Nova Scotia, Canada within the Halifax Regional Municipality, along the Musquodoboit River at the junction of Route 357 with Route 224, from Dartmouth, Nova Scotia. ...
, on 6 March 1829, he was the eldest of five children of John Sprott, Presbyterian minister there, by his third wife, Jane Neilson. Both his parents came from
Wigtownshire Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown (, ) is one of the Counties of Scotland, historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Wigtownshire was an counties of Scotland, administrative county used for ...
. After early education in the colony, Sprott entered Glasgow College in 1845, where one of his fellow students was
Henry Campbell-Bannerman Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman ( né Campbell; 7 September 183622 April 1908) was a British statesman and Liberal Party politician who was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1905 to 1908 and Leader of the Liberal Party from 1899 to 1908. ...
who consulted him about studying for the ministry. Sprott graduated with a BA in 1849. He had introductions to the families of Norman Macleod the younger, Andrew Kennedy Hutchison Boyd, and Laurence Lockhart, brother of
John Gibson Lockhart John Gibson Lockhart (12 June 1794 – 25 November 1854) was a Scottish writer and editor. He is best known as the author of the seminal, and much-admired, seven-volume biography of his father-in-law Sir Walter Scott: ''Memoirs of the Life of Sir ...
.


Years of travel

His father approved of his son's decision to join the Church of Scotland, and, ordained in 1852 by the presbytery of Dunoon, Sprott returned to Nova Scotia, to act as assistant at St Matthew's, Halifax. There he served also as chaplain to the 72nd Highlanders, later posted to the
Crimea Crimea ( ) is a peninsula in Eastern Europe, on the northern coast of the Black Sea, almost entirely surrounded by the Black Sea and the smaller Sea of Azov. The Isthmus of Perekop connects the peninsula to Kherson Oblast in mainland Ukrain ...
. After visits to Newfoundland and the United States, he returned to Scotland in 1856, and having served short periods as assistant minister at
Greenock Greenock (; ; , ) is a town in Inverclyde, Scotland, located in the west central Lowlands of Scotland. The town is the administrative centre of Inverclyde Council. It is a former burgh within the historic county of Renfrewshire, and forms ...
and
Dumfries Dumfries ( ; ; from ) is a market town and former royal burgh in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland, near the mouth of the River Nith on the Solway Firth, from the Anglo-Scottish border. Dumfries is the county town of the Counties of Scotland, ...
, he was gazetted to a chaplaincy to the Scottish troops at
Kandy Kandy (, ; , ) is a major city located in the Central Province, Sri Lanka, Central Province of Sri Lanka. It was the last capital of the Sinhalese monarchy from 1469 to 1818, under the Kingdom of Kandy. The city is situated in the midst of ...
, and went out to
Ceylon Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
in 1857, where he was the chaplain of Scots Kirk, Kandy for seven years. In 1865 Sprott left Ceylon and acted for a time as chaplain to the Scottish troops at
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port city status in the United Kingdom, city and unitary authority in Hampshire, England. Most of Portsmouth is located on Portsea Island, off the south coast of England in the Solent, making Portsmouth the only city in En ...
.


Scottish minister

Sprott was presented to the parish of Chapel of Garioch,
Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...
, in 1866. He opposed the movement for the abolition of patronage in the Church of Scotland, and carried through the Synod of Aberdeen an overture to the
General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...
in favour of celebration of
holy communion The Eucharist ( ; from , ), also called Holy Communion, the Blessed Sacrament or the Lord's Supper, is a Christian rite, considered a sacrament in most churches and an ordinance in others. Christians believe that the rite was instituted by J ...
during its sittings. With the help of
Thomas Leishman Thomas Leishman (7 May 1825 – 13 July 1904) was a Scottish minister and liturgical scholar. Life Born into a clerical family at his father's manse on 7 May 1825, he was the eldest son, in a family of 13 children, of Matthew Leishman, D.D., mi ...
he procured a recommendation on the use of the
Apostles' Creed The Apostles' Creed (Latin: ''Symbolum Apostolorum'' or ''Symbolum Apostolicum''), sometimes titled the Apostolic Creed or the Symbol of the Apostles, is a Christian creed or "symbol of faith". "Its title is first found c.390 (Ep. 42.5 of Ambro ...
in
baptism Baptism (from ) is a Christians, Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by aspersion, sprinkling or affusion, pouring water on the head, or by immersion baptism, immersing in water eit ...
. As moderator of the Synod in 1873, he preached at its April meeting a sermon on ''The Necessity of a Valid Ordination''. After an unsuccessful application for the chair of church history in 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 ...
Sprott, early in 1873, was presented to the parish of
North Berwick North Berwick (; ) is a seaside resort, seaside town and former royal burgh in East Lothian, Scotland. It is situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, approximately east-northeast of Edinburgh. North Berwick became a fashionable holi ...
. At the assembly of 1882 Sprott successfully joined Leishman in a protest against the admission of
congregational Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christianity, Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice Congregationalist polity, congregational ...
ministers without Presbyterian ordination. In 1884 he saw the erection of a new parish church. In the summer of 1879 the assembly had sent him to visit the Presbyterian churches of Canada, and also appointed him to a lectureship in
pastoral theology Pastoral theology is the branch of practical theology concerned with the application of the study of religion in the context of regular church ministry. This approach to theology seeks to give practical expression to theology. Normally viewed as ...
. He was disappointed in two further applications for professorships of church history — at Glasgow in 1886 and at Aberdeen in 1889. Sprott joined on its formation, in 1886, the Aberdeen (later the Scottish) Ecclesiological Society, and in 1892 took a leading part in founding and conducting the
Scottish Church Society The Scottish Church Society is a Church of Scotland society founded in 1892. Leading founders were Thomas Leishman and William Milligan, and the first secretary was James Cooper. Background Although always a minority within the Church of Scotla ...
, for orthodox doctrine; he was founder of the Church Law Society. An advocate of reunion after the
disruption of 1843 The Disruption of 1843, also known as the Great Disruption, was a schism in 1843 in which 450 evangelical ministers broke away from the Church of Scotland to form the Free Church of Scotland. The main conflict was over whether the Church of Sc ...
, he supported the efforts of
Charles Wordsworth Charles Wordsworth (22 August 1806 – 5 December 1892) was Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane in Scotland. He was a classical scholar, and taught at Public school (United Kingdom), public schools in England and Scotland. He was a rowin ...
, and the Scottish Christian Unity Association founded by George Howard Wilkinson.


Last years

In 1902 Sprott celebrated his ministerial jubilee of 50 years, but with heart weakness he petitioned the presbytery next year for the appointment of an assistant and successor, and retired to Edinburgh. He died at Edinburgh of heart disease on 27 October 1909, and was buried at North Berwick.


Works

In Ceylon Sprott wrote a pamphlet on the Dutch Church there. Opposing what he was as a drift of Scottish church people towards
episcopacy A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of dioceses. The role ...
, he published ''The Worship, Rites and Ceremonies of the Church of Scotland'', promoting ideas which resulted in the formation of the Church Service Society (1865). Returning to Scotland, he pursued liturgical and historical studies, and became influential on the editorial committee of the Church Service Society. In 1868 he published a critical edition of the ''Book of Common Order'', commonly called "John Knox's Liturgy", and in 1871 his ''Scottish Liturgies of James VI''. As lecturer in pastoral theology, Sprott spoke at the four Scottish universities, and published ''Worship and Offices of the Church of Scotland'' (1882). His lectures had earned the degree of D.D. from the
University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...
, conferred in 1880. Late in life, Sprott published: *His John Macleod Memorial Lecture, ''The Doctrine of Schism in the Church of Scotland'' (Edinburgh, 1902); *a new edition of ''John Knox's Liturgy'' (1901); *an edition (1905) of ''The Liturgy of Compromise used in the English Congregation at Frankfort, 1557'', bound up with H. J. Wotherspoon's ''Second Prayer Book of Edward VI''; and *a new edition (1905) of ''Euchologion, a Book of Common Order'', with historical introduction. These books were all issued by the Church Service Society. He also wrote an account of his father and of Nova Scotian life, ''Memorials of the Rev. John Sprott'' (Edinburgh, 1906), and contributed on Scottish ministers to the ''
Dictionary of National Biography The ''Dictionary of National Biography'' (''DNB'') is a standard work of reference on notable figures from British history, published since 1885. The updated ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'' (''ODNB'') was published on 23 September ...
''.


Family

In 1856 Sprott married Mary (d. 1874), daughter of Charles Hill of Halifax, Nova Scotia. Four sons also predeceased their father; a son, Harold, a lawyer in Edinburgh, and four married daughters survived.


Notes

Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Sprott, George 1829 births 1909 deaths Liturgists 19th-century ministers of the Church of Scotland 19th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers People from the Halifax Regional Municipality Scottish writers 20th-century ministers of the Church of Scotland 20th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers