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This thesis deals with the theology and development of the Evangelical Episcopalian movement in nineteenth-century Scotland. Such a study facilitates the construction of a detailed doctrinal and social profile of these Churchmen, hitherto unavailable. In the introduction an extensive investigation is provided, identifying individuals within the group and assessing their numerical strength. Chapter 2 shows the locations of Evangelical Episcopalian churches and suggests reasons for their geographical distribution. Chapter 3 investigates some sermons and writings of various clergy and laypersons, highlighting the doctrinal beliefs of Scottish Evangelical Episcopalians and placing them within the spectrum of Evangelical Anglicanism and showing affinities with Scottish Presbyterianism. Chapter 4 concerns the lifestyle of members of the group, covering areas such as marriage, family, leisure and philanthropy. Chapter 5 provides a numerical analysis of the social make-up of various congregations paying particular attention to the success achieved in reaching the working classes. Chapters 6 and 7 examine the issues faced by Scottish Evangelical Episcopalians in an age of increasing Tractarian and Roman Catholic activity. Topics covered include the theology of baptism and the communion service. The contrast between Evangelical belief and that of orthodox Scottish High Churchmen and Virtualists is clarified. Chapter 8 explains the factors contributing to the secession of D. T. K. Drummond from the Scottish Episcopal Church and the formation of the English Episcopal movement. Further disruptions are discussed in Chapter 9. Chapter 10 provides a detailed analysis of the development and eventual fragmentation of English Episcopalianism. Chapter 11 concludes the thesis with an evaluation of the contribution of English Episcopalianism to the history of the Scottish Episcopal Church and the reasons for its emergence. The thesis thus provides a detailed examination of the motives which drove the adherents of this important facet of nineteenth-century British Evangelicalism.

This main aim of this thesis is to conclusively demonstrate that John Spottiswoode was one of the most important churchman in early modern Scotland. He was, it will be shown, the most authoritative and impressive of Scotland's post-Refonriation bishops. Spottiswoode was the principal ecclesiastic in James VI's reconstruction of an episcopal church in Scotland after 1603 when he was appointed Archbisiop of Glasgow. This was followed by his prestigious translation to the metropolitan see of St Andrews in 1615 from where he presided over those controversial liturgical reforms of the succeeding years of the Jacobean era. Moreover, as a prominent member of the Scottish government he was heavily involved in secular politics and administration throughout the absentee kingship of James VI and that of his son, Charles I. This study, however, will confine itself to charting the archbishop's ecclesiastical and political ascendancy and involvement within the Scottish Jacobean church and state. Although Spottiswoode was without question a loyal supporter of the crown, it will be shown that he was no sycophant. Therefore, it is necessary to provide an analysis of the qualities and characteristics that made Spottiswoode such an influential figure and beneficiary of royal largesse between 1603 and 1625. Through focusing on the activities and objectives of Archbishop Spottiswoode throughout the reign of James VI, this thesis also aims to challenge the popular notion that the Church of Scotland functioned efficiently and harmoniously throughout the reign of"rex pacificus". Furthermore, the idea that an absolutist state existed in Scotland after the regal union will be exposed as fanciful.

John Erskine was the leading Evangelical in the Church of Scotland in the latter half of the eighteenth century. Educated in an enlightened setting at Edinburgh University, he learned to appreciate the epistemology of John Locke and other empiricists alongside key Scottish Enlightenment figures such as his ecclesiastical rival, William Robertson. Although groomed to follow in his father’s footsteps as a lawyer, Erskine changed career paths in order to become a minister of the Kirk. He was deeply moved by the endemic revivals in the west of Scotland and determined that his contribution to the burgeoning Evangelical movement on both sides of the Atlantic would be much greater as a clergyman than a lawyer. Yet Erskine was no ‘enthusiast’. He integrated the style and moral teachings of the Enlightenment into his discourses and posited new theories on traditional views of Calvinism in his theological treatises. Erskine’s thought, however, never transgressed the boundaries of orthodoxy. His goal was to update Evangelical Calvinism with the new style and techniques of the Enlightenment without sacrificing the gospel message. While Erskine was widely recognised as an able preacher and theologian, his primary contribution to Evangelicalism was as a disseminator. He sent correspondents like the New England pastor Jonathan Edwards countless religious and philosophical works so that he and others could learn about current ideas, update their writings to conform to the Age of Reason and provide an apologetic against perceived heretical authors. Erskine also was crucial in the publishing of books and pamphlets by some of the best Evangelical theologians in America and Britain. Within his lifetime, Erskine’s main contribution to Evangelicalism was as a propagator of an enlightened form of Calvinism.

This thesis reassesses the nature and importance of the Scottish Episcopal Church in Edinburgh and more widely. Based on a microstudy of one chapel community over a twenty-four year period, it addresses a series of questions of religion, identity, gender, culture and civic society in late Enlightenment Edinburgh, Scotland, and Britain, combining ecclesiastical, social and economic history. The study examines the congregation of Charlotte Episcopal Chapel, Rose Street, Edinburgh, from its foundation by English clergyman Daniel Sandford in 1794 to its move to the new Gothic chapel of St John's in 1818. Initially an independent chapel, Daniel Sandford's congregation joined the Scottish Episcopal Church in 1805 and the following year he was made Bishop of Edinburgh, although he contined to combine this role with that of rector to the chapel until his death in 1830. Methodologically, the thesis combines a detailed reassessment of Daniel Sandford's thought and ministry (Chapter Two) with a prosopographical study of 431 individuals connected with the congregation as officials or in the in the chapel registers (Chapter Three). Biography of the leader and prosopography of the community are brought to illuminate and enrich one another to understand the wealth and business networks of the congregation (Chapter Four) and their attitudes to politics, piety and gender (Chapter Five). The thesis argues that Daniel Sandford's Evangelical Episcopalianism was both original in Scotland, and one of the most successful in appealing to educated and influential members of Edinburgh society. The congregation, drawn largely from the newly-built West End of Edinburgh, were bourgeois and British in their composition. The core membership of privileged Scots, rooted in land and law, led, but were also challenged by and forced to adapt to a broad social spread who brought new wealth and influence into the West End through India and the consumer boom. The discussion opens up many avenues for further research including the connections between Scottish Episcopalianism and romanticism, the importance of India and social mobility within the consumer economy in the development of Edinburgh, and Scottish female intellectual culture and its engagement with religion and enlightenment. Understanding the role of enlightened, evangelical Episcopalianism, which is the contribution of this study, will form an important context for these enquiries.