Thomas Sydserf(f), or St. Serf, (1581 – 1663) was a Scottish minister 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 ...

who served as Protestant Bishop first of Brechin, then Galloway and finally Orkney.

Life

The eldest son of James Sydserf, an Edinburgh merchant, Sydserf graduated 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 1602 before travelling 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 ...

to study at the

University of Heidelberg Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...

. After returning to Scotland, he entered the ministry, beginning at St Giles' parish,

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

in 1611. 15 years later, in January 1626, he was translated to

Trinity College Kirk Trinity College Kirk was a Scottish monarchy, royal collegiate church in Edinburgh, Scotland. The kirk and its adjacent almshouse, Trinity Hospital, were founded in 1460 by Mary of Guelders in memory of her husband, King James II of Sco ...

, Edinburgh, before being promoted to Dean of

on 19 February 1634 (based at

St Giles Cathedral St Giles' Cathedral (), or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in the Old Town of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended until the early 16th century; significant alteratio ...

).''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae''; by Hew Scott However, in the same year, and on the recommendation of

William Laud William Laud (; 7 October 1573 – 10 January 1645) was a bishop in the Church of England. Appointed Archbishop of Canterbury by Charles I of England, Charles I in 1633, Laud was a key advocate of Caroline era#Religion, Charles I's religious re ...

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

, he ascended to episcopal rank, receiving consecration as

Bishop of Brechin The Bishop of Brechin is a title held successively, since c. 1150: (firstly) by bishops of the Catholic church until the Reformation of 1560; (secondly) by bishops of the Church of Scotland until that church declared itself presbyterian in ...

on 29 July. In the following year, on 30 August 1635, he was translated as

Bishop of Galloway The Bishop of Galloway, also called the Bishop of Whithorn, is the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Galloway, said to have been founded by Saint Ninian in the mid-5th century. The subsequent Anglo-Saxon bishopric was founded in the late 7 ...

. Sydserf was very much a

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 ...

, pro-

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 ...

, and inclined to be highly sympathetic towards

Arminianism Arminianism is a movement of Protestantism initiated in the early 17th century, based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. Dutch Arminianism was origina ...

. These views brought him much conflict in Scotland, and as Bishop of Galloway, he exercised his episcopal powers against his ideological opponents. He supported the introduction in 1637 of an English-style

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the title given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christianity, Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The Book of Common Prayer (1549), fi ...

, and for this, he was attacked on several occasions by mobs in

Falkirk Falkirk ( ; ; ) is a town in the Central Lowlands of Scotland, historically within the county of Stirlingshire. It lies in the Forth Valley, northwest of Edinburgh and northeast of Glasgow. Falkirk had a resident population of 32,422 at the ...

Dalkeith Dalkeith ( ; , ) is a town in Midlothian, Scotland, on the River Esk. It was granted a burgh of barony in 1401 and a burgh of regality in 1541. The settlement of Dalkeith grew southwestwards from its 12th-century castle (now Dalkeith Pala ...

and Edinburgh. Some went further and accused him of being a

Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...

: he was alleged to wear a

crucifix A crucifix (from the Latin meaning '(one) fixed to a cross') is a cross with an image of Jesus on it, as distinct from a bare cross. The representation of Jesus himself on the cross is referred to in English as the (Latin for 'body'). The cru ...

. He was finally deposed by the General Assembly of the Scottish church on 13 December 1638. Sydserf thereafter went to England, briefly becoming a follower of King

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

, before moving to continental Europe. He returned to Scotland, and after

the Restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state. This may refer to: *Conservation and restoration of cultural property **Audio restoration **Conservation and restoration of immovable cultural property **Film restoration ** Image ...

and reimposition of Episcopacy in Scotland, was reinstated as a bishop, though on this occasion becoming

Bishop of Orkney The Bishop of Orkney was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Orkney, one of thirteen medieval bishoprics of Scotland. It included both Orkney and Shetland. It was based for almost all of its history at St Magnus Cathedral, Kirkwall. The ...

. He was the only pre-1638 bishop to be reinstated as a bishop in Scotland after the Restoration. He lobbied hard to be made

Primate of Scotland 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 o ...

but without success. His willingness to ordain as a clergyman anyone who asked him attracted much criticism, a fact recorded by

Samuel Pepys Samuel Pepys ( ; 23 February 1633 – 26 May 1703) was an English writer and Tories (British political party), Tory politician. He served as an official in the Navy Board and Member of Parliament (England), Member of Parliament, but is most r ...

in his famous diary. Sydserf died in Edinburgh on 29 September 1663 and is buried in Greyfriars Churchyard (location unknown). Sydserf was responsible for remodelling the

nave The nave () is the central part of a church, stretching from the (normally western) main entrance or rear wall, to the transepts, or in a church without transepts, to the chancel. When a church contains side aisles, as in a basilica-type ...

Whithorn Priory Whithorn Priory was a medieval Scottish monastery that also served as a cathedral, located at 6 Bruce Street in Whithorn, Wigtownshire, Dumfries and Galloway (54.7357N, 4.415954W; OS grid reference NX445405). History The priory was founded ...

in line with the new styles of worship he tried to promote. Although not formally a member of the Hartlib Circle, he was on friendly terms with some of its members including

Arnold Boate Arnold Boate, originally called de Boot (1606–1653) was a Dutch physician, writer and Hebraist who spent much of his life abroad, and lived for several years in Dublin. There he married Margaret Dongan, a judge's daughter, whom he portrayed lovi ...

, who dedicated to Sydserf his memoir of his wife Margaret Dongan. Their friendship was apparently not affected by Boate's closeness to

Oliver Cromwell Oliver Cromwell (25 April 15993 September 1658) was an English statesman, politician and soldier, widely regarded as one of the most important figures in British history. He came to prominence during the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, initially ...

, for whom he is said to have acted as a spy.

Family

In 1624 he married Rachel Byers, the daughter of an Edinburgh magistrate: they had four sons and four daughters, including Thomas junior, a popular

dramatist A playwright or dramatist is a person who writes plays, which are a form of drama that primarily consists of dialogue between characters and is intended for theatrical performance rather than just reading. Ben Jonson coined the term "playwri ...

and journalist.

References

*Adams, Sharon, "Sydserff, Thomas (1581–1663)", in the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, Sept 2004; online edn, May 200
retrieved 4 May 2007
*Keith, Robert, ''An Historical Catalogue of the Scottish Bishops: Down to the Year 1688'', (London, 1824), pp. 228, 281 * Watt, D.E.R., ''Fasti Ecclesiae Scotinanae Medii Aevi ad annum 1638'', 2nd Draft, (St Andrews, 1969), pp. 42, 127, 133 , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Sydserf, Thomas 1581 births 1663 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Arminian ministers Bishops of Brechin (Church of Scotland) Bishops of Galloway (Church of Scotland) Bishops of Orkney Heidelberg University alumni 17th-century Scottish Episcopalian bishops 1581 in Scotland Deans of Edinburgh Scottish Restoration bishops Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1661–1663