A new website by Gerald Stranraer-Mull, Dean Emeritus of Aberdeen and Orkney, tells the story of the Scottish Episcopal Church as a chronological series of dates. This useful source of reference is enlivened by vignettes drawing out the important events of each century, a preface and further reading.
It can be found at www.episcopalhistory.org
Friday, 5 July 2013
The Ethics of Church History
One of the many insights of Diarmaid MacCulloch's Gifford Lecture series on silence in Christian History, now released as a book, is that there is a profoundly ethical dimension to the careful and truthful telling of church history. His approach to silence is to see the theme in its variety of positive and negative forms. Those who are used to reading this blog will know that I have a particular fondness for telling the positive story of Christian silence insofar as it relates to under-appreciated mystical dimension of the faith, with its origins in the teachings of such early exponents as the Desert monastics, Pseudo-Dionysius and the author of the Cloud of Unknowing, and such modern champions as Thomas Merton, Bede Griffiths and William Johnston.
But it is the negative story where the question of ethics comes most into focus. Other forms of Christian silence have include the (not always complete and occasionally brutal) repression of heterodox ideas and, most significantly for contemporary Christianity, in the denial and obfuscation surrounding abuse. As well as the sexual abuse of children, MacCulloch reminds the churches of their enormous success in finding arguments to approve of the continuation of slavery and of their undeniable role in the formation and perpetuation of anti-semitic ideologies. The ethical task of the historian is the fearless identification of the causes and practice of such abuses, the analysis of the apparatus used to cover them up and the exercise of careful moral judgement in condemning wrongdoing. On that latter point, it is too easy for historians to excuse past behaviour with the qualification that it was 'reasonable by the standards of the time'. MacCulloch does the church a great service in not letting it use such a lazy way out. He points out that those who discovered some of the earliest recorded clerical abuse of children in the 17th century were fully aware of its evil. It is also important to remind ourselves that the acquiescence of a silent majority does not render moral judgement redundant. Evil is evil, even when the majority are too fearful to name it as such.
There is, I think, a relationship between MacCulloch's positive silences and the historian's task of 'demanding the constant rupture of silences around abuse'. The Christian mystical tradition places a significant emphasis on unflinching self-awareness, on tearful penitence and on inner transformation. With this in mind, the careful telling of the church's history strikes me as a deeply spiritual task as well as its most essential ethical one.
John McLuckie,
justluckie.typepad.com
But it is the negative story where the question of ethics comes most into focus. Other forms of Christian silence have include the (not always complete and occasionally brutal) repression of heterodox ideas and, most significantly for contemporary Christianity, in the denial and obfuscation surrounding abuse. As well as the sexual abuse of children, MacCulloch reminds the churches of their enormous success in finding arguments to approve of the continuation of slavery and of their undeniable role in the formation and perpetuation of anti-semitic ideologies. The ethical task of the historian is the fearless identification of the causes and practice of such abuses, the analysis of the apparatus used to cover them up and the exercise of careful moral judgement in condemning wrongdoing. On that latter point, it is too easy for historians to excuse past behaviour with the qualification that it was 'reasonable by the standards of the time'. MacCulloch does the church a great service in not letting it use such a lazy way out. He points out that those who discovered some of the earliest recorded clerical abuse of children in the 17th century were fully aware of its evil. It is also important to remind ourselves that the acquiescence of a silent majority does not render moral judgement redundant. Evil is evil, even when the majority are too fearful to name it as such.
There is, I think, a relationship between MacCulloch's positive silences and the historian's task of 'demanding the constant rupture of silences around abuse'. The Christian mystical tradition places a significant emphasis on unflinching self-awareness, on tearful penitence and on inner transformation. With this in mind, the careful telling of the church's history strikes me as a deeply spiritual task as well as its most essential ethical one.
John McLuckie,
justluckie.typepad.com
Michael Fraser, Priest of Daviot and Dunlichity 1673-1726
Strathnairn is one of the most beautiful places in Scotland -- wonderful in summer and magnificent in winter, with its tranquillity cloaking a long history. The cairns and hut circles speak of a people long ago, the church sites of Celtic saints, and the glen itself of Bonnie Prince Charlie's desperate ride from the battlefield of Culloden.
And hidden stories can be found in the lives of those who lived in the glen. That of Michael Fraser, priest of Daviot and Dunlichity for 53 years, reveals a great survivor in troubled times. He was the child of Thomas Fraser and his wife Katherine Gordon, daughter of Sir Robert and Lady Gordon of Embo. He studied at Marischal College, Aberdeen, and in 1670 was appointed schoolmaster, often in those days a forerunner to ordination, at Thurso in Caithness. He was ordained on February 19th, 1672, and the Bishop of Moray, Murdo Mackenzie, nominated him as priest at Daviot and Dunlichity on October 20th that year.
Michael Fraser's appointment came twelve years after the restoration of both King Charles II and of the Episcopal Church as the Church of Scotland. The latter change had produced little alteration in the worship within parish churches but pressure on Presbyterians gradually increased during these years. Ministers who would not conform to the Episcopal ways were forbidden to exercise their ministry and, indeed, from living within 20 miles of their former parishes. In Strathnairn Alexander Fraser, minister of Daviot and Dunlichity, was deposed for his Presbyterian views, thus creating the vacancy which the bishop wished Michael Fraser to fill.
There was, though, an immediate problem. Sir Hugh Campbell of Cawdor claimed that the bishop had no authority to appoint anyone to Daviot and Dunlichity as that right belonged to him as patron of the parish. Sir Hugh wanted to appoint the Reverend Donald Macpherson of Cawdor Church instead. Bishop and Presbytery united in favour of Michael Fraser, but Sir Hugh persisted in his claim until the bishop eventually withdrew his own nominee. However, having gained the victory, Sir Hugh himself now nominated Michael Fraser as the new priest, and his long ministry in Strathnairn began on March 4th 1673.
Bishop Mackenzie’s opinion of Michael Fraser soon changed and just after Christmas 1674 he rebuked him for being in Edinburgh and absent from the parish for too long. A few months later the Synod, annoyed by his artistic endeavours, demanded that he "abstain from all limning and painting which hitherto has diverted him from his ministerial duties". Patience had run out by 1678, the year Bishop Mackenzie died (he had resigned in 1677) and Michael Fraser was suspended from office. He was soon back in place but an enormous change was coming to the whole church. In 1688 there was revolution and James VII and II was succeeded by his daughter Mary and her husband William, the Prince of Orange. The Scottish bishops declined to recognise the new monarchs and in consequence, in 1690, the Episcopal Church was once more displaced as the Church of Scotland by a Presbyterian regime.
It made no difference in Strathnairn. Michael Fraser continued blithely on, and even when in 1694 the Presbytery formally declared the parish vacant he took absolutely no notice. And, indeed, the Presbytery took no further action against him for the next 21 years. Only after he played a prominent role in the 1715 Jacobite Rising did the Presbytery attempt another intervention. It declared him to be "an intruder at Daviot and Dunlichity". The priest then offered to resign, but only on condition that a competent person be appointed in his place.
Nothing came of it and so he stayed. Five years later a Presbytery visit to the parish received a hostile reception. Parishioners were quick to defend their priest and stones were thrown. The following year the leading gentlemen of the parish asked the Presbytery's forbearance for the priest, saying that they would concur with the Presbytery’s wishes in the event of his death "which now, in the course of nature, cannot be long". It was actually another four years, in 1726, before Michael Fraser, the great survivor, died -- still, of course, in office.
The Episcopal Church remained strong in Strathnairn and is today is represented by Saint Paul's at Croachy. The church building (the second on the site and the fourth in the glen) dates from 1868. A hall was added in 2002.
Gerald Stranraer-Mull
And hidden stories can be found in the lives of those who lived in the glen. That of Michael Fraser, priest of Daviot and Dunlichity for 53 years, reveals a great survivor in troubled times. He was the child of Thomas Fraser and his wife Katherine Gordon, daughter of Sir Robert and Lady Gordon of Embo. He studied at Marischal College, Aberdeen, and in 1670 was appointed schoolmaster, often in those days a forerunner to ordination, at Thurso in Caithness. He was ordained on February 19th, 1672, and the Bishop of Moray, Murdo Mackenzie, nominated him as priest at Daviot and Dunlichity on October 20th that year.
 |
| Dunlichity Parish Church in Strathnairn |
Michael Fraser's appointment came twelve years after the restoration of both King Charles II and of the Episcopal Church as the Church of Scotland. The latter change had produced little alteration in the worship within parish churches but pressure on Presbyterians gradually increased during these years. Ministers who would not conform to the Episcopal ways were forbidden to exercise their ministry and, indeed, from living within 20 miles of their former parishes. In Strathnairn Alexander Fraser, minister of Daviot and Dunlichity, was deposed for his Presbyterian views, thus creating the vacancy which the bishop wished Michael Fraser to fill.
There was, though, an immediate problem. Sir Hugh Campbell of Cawdor claimed that the bishop had no authority to appoint anyone to Daviot and Dunlichity as that right belonged to him as patron of the parish. Sir Hugh wanted to appoint the Reverend Donald Macpherson of Cawdor Church instead. Bishop and Presbytery united in favour of Michael Fraser, but Sir Hugh persisted in his claim until the bishop eventually withdrew his own nominee. However, having gained the victory, Sir Hugh himself now nominated Michael Fraser as the new priest, and his long ministry in Strathnairn began on March 4th 1673.
Bishop Mackenzie’s opinion of Michael Fraser soon changed and just after Christmas 1674 he rebuked him for being in Edinburgh and absent from the parish for too long. A few months later the Synod, annoyed by his artistic endeavours, demanded that he "abstain from all limning and painting which hitherto has diverted him from his ministerial duties". Patience had run out by 1678, the year Bishop Mackenzie died (he had resigned in 1677) and Michael Fraser was suspended from office. He was soon back in place but an enormous change was coming to the whole church. In 1688 there was revolution and James VII and II was succeeded by his daughter Mary and her husband William, the Prince of Orange. The Scottish bishops declined to recognise the new monarchs and in consequence, in 1690, the Episcopal Church was once more displaced as the Church of Scotland by a Presbyterian regime.
It made no difference in Strathnairn. Michael Fraser continued blithely on, and even when in 1694 the Presbytery formally declared the parish vacant he took absolutely no notice. And, indeed, the Presbytery took no further action against him for the next 21 years. Only after he played a prominent role in the 1715 Jacobite Rising did the Presbytery attempt another intervention. It declared him to be "an intruder at Daviot and Dunlichity". The priest then offered to resign, but only on condition that a competent person be appointed in his place.
Nothing came of it and so he stayed. Five years later a Presbytery visit to the parish received a hostile reception. Parishioners were quick to defend their priest and stones were thrown. The following year the leading gentlemen of the parish asked the Presbytery's forbearance for the priest, saying that they would concur with the Presbytery’s wishes in the event of his death "which now, in the course of nature, cannot be long". It was actually another four years, in 1726, before Michael Fraser, the great survivor, died -- still, of course, in office.
 |
| Saint Paul’s Church and Hall in Strathnairn |
The Episcopal Church remained strong in Strathnairn and is today is represented by Saint Paul's at Croachy. The church building (the second on the site and the fourth in the glen) dates from 1868. A hall was added in 2002.
Gerald Stranraer-Mull
Sunday, 30 June 2013
Alexander MacDonald: Bard Of The Gaelic Enlightenment
This newly published set of thirteen conference papers on the Jacobite poet Alexander MacDonald was reviewed in the Herald:
His story provides a welcome counter to the modern fallacy that presents the Scottish Episcopal Church as the English Church. Whatever the ethnic origins of those who sit in its pews today, it was a very Scottish church whose genealogy goes back to Columba's Iona.Click here to read the full article.
Friday, 28 June 2013
The Sad Story of James Lundin Cooper
Eleanor Harris is researching the 430 individuals who appear in the registers of Charlotte Episcopal Chapel, Edinburgh, 1794-1818. James Lundin Cooper of Kirkcaldy, and his unfortunate bride Sarah Brown, were amongst them...
In 1816, twenty-five-year-old James Lundin Cooper brought his bride Sarah Brown to Edinburgh to be married by Bishop Daniel Sandford in the stylish Charlotte Chapel. He was a writer in Kirkcaldy and she was the daughter of a local merchant. He appears a few years later practising his profession, administering the estate of a bankrupt businessman in Kirkcaldy.
Cooper was an ambitious man, and not content to remain merely a provincial lawyer he sought his fortune in business. By 1830 he was manager of the Kirkcaldy and London Shipping Company, which ran three ships and employed three Captains, rejoicing in the names of Moir, Morison and Mann. As the leading Manager (or vestryman) of the Episcopal Chapel in Kirkcaldy, he successfully charmed the energetic, young and dedicated priest Mr Marshall into replacing their decrepit old incumbent, even though the chapel could only offer a paltry £20 stipend. Meanwhile his family prospered: Sarah bore him three chidren, Elizabeth, Michael and Mary.
It quickly became clear to Rev Marshall, however, that Cooper and his fellow managers were running a racket, giving themselves huge discounts on seat-rents, keeping Marshall's salary low, and 'finding it convenient that the clause should fall into disuse' which stipulated that the whole congregation should choose their managers annually, preferring instead to appoint themselves for life.
When the priest tried to rectify the situation, the managers went to the bishop, accusing Marshall of immorality, neglect of duty, and (when this didn't work), insanity. This was a great mistake: Marshall was well-respected, and eloquent clergy weighed in to defend his character from this evident nonsense. Cooper, one of them reported, 'had the modesty to offer evidence to Bishop Torry that Mr Marshall is (or was) insane, and in his hand writing came forth a document in which that gentleman was charged with going to a theatre and dining out.' Cooper, who had been the man of education and status amongst the merchants and shoemakers on the vestry, was made to look very foolish by being represented in the lead actor in this farce.
Whereas other managers left the Episcopal Church altogether and began attending the Kirk -- although they still made a point of turning up to collect the contents of the collection plate, and chattering and laughing in the porch during Mr Marshall's service -- James does appear to have put his head down and attempted to make amends with the priest.
But it was too late. Whether it was divine judgement, the discrediting of his character, bad luck or similarly bad judgement in his business dealings, Cooper went bankrupt in 1836. In 1838 his daughters Elizabeth and Mary died, and the following year James himself went to his grave. His teenage son Michael only outlived him by two years. I don't know what happened to Sarah. Perhaps she remarried.
One could take various morals from this story. I suppose the first might be, don't accuse your priest of insanity if you meet him at the theatre.
Eleanor Harris.
In 1816, twenty-five-year-old James Lundin Cooper brought his bride Sarah Brown to Edinburgh to be married by Bishop Daniel Sandford in the stylish Charlotte Chapel. He was a writer in Kirkcaldy and she was the daughter of a local merchant. He appears a few years later practising his profession, administering the estate of a bankrupt businessman in Kirkcaldy.
Cooper was an ambitious man, and not content to remain merely a provincial lawyer he sought his fortune in business. By 1830 he was manager of the Kirkcaldy and London Shipping Company, which ran three ships and employed three Captains, rejoicing in the names of Moir, Morison and Mann. As the leading Manager (or vestryman) of the Episcopal Chapel in Kirkcaldy, he successfully charmed the energetic, young and dedicated priest Mr Marshall into replacing their decrepit old incumbent, even though the chapel could only offer a paltry £20 stipend. Meanwhile his family prospered: Sarah bore him three chidren, Elizabeth, Michael and Mary.
It quickly became clear to Rev Marshall, however, that Cooper and his fellow managers were running a racket, giving themselves huge discounts on seat-rents, keeping Marshall's salary low, and 'finding it convenient that the clause should fall into disuse' which stipulated that the whole congregation should choose their managers annually, preferring instead to appoint themselves for life.
When the priest tried to rectify the situation, the managers went to the bishop, accusing Marshall of immorality, neglect of duty, and (when this didn't work), insanity. This was a great mistake: Marshall was well-respected, and eloquent clergy weighed in to defend his character from this evident nonsense. Cooper, one of them reported, 'had the modesty to offer evidence to Bishop Torry that Mr Marshall is (or was) insane, and in his hand writing came forth a document in which that gentleman was charged with going to a theatre and dining out.' Cooper, who had been the man of education and status amongst the merchants and shoemakers on the vestry, was made to look very foolish by being represented in the lead actor in this farce.
Whereas other managers left the Episcopal Church altogether and began attending the Kirk -- although they still made a point of turning up to collect the contents of the collection plate, and chattering and laughing in the porch during Mr Marshall's service -- James does appear to have put his head down and attempted to make amends with the priest.
But it was too late. Whether it was divine judgement, the discrediting of his character, bad luck or similarly bad judgement in his business dealings, Cooper went bankrupt in 1836. In 1838 his daughters Elizabeth and Mary died, and the following year James himself went to his grave. His teenage son Michael only outlived him by two years. I don't know what happened to Sarah. Perhaps she remarried.
One could take various morals from this story. I suppose the first might be, don't accuse your priest of insanity if you meet him at the theatre.
Eleanor Harris.
One-Day Seminar, Perth, 12 October 2013
The next meeting of the Scottish Episcopal Historians network will take place on 12 October 2013 at Perth Cathedral.
Papers are invited on any aspect of Scottish Episcopal history.
If you would like to present a paper or attend, please contact eleanormharris@gmail.com
Papers are invited on any aspect of Scottish Episcopal history.
If you would like to present a paper or attend, please contact eleanormharris@gmail.com
Eleanor Harris
Eleanor Harris is working on a PhD, 'The Episcopal Congregation of Charlotte Chapel, Edinburgh, 1792-1818' at the University of Stirling. She is particularly interested in the influence of Episcopalianism in the political, intellectual and domestic culture of Scotland and beyond.
Eleanor is a keen public speaker whose audiences have included the Ecclesiastical History Society, Old Edinburgh Club, Scottish Festival of History, Sydney Smith Association and Georgian House Volunteers. She is also a founder-member of the Scottish Episcopal Historians and editor of this blog.
Her first peer-reviewed paper, 'Reconciliation and Revival: Bishop Daniel Sandford of Edinburgh, 1766-1830', is due to be published in Records of the Scottish Church History Society this year.
Eleanor can be contacted at eleanormharris@gmail.com. You can also keep up to date with her work @eleanormharris on twitter and facebook.
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