THE MOUNTAIN SANCTUARY, Bleak was the winter Sabbath morn, When the persecuted left their caves, To worship the Most High. An unfrequented mountain-gorge Received a trembling flock ; Their canopy was mist and clouds— Their altar was the rock. And from that lonely, rugged spot, Ascended, rich and rare, The incense of the contrite heart— […]
A Background sketch to the 1798 Rebellion NOTE: This is only a sketch. There were many complex issues for both Catholic and Protestants which would take a forest or two to write about. Protestants at first were those adhering to the established Church of Ireland; the non conformist Presbyterians were themselves subject of discrimination during […]
Rev. Richard Cameron The battle of Bothwell Brig on 22 June 1679 had a great effect upon the Covenanters in general and a silence seemed to come down on their protestations with the government. To many it resolved into bickering between themselves and only a few muted voices were raised in support of the ideals […]
THE WALDENSIAN “NOBLE LESSON” The “Noble Lesson” a poem that appeared ca 1100AD is a statement of beliefs held by the Waldensians. It is probably founded on earlier traditions and culture of the Waldensian Valleys that go back at least to the fourth and fifth centuries, and the time of Pope Sylvester (314-336AD) and the […]
The Consecration of St Catherine Cree, London, 16 January 1630 by Bishop Laud. (as described by Wm Prynne “Canterbury Doom” 1646 and Hume`s History.) An example of Laud`s liking for ritual and ceremony. “When the Bishop approached near the communion-table, he bowed with his nose very near the ground six or seven times. Then he […]
Charles I. 1625 – 30 Jan 1649. There were many undercurrents at work concerning religion and the economic state of the country but Charles I exacerbated matters by maintaining a closed court. Access to him personally was strictly maintained which increased the isolation of his natural courtiers. The perception certainly grew that he was greatly […]
Covenanter sites and monuments. April 2002 seems to have been a fruitful month for the discovery of Covenanter sites and monuments. In Gourock a spring called the Covenanter`s or White`s Well has been discovered; and in Dumfries some original monumental stones, almost certainly the work of Robert Paterson – `Old Mortality`, have been retrieved from […]
Solemn League & Covenant 25 Sept 1643. At the end of the Bishops` Wars and the return of the English Long Parliament in November 1640 there was a public dissatisfaction with the bishops and episcopacy in the church. This gathered momentum with the attempt to arrest the Five Members. Subsequent to that a bill was […]
The Surrender of Charles I. Valiant though the endeavours of Montrose were, he received disservice from Charles I who was negotiating with the Covenanters even while Montrose and his forces were fighting. Ever the opportunist, Charles still hoped to swing the country to his side by leaving Montrose to wage war; and there can be […]
David DICKSON Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae, H Scott (1915) vol 1 p 64, St Giles Second charge , 1650 Of Busby, born Glasgow 1583, son of John D., a wealthy merchant of the Trongate,was at first intended for the mercantile profession, but afterwards studied for the Church. After becoming M.A. of Glasgow, he was appointed Regent […]
After the break with Rome. Henry VIII (r1509 -1547) established himself as Supreme head of the Church of England but he might as well said it was the Catholic Church in England. His break with the papacy was just that as Henry subsumed to himself the role of the Pope and the church continued for […]
The episcopal honeymoon. The struggle against the `Divine Right` policies of the Stuart kings included the imposition of episcopacy on the Presbyterian Church in Scotland. The seventeenth century saw three periods of ascendancy for each practice, underlying which was the friction between moderate ministers who were prepared to accept varying degrees of change, and a […]
Wolsey`s perception of the reforms needed in the catholic church. [ A summary from Cardinal Wolsey by Mandell Creighton, Bishop of Peterborough Pub. 1895 ] Wolsey saw how precarious a condition the church was in. He knew that in many things the church was wrong and that it would have to give way, but he […]
16th century England – a snapshot. At the turn of the sixteenth century the church of Rome was possibly at its most powerful, but contrastingly at a very low ebb in the common man`s perception. At the Fifth Lateran Council in 1512 – 1517 the remark was passed “Now nobody contradicts, no one opposes” and […]