John Fullarton (c.1645 – 1727), of Greenhall,

Argyll Argyll (; archaically Argyle; , ), sometimes called Argyllshire, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county of western Scotland. The county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975 and most of the area ...

, was a Scottish clergyman and nonjurant

Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United States ...

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 ...

between 1720 and 1727.

Origins

Fullarton was the son of James McCloy, alias Fullarton, of Ballochindryan and Jean Stewart, the daughter of John Stewart of Ascog. His grandfather is thought to have been Duncan, or Donald McCloy, minister at

Kilmodan Kilmodan is a civil parish situated on the Cowal Peninsula, in Argyll and Bute, west of Scotland. It includes the valley of Glendaruel and surrounding areas, with Kilmodan Church located in the Clachan of Glendaruel. The alternative historical ...

between at least 1609 and 1629, who was still alive as late as 1659, when he received a grant from the Synod of Argyll because of his poverty.

Career

Fullarton obtained the degree of

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 ...

from

Glasgow University The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in post-nominals; ) is a public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ...

in 1665. Following his ordination, he was minister at

from 1669 to 1684 and at Paisley between 1684 and 1689, whence he was ejected at the

Revolution In political science, a revolution (, 'a turn around') is a rapid, fundamental transformation of a society's class, state, ethnic or religious structures. According to sociologist Jack Goldstone, all revolutions contain "a common set of elements ...

Robert Wodrow Robert Wodrow (167921 March 1734) was a Scotland, Scottish minister and historian, known as a chronicler and defender of the Covenanters. Robert Wodrow was born at Glasgow, where his father, James Wodrow, was a Professor of Divinity (Glasgow), pr ...

recorded in 1703 that Fullarton was present with other Episcopal clergy at a service in Glasgow to commemorate the

execution of Charles I Charles_I_of_England, Charles I, King of Kingdom of England, England, Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland, and Kingdom of Ireland, Ireland, was executed on Tuesday, 30 January 1649 outside the Banqueting House on Whitehall, London. The execution was ...

, and he also preached there. The connection with Paisley had not been broken, and Fullarton was at the deathbed of the young Lady Dundonald in Paisley in 1710, and later celebrated

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 ...

for the widowed Earl in

Paisley Abbey Paisley Abbey is a parish church of the Church of Scotland on the east bank of the River Cart, White Cart Water in the centre of the town of Paisley, Renfrewshire, about west of Glasgow, in Scotland. Its origins date from the 12th century, base ...

, "the first instance of Communion at Yule so openly celebrated in this country," according to Wodrow. By 1712, Wodrow considered Fullarton to be "the man of that piscopalianparty in most repute in this country." John Fullarton was consecrated 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 ...

by the

Archbishop of Glasgow The Archbishop of Glasgow is an archiepiscopal title that takes its name after the city of Glasgow in Scotland. The position and title were abolished by the Church of Scotland in 1689; and, in the Catholic Church, the title was restored by Pop ...

, the

and

Bishop of Dunblane The Bishop of Dunblane or Bishop of Strathearn was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Dunblane or Strathearn, one of medieval Scotland's thirteen bishoprics. It was based at Dunblane Cathedral, now a parish church of the Church of Scotlan ...

on 25 January 1705 and was elected Bishop of Edinburgh and Primus in April 1720, with limited metropolitan powers, following the death of Dr Alexander Rose. He served as Bishop until his death on 27 April 1727''per'' Bertie; other sources suggest early May 1727. at his estate at Greenhall.

Episcopate

Following his election, Fullarton appears to have made strong protestations of loyalty to the

Old Pretender James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 16881 January 1766), nicknamed the Old Pretender by Whigs or the King over the Water by Jacobites, was the House of Stuart claimant to the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland from 1701 until ...

(in exile) and to have had numerous dealings with the Old Pretender's agent, George Lockhart. (According to Thomas Stephen: "The hope of the restoration of the old dynasty was strong in the minds of the bishops...”) The ''Scottish Magazine and Churchman's Review'' summed up Fullarton's episcopate in this way: “...he greatly exerted himself to accommodate the differences which existed among the clergy respecting usages, and endeavoured also to restore a proper distribution of Episcopal superintendence, for which, however, the state of the Church was not then ripe".

Family

Fullarton married, first, Anna Haldane (who died 28 July 1679), secondly, Barbara Hamilton and, thirdly, Isobel Sinclair. His son by his second wife, John Fullarton of Greenhall, who did not long survive him, was a Surveyor of Customs.

Sources

*David M. Bertie, ''Scottish Episcopal Clergy, 1689–2000'' (Continuum International, 2000) *Thomas Stephen, ''The History of the Church of Scotland: From the Reformation to the Present Time, Vol. IV'' (John Lendrum, London, 1845) *''The Scottish Magazine and Churchman's Review'' (R. Lendrum & Co, Edinburgh, 1849) *Robert Wodrow, ''Analecta'' (1843); ''Correspondence'' (1842); ''Early Letters'' (1937)

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fullarton, John Bishops of Edinburgh Alumni of the University of Glasgow 18th-century Scottish Episcopalian bishops Nonjurors of the Glorious Revolution 1640s births 1727 deaths College bishops Primuses of the Scottish Episcopal Church