Author Topic: Dumfries: Some 17th Century Religious confusion  (Read 1713 times)

Offline crb83

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Dumfries: Some 17th Century Religious confusion
« on: Friday 06 September 13 15:30 BST (UK) »
As if there wasn't enough :)

I'm trying to figure out what religion my ancestors would have been.  I have records from the birth register of the Burgh Church of Dumfries 1604-1620 before their emigration to Ireland.  But was this church Presbyterian at the time or was it Episcopalian?  I've been a little confused because James VI was episcopalian and so I'm figuring that a burgh church may have been the religion of the King of Scots, would I be correct in that?

They were likely catholics at least up until this point, a long line of them were chaplains and my ancestor John Macklayne was a laird of Lord Maxwell, who sheltered a lot of catholic families in the area at the time of the reformation.  This is still a bit of a confusing time to understand religion-wise and I'm not even sure that individual churches would have been quite sectarian.
Maclean-variants; Cavan-Westmeath

Offline Dauvit95

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Re: Dumfries: Some 17th Century Religious confusion
« Reply #1 on: Friday 06 September 13 16:08 BST (UK) »
In 1560 the Scottish Parliament passed the "Papal Jurisdiction Act" which repealed the Pope's jurisdiction over the church of Scotland.  It was voted in with almost unanimous support (the Bishops having boycotted Parliament in protest).  It was popular in many parts of the country, especially the burghs.  Much of Dumfriesshire went on to become a staunch bastion of Calvinist Presbyterianism and Samuel Rutherford himself (a significant Presbyterian theologian) was a member of the Presbytery of Dumfries, as the minister at Anworth from 1627.  King James VI had no say over the church or the appointment of its ministers.  it was his son Charles I who tried unsuccessfully to impose Episcopalian worship.  So between 1604-1620, 40 -50 years (two generations) after the reformation, the Burgh Kirk at Dumfries was very Presbyterian. 

Offline RJ_Paton

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Re: Dumfries: Some 17th Century Religious confusion
« Reply #2 on: Friday 06 September 13 16:55 BST (UK) »
Although in England the Monarch is accepted as the Head of the Established Church this isn't the case in Scotland where although the Church of Scotland is also described as the Established Church its governance is very different. (The CoS accepts only Christ as the Head of the Church)

1638 saw the signing of the First National Covenant and the beginning of extreme unrest in Scotland as Charles I tried to impose his views upon the Church and people.

As to your ancestors it is most likely that they followed the Presbyterian Church in Dumfries but they may have retained their RC faith in secret - in Scotland this didn't carry the death penalty that it did for long periods in England. Unfortunately this is something that you are not likely to establish