Alastair Iain Macdonald Haggart (10 October 1915 – 11 January 1998) was an eminent

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

Biography

Haggart was born on 10 October 1915 and brought up in Fort William. He was raised in the

Free Church of Scotland Free Church of Scotland may refer to: * Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900), seceded in 1843 from the Church of Scotland. The majority merged in 1900 into the United Free Church of Scotland; historical * Free Church of Scotland (since 1900), rema ...

, but became an Episcopalian in his early 20s. At age 23, he made the decision to train for ministry and studied at

Edinburgh Theological College The Edinburgh Theological College was founded in 1810 to train Anglican clergy to serve in the Scottish Episcopal Church. In 1891 the college moved to Coates Hall in Rosebery Avenue where it gradually expanded to include residential accommodation ...

. From there he won an open exhibition to Hatfield College, Durham and graduated with a BA in 1941, and proceeded to an MA four years later. He married Peggy Trundle, a typist, and had two daughters.

Career

Haggart was ordained in 1941. He began his career with

curacies A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

St Mary's Cathedral, Glasgow The Cathedral Church of St Mary the Virgin (Scottish Gaelic: Cathair-eaglais Naomh Moire), commonly called St Mary's Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Scottish Episcopal Church. It is located on the Great Western Road, in the west end of Glasgow, ...

and St Mary's

Hendon Hendon is an urban area in the Borough of Barnet, North-West London northwest of Charing Cross. Hendon was an ancient manor and parish in the county of Middlesex and a former borough, the Municipal Borough of Hendon; it has been part of Great ...

. He was precentor at

St Ninian's Cathedral, Perth St. Ninian's Cathedral (Scottish Gaelic: Cathair-eaglais Naomh Ninian) is a cathedral of the Scottish Episcopal Church in the Diocese of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane. History The Scottish Episcopal Church was disestablished in 1689 and a ...

from 1948 to 1951. After this, he was

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of St Oswald's, King's Park, Glasgow and then acting priest-in-charge of St Martin's,

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

. In 1959, he became provost of St Paul's Cathedral, Dundee, a post he held until 1969 when he became principal and pantonian

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who pr ...

of his old theological college. He became

Bishop of Edinburgh The Bishop of Edinburgh, or sometimes the Lord Bishop of Edinburgh is the ordinary of the Scottish Episcopal Diocese of Edinburgh. Prior to the Reformation, Edinburgh was part of the Diocese of St Andrews, under the Archbishop of St Andrews ...

in 1975;Diocesan web-site
/ref> and Primus of the Episcopal Church in Scotland in 1977. He retired from both posts in 1985 and died on 11 January 1998.

References

1915 births Alumni of Hatfield College, Durham Provosts of St Paul's Cathedral, Dundee 20th-century Scottish Episcopalian bishops Bishops of Edinburgh Primuses of the Scottish Episcopal Church 20th-century Anglican archbishops 1998 deaths Seminary presidents Alumni of Edinburgh Theological College {{Anglican-bishop-stub