Thomas Wilkie (1645-1711) was a Scottish minister who was elected Moderator of the Church of Scotland twice: once in 1701 [1] : 627 and once in 1704. [1] : 659 He was the minister at the Kirk of the Canongate. [2]
Thomas Wilkie (1645-1711) was a Scottish minister who was elected Moderator of the Church of Scotland twice: once in 1701 [1] : 627 and once in 1704. [1] : 659 He was the minister at the Kirk of the Canongate. [2]
He was born on 6 April 1645 the son of N. N. Wilkie. [3] His uncle Rev Thomas Wilkie (1638-1717) was the minister of Tolbooth Parish in Edinburgh (housed in St Giles Cathedral), the parish which was the forerunner of Canongate Kirk. [4] He studied at Edinburgh University and graduated MA in 1662. [5]
In January 1672 he translated from Galashiels Parish Church to North Leith Parish Church in the harbour district of Edinburgh. In 1687 he moved to Tolbooth Parish in Edinburgh town centre. [5]
During Wilkie's ministry at North Leith the building was remodelled, adding a tower/Dutch steeple on the north-east corner (dated 1675) to balance the additional height added to the body of the church to accommodate Cromwell's troops in the 1650s. This tower had the first public clock in Leith. [6]
In 1678, Hector Allan, a Quaker in Leith was found guilty of "abusing and railing" (i.e. verbally insulting) Thomas Wilkie and was rather harshly sent to the prison on the Bass Rock for this. He was later instead placed in the Leith Tolbooth (prison) until he repented. [7]
He was the first minister to preach in the new Canongate Kirk following its construction (begun in 1688). [8] He was placed as minister of the Canongate congregation in May 1689 but spent over two years preaching from their temporary home at Lady Yester's Church near the Edinburgh High School. [5]
On 14 January 1690 he formed the first kirk session. The congregation continued to meet in a meeting house until 22 August 1691 when the keys of the new church were passed to him. [5]
He died in Edinburgh on 19 March 1711. [9] He is buried in Canongate Kirkyard against the east wall of the church.
His will bequeathed 400 books to Edinburgh University's Divinity Hall. [5]
He was married to Rachel Sinclair, widow of William Hog WS and daughter of Rev John Sinclair of Ormiston. [10]
Alexander Webster was a Scottish writer and minister of the Church of Scotland, who served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1753. After his service as Moderator he was addressed as Very Rev Dr Alexander Webster.
Greyfriars Kirk is a parish church of the Church of Scotland, located in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is surrounded by Greyfriars Kirkyard.
The Kirk of the Canongate, or Canongate Kirk, serves the Parish of Canongate in Edinburgh's Old Town, in Scotland. It is a congregation of the Church of Scotland. The parish includes the Palace of Holyroodhouse and the Scottish Parliament. It is also the parish church of Edinburgh Castle, even though the castle is detached from the rest of the parish. The wedding of Zara Phillips, the Queen's granddaughter, and former England rugby captain Mike Tindall took place at the church on 30 July 2011. The late Queen Elizabeth II used to attend services in the church on some of her frequent visits to Edinburgh.
William Wishart (1660–1729) was a Church of Scotland minister and the Principal of Edinburgh University from 1716 to 1728. He is not to be confused with his son William Wishart (secundus), who was subsequently the Principal of Edinburgh University from 1736 to 1754.
North and South Leith Parish Church, originally the Kirk of Our Lady, St Mary, is a congregation of the Church of Scotland. Prior to the union with the former North Leith Parish Church in 2024, the building was known as South Leith Parish Church.
The Canongate Kirkyard stands around Canongate Kirk on the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, Scotland. The churchyard was used for burials from the late 1680s until the mid-20th century.
Lady Yester's Kirk was a parish church of the Church of Scotland and one of the burgh churches of Edinburgh. Founded in 1647, it served the south-eastern part of Edinburgh's Old Town until its union with Greyfriars Kirk in 1938.
North Leith Parish Church was a congregation of the Church of Scotland, within the Presbytery of Edinburgh. It served part of Leith, formerly an independent burgh and since 1920 a part of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland.
Thomas Hardy FRSE was a Scottish Minister, Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1793 and Professor of Eccesiastical History at Edinburgh University. He was also Dean of the Chapel Royal and Chaplain in Ordinary to the King.
Robert Wallace was a minister of the Church of Scotland and writer on population.
Patrick MacFarlan was a Scottish minister who served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1834 and as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland in 1845.
Lewis Balfour (1777–1860) was a Scottish Church of Scotland minister and grandfather to the author Robert Louis Stevenson.
John Greig was a Presbyterian minister from Scotland.
James Kirkton (1628–1699) was a Church of Scotland minister and author.
Thomas Randall Davidson (1747–1827) was a Church of Scotland minister and landowner.
James Lundie was a Church of Scotland minister who held several charges in Edinburgh.
David Johnstone (1734–1824) was a Church of Scotland minister who served almost 60 years as minister of North Leith Parish Church. He was Chaplain in Ordinary to King George IV in Scotland.
Robert Walker (1716–1783) was a Church of Scotland minister and historian who served as Moderator of the General Assembly in 1771. His views were strongly Calvinistic.
West St Giles' Parish Church was a parish church of the Church of Scotland and a burgh church of Edinburgh, Scotland. Occupying the Haddo's Hole division of St Giles' from 1699, the church was then based in Marchmont between 1883 and its closure in 1972.