List of Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is a complete list of Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland from the Reformation to the present day. The location of the parish or other post during the Moderator's year in office is listed in brackets.
Since 1714 the General Assembly has normally been held annually every May. Moderators-designate are nominated in the October of the previous year; a formal vote is taken at start of the General Assembly in May, then the new Moderator takes the chair. They holds office for one year; their final act is to formally open the following year's General Assembly and preside over the formal election of a successor.
The Moderator of the current year, while serving their term as Moderator, is styled "The Right Reverend", while past Moderators are styled "The Very Reverend". [1]
No General Assembly until 1638
No General Assembly after 1653 until the restoration of Presbyterianism in 1690. From 1662 to 1673 Walter Bruce of Inverkeithing was "Constant Moderator. [5] Patrick Sympson was Constant Moderator from an unknown date to Spring 1690. [6] Gabriel Cunningham acted as Interim Moderator in 1690 (as though there had been no gap) until Kennedie was chosen to succeed him.
The "Disruption" in the Church of Scotland took place in 1843, with approximately one-third of the ministers leaving to form the Free Church of Scotland. The Moderator in this critical year was Duncan Macfarlan (High Church of Glasgow)
The union of the Church of Scotland and the United Free Church of Scotland occurred in 1929, the newly reunited church henceforth being known as the Church of Scotland.
The Dean Cemetery is a historically important Victorian cemetery north of the Dean Village, west of Edinburgh city centre, in Scotland. It lies between Queensferry Road and the Water of Leith, bounded on its east side by Dean Path and on its west by the Dean Gallery. A 20th-century extension lies detached from the main cemetery to the north of Ravelston Terrace. The main cemetery is accessible through the main gate on its east side, through a "grace and favour" access door from the grounds of Dean Gallery and from Ravelston Terrace. The modern extension is only accessible at the junction of Dean Path and Queensferry Road.
Robert Rollock was Scottish academic and minister in the Church of Scotland, and the first regent and first principal of the University of Edinburgh. Born into a noble family, he distinguished himself during his education at the University of St Andrews, which led to him being appointed regent of the newly created college in Edinburgh in 1583, and its first principal in 1586.
Alexander Gerard FRSE was a Scottish minister, academic and philosophical writer. In 1764 he was the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
William Laurence Brown was a Scottish minister.
Alexander Arbuthnot (1538–1583) was a Scottish ecclesiastic poet, "an eminent divine, and zealous promoter of the Protestant Reformation in Scotland". He was Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in both 1573 and 1577.
The Cathedral of St Andrew is a ruined cathedral in St Andrews, Fife, Scotland. It was built in 1158 and became the centre of the Medieval Catholic Church in Scotland as the seat of the Archdiocese of St Andrews and the Bishops and Archbishops of St Andrews. It fell into disuse and ruin after Catholic mass was outlawed during the 16th-century Scottish Reformation. It is currently a monument in the custody of Historic Environment Scotland. The ruins indicate that the building was approximately 119 m (390 ft) long, and is the largest church to have been built in Scotland.
Iain Richard Torrance, is a retired Church of Scotland minister, theologian and academic. He is Pro-Chancellor of the University of Aberdeen, Honorary Professor of Early Christian Doctrine and Ethics at the University of Edinburgh, President and Professor of Patristics Emeritus at Princeton Theological Seminary, and an Extra Chaplain to Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II in Scotland. He was formerly Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Dean of the Chapel Royal in Scotland, and Dean of the Order of the Thistle. He is married to Morag Ann, whom he met while they were students at the University of St Andrews, and they have two children.
The Grange is an affluent suburb of Edinburgh, just south of the city centre, with Morningside and Greenhill to the west, Newington to the east, The Meadows park and Marchmont to the north, and Blackford Hill to the south. It is a conservation area characterised by large early Victorian stone-built villas and mansions, often with very large gardens. The Grange was built mainly between 1830 and 1890, and the area represented the idealisation of country living within an urban setting.
Reverend Dr John Lee FRSE was a Scottish academic and polymath, and the Principal of the University of Edinburgh from 1840 to 1859. He was Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1844.
William Wishart (secundus) (1691/92–1753) was a Scottish clergyman who served as the Principal of Edinburgh University from 1736 to 1753. He served as Moderator of the General Assembly for the Church of Scotland in 1745.
Cramond Kirk is a church situated in the middle area Cramond parish, in the north west of Edinburgh, Scotland. Built on the site of an old Roman fort, parts of the Cramond Kirk building date back to the fourteenth century and the church tower is considered to be the oldest part.
John Strang (1584–1654) was a Scottish minister and Principal of Glasgow University. He was a signator to the National Covenant of 1638.
Greyfriars Kirkyard is the graveyard surrounding Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located at the southern edge of the Old Town, adjacent to George Heriot's School. Burials have been taking place since the late 16th century, and a number of notable Edinburgh residents are interred at Greyfriars. The Kirkyard is operated by City of Edinburgh Council in liaison with a charitable trust, which is linked to but separate from the church. The Kirkyard and its monuments are protected as a category A listed building.
John Drysdale FRSE was twice Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, both in 1773 and in 1784. He was Dean of the Chapel Royal in Scotland 1766 to 1788, and Chaplain in Ordinary to George III. He was brother-in-law to Robert Adam and father-in-law to Andrew Dalzell.
Robert Hamilton FRSE was Professor of Divinity at the University of Edinburgh. He served twice as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and was also a co-founder of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
William Muir FRSE (1787–1869) was a Scottish minister of the Church of Scotland. He served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1838.
Andrew Ramsay (1574–1659) was a minister of the Church of Scotland, academic at the University of Edinburgh, and writer of Latin poetry.
Andrew Duncan was a Latin scholar and Church of Scotland minister at Crail. He achieved notoriety for his presbyterian principles which brought him into conflict with James VI who wished to impose an episcopalian system. He attended the General Assembly of Aberdeen in 1605 which had been proscribed or prorogued by royal authority and was one of six ministers who were imprisoned and later exiled as a result. He was allowed to return after several years in France but was subsequently banished again following further controversy in failing to comply with the Five Articles of Perth. He died in exile in Berwick-upon-Tweed in 1626.
James Fairlie was a Scottish minister of the Church of Scotland. He was minister of Greyfriars Kirk in Edinburgh and briefly served as both Professor of Divinity at the University of Edinburgh (1629-30) and as Bishop of Argyll (1637-8).
Thomas Blackwell (1660–1728) was a Church of Scotland minister who was principal of Marischal College in Aberdeen from 1717 to 1728.