John Falconer (or Falconar) (c.1660–1723) was a Scottish clergyman who served as a minister in 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 before becoming a

college bishop In the early days of the Scottish Episcopal Church, college bishops were men who were consecrated bishops in order to maintain apostolic succession but (extraordinarily) not appointed to any episcopal see An episcopal see is the area of a bi ...

in the

Scottish Episcopal Church The Scottish Episcopal Church (; ) is a Christian denomination in Scotland. Scotland's third largest church, the Scottish Episcopal Church has 303 local congregations. It is also an Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, ecclesiastical provi ...

Early life and family

Born about 1660, he was the son of the Reverend David Falconer and Margaret Braydday. He was educated at 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 ...

, graduating with a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree in 1679. He married Elizabeth Galloway (1671–1691), daughter of Thomas Galloway, 2nd Lord Dunkeld, and they had two sons: James and Thomas.

Ecclesiastical career

He was a

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 ...

in the family of Wemyss of Wemyss, before becoming the

Incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

of Carnbee from 1683 to 1690. He came under a sentence of deprivation from the Privy Council, 8 September 1689, for not reading the Proclamation of the Estates, etc., and by Act of Parliament, 25 April 1690, restoring

Presbyterian 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 ...

ministers. He was

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

in the

at Dundee on 28 April 1709 by bishops

Rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...

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and Sage. He and other

s were consecrated to maintain the

Episcopal succession The historic or historical episcopate comprises all episcopates, that is, it is the collective body of all the bishops of a group who are in valid apostolic succession. This succession is transmitted from each bishop to their successors by the r ...

without being committed to a particular

Episcopal see An episcopal see is the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, making it synonymous with ''diocese'' ...

. He took part in the consecration of James Gadderar in London in 1712. He occupied

Glamis Glamis is a small village in Angus, Scotland, located south of Kirriemuir and southwest of Forfar. It is the location of Glamis Castle, the childhood home of Queen Elizabeth the Queen Mother. History The vicinity of Glamis has prehistoric t ...

parish church in 1716, and was also at Slains parish church with the Reverend

William Law William Law (16869 April 1761) was a Church of England priest who lost his position at Emmanuel College, Cambridge, when his conscience would not allow him to take the required oath of allegiance to the first Hanoverian monarch, George I of Grea ...

. In 1720, he took over the administration of the districts north of the

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(with the exception of

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), but did not become a territorial bishop as such. He died at Inglismaldie on 6 July 1723, aged c. 63, and was buried at Logie Pert,

Angus Angus may refer to: *Angus, Scotland, a council area of Scotland, and formerly a province, sheriffdom, county and district of Scotland * Angus, Canada, a community in Essa, Ontario Animals * Angus cattle, various breeds of beef cattle Media * ...

Works

He is possibly the author of ''Cryptomenysis Paterfacta'' (published in 1685) and wrote a little tract described as "''a popular exposition of the various Covenants of God and especially of the sanctions and conditions of the Christian Covenants''" which has been preserved in manuscript.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Falconer, John 1660s births 1723 deaths 18th-century Scottish Episcopalian bishops Alumni of the University of Edinburgh College bishops