medieval-atlas/the-church/394

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Covenanter dominance In the wake of a political and ecclesiastical revolution the Covenanters between 1638 and 1651 purged their episcopalian and other opponents among the ministry of the kirk. As a crude index of the growth of persecution and bitterness 236 depositions are plotted on this map to show their chronological and geographical pattern. This is a minimum figure based on the surviving evidence. Perhaps as many as 10% of these depositions may have been for reasons other than persecution (such as immorality or inadequacy), yet interesting patterns emerge. The years 1638-40 saw systematic deposition in the south of opponents of the Covenanters (78 depositions, 52 in 1639). It was most severe where there was majority support for the Covenanters but also a substantial minority opposed to them -Edinburgh, St Andrews, Glasgow and Ayr. There was little taste for deposing colleagues in the north, and when purging came there later (if at all), it was on the initiative ofthe general assembly rather than ofthe local courts. There was a lull during 1641-3 with only 15 scattered depositions. More systematic purging came during 1644-7, mainly ofministers who showed support for, or more commonly insufficient active hostility to, royalist revolts (8 depositions). Finally in 164851 purging became more intense than ever before (105 cases, 52 in 1649) as the extremist Kirk Party regime purged the more moderate ministers who had supported the Engagers' invasion of England in 1648, and also those in the far north who had failed to denounce Montrose's landing in 1650. Then as bitter fighting of factions followed among the Kirk Party in the face of moderate and royalist revival, in 1651 for the first time ministers (3) were deposed for being too extreme rather than too moderate, as the majority faction of Revolutions sought to subdue their Protester opponents. ~ ~ f:j ~rf!:P c!}~ Kirkwall (1 8 , xooo 0000 0000 FIFE Synods Perth Presbyteries 6. One minister deposed 1638-40 o 1641~ x 1644-7 kms o 1648-51 0 25, 50 75 100 I I i I I I I In 1644 the presbytery of Biggar was 0 10 20 30 40 50 60 detached from Lanark and Peebles miles presbyteries, and all of it included in DS Depositions of ministers 1638 to 1651 Lothian synod. 394

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