Alexander Rose (1647–1720) was a Scottish scholar, minister and

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

. He was a

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

minister before becoming Professor of Divinity at the University of Glasgow and Principal of

St Mary's College, St Andrews (In the Beginning was the Word) , established = , type = College , endowment = , staff = , faculty = , rector = , chancellor = , principal = Oliver D. Crisp , free_label = Teaching staff , free = 20 , ...

. He rose to become

Bishop of Moray The Bishop of Moray or Bishop of Elgin was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Moray in northern Scotland, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics. If the foundation charter of the monastery at Scone is reliable, then the Bishopric of Moray ...

and then

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 ...

. He was responsible for failing to convince King

William III of England William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of County of Holland, Holland, County of Zeeland, Zeeland, Lordship of Utrecht, Utrec ...

that the Scottish bishops could be trusted, leading to the abolition of

Episcopacy A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

in Scotland. Rose continued as a

nonjuring The Nonjuring schism refers to a split in the established churches of England, Scotland and Ireland, following the deposition and exile of James II and VII in the 1688 Glorious Revolution. As a condition of office, clergy were required to swea ...

bishop, eventually becoming leader of the informal and embryonic

Scottish Episcopal Church The Scottish Episcopal Church ( gd, Eaglais Easbaigeach na h-Alba; sco, Scots Episcopal(ian) Kirk) is the ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion in Scotland. A continuation of the Church of Scotland as intended by King James VI, and ...

Early life and career

Alexander was born in either 1645 or 1646, a year that can be calculated because we know that he was 74 years old at his death in March 1720. The Rose family originally came from Kilravock near

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

. His father had been

Prior of Monymusk Prior of Monymusk (later, Commendator of Monymusk) was the head of the property and community of Augustinian canons of Monymusk Priory, Aberdeenshire. The following is a list of priors and commendators: List of office holders List of priors * Má ...

. He entered the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...

for a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

, but moved to the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

to study

divinity Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine

under Dr.

Gilbert Burnet Gilbert Burnet (18 September 1643 – 17 March 1715) was a Scottish philosopher and historian, and Bishop of Salisbury. He was fluent in Dutch, French, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Burnet was highly respected as a cleric, a preacher, an academic, ...

, later

Bishop of Salisbury The Bishop of Salisbury is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The see is in the City of Salisbury where the bishop's seat ...

. Rose was licensed to preach as a

minister by the Presbytery of

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 ...

on 20 April 1670. He was ordained as "second Charge" minister of St John's Church in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

in August 1672, but only after the town had unsuccessfully tried to secure the appointment of Alexander's uncle, Arthur Rose. He was promoted to "first charge" in 1678 in place of William Lindsay who had been chosen as Bishop of Dunkeld. In 1682 Alexander became Professor of Divinity at Glasgow, almost certainly with the help of his uncle, now Archbishop of Glasgow. On 22 October 1686 he got a royal presentation to be Principal of

Bishop of Moray and Edinburgh

Rose's career rise continued. In December of this year (1686), he was recommended by the king to be selected as the new

. The royal

mandate Mandate most often refers to: * League of Nations mandates, quasi-colonial territories established under Article 22 of the Covenant of the League of Nations, 28 June 1919 * Mandate (politics), the power granted by an electorate Mandate may also ...

for his

consecration Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

was issued on 8 March 1687. However, before even taking possession of the

diocese of Moray The Diocese of Moray was one of the most important of the medieval dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland. Its territory was in central northern Scotland. History It was founded in the early years of the 12th century by David I ...

, he was

translated Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (which does not exist in every language) between ''transla ...

to the

diocese of Edinburgh The Diocese of Edinburgh is one of the seven dioceses of the Scottish Episcopal Church. It covers the City of Edinburgh, the Lothians, the Borders and Falkirk. The diocesan centre is St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh. The Bishop of Edinburgh is ...

, after his name had been put forward by

Colin Lindsay, 3rd Earl of Balcarres Colin Lindsay, 3rd Earl of Balcarres (1652–1722) was a Scottish aristocrat and politician, one of the most important supporters of James II of England. Biography Early life Colin Lindsay was baptized at Kilconquhar on 23 August 1652, the seco ...

. He was elected on 21 December, and despite the protests of some dissenting ministers, was appointed to the position on 31 December. In December 1688, Bishop Rose and Bishop Andrew Bruce were chosen by the Scottish bishops to travel to London, but Bishop Bruce fell ill and Rose was compelled to continue alone. The situation he found himself in was having to decide on behalf of all the Scottish bishops whether to support William of Orange or

James VII and II James VII and II (14 October 1633 16 September 1701) was King of England and King of Ireland as James II, and King of Scotland as James VII from the death of his elder brother, Charles II, on 6 February 1685. He was deposed in the Glorious Re ...

. William was prepared to retain

in Scotland if the bishops would acknowledge him. Probably on 30 January 1689, Bishop Rose met with King William. Bishop Rose was sympathetic to King James, and though William's cause had already clearly triumphed, he was not sure about committing the other Scottish bishops. When asked for his support, Bishop Rose gave a highly ambiguous reply:

Sir, I will serve you as far as law, reason, or conscience shall allow me.Quoted in Clarke, "Rose, Alexander (1645/6–1720)".

Rose returned to Scotland without having committed either the bishops to King William, nor King William to the bishops. Later in the year, Rose was almost certainly one of the seven Scottish bishops who voted against renouncing their oaths to King James and offering the Scottish crown to William. This was probably enough to convince King William that the Scottish bishops were too sympathetic to

Jacobitism Jacobitism (; gd, Seumasachas, ; ga, Seacaibíteachas, ) was a political movement that supported the restoration of the senior line of the House of Stuart to the Monarchy of the United Kingdom, British throne. The name derives from the first name ...

, and there were more than enough hard-line Presbyterians in Scotland who hated the existence of bishops. It was thus that, on 20 July 1689,

in Scotland was declared abolished and all bishops were deprived of their sees within the

The nonjuring bishop and metropolitan

Rose continued to act as a

nonjuring bishop The Nonjuring schism refers to a split in the established churches of England, Scotland and Ireland, following the deposition and exile of James II and VII in the 1688 Glorious Revolution. As a condition of office, clergy were required to swear ...

, privately acknowledging the primacy of his uncle, now Archbishop of St Andrews. Though deprived of any formal authority, Rose gained informal influence over the embryonic

. After the death of Arthur Rose in 1704 and then John Paterson in 1708, Archbishop of Glasgow, Alexander Rose was regarded as the senior nonjuring bishop in Scotland. In 1705, along with Bishop Douglas of Dunblane, he performed the consecration of John Fullarton and

John Sage John Sage (1652–1711) was a Scottish nonjuring bishop and controversialist in the Jacobite interest. Life He was born at Creich, Fife, where his ancestors had lived for seven generations. His father was a captain in the royalist forces at the t ...

. He consecrated five more bishops between 1709 and 1718. Routinely suspected of Jacobitism, under severe pressure, and suffering declining number of sympathising ministers, Rose quietly led as the

metropolitan Metropolitan may refer to: * Metropolitan area, a region consisting of a densely populated urban core and its less-populated surrounding territories * Metropolitan borough, a form of local government district in England * Metropolitan county, a typ ...

of Scottish Episcopalians. He also tried to obtain the help of

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

and Queen Anne. He was involved in the

Jacobite rising of 1715 The Jacobite rising of 1715 ( gd, Bliadhna Sheumais ; or 'the Fifteen') was the attempt by James Edward Stuart (the Old Pretender) to regain the thrones of England, Ireland and Scotland for the exiled Stuarts The House of Stuart, ori ...

, as a trustee of the "Old Pretender",

James Francis Edward Stuart James Francis Edward Stuart (10 June 16881 January 1766), nicknamed the Old Pretender by Whigs, was the son of King James II and VII of England, Scotland and Ireland, and his second wife, Mary of Modena. He was Prince of Wales from ...

Death and family

He died on 20 March 1720 of apoplexy, and was buried in the grounds of

Restalrig Restalrig () is a small residential suburb of Edinburgh, Scotland (historically, an estate and independent parish). It is located east of the city centre, west of Craigentinny and to the east of Lochend, both of which it overlaps. Restalrig ...

church east of

Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

. He married Euphan Threipland, the daughter of Patrick Threipland of

Fingask Fingask Castle is a country house in Perth and Kinross, Scotland. It is perched above Rait, three miles (5 km) north-east of Errol, in the Braes of the Carse, on the fringes of the Sidlaw Hills. Thus it overlooks both the Carse of Gowr ...

, the provost of

. Their son John Rose fought in the Jacobite Rebellion of 1715, and was captured at the battle of Sheriffmuir, though he obtained clemency partly due to his father's influence.

Notes

References

* Clarke, Tristram, "Rose, Alexander (1645/6–1720)", in ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 200
retrieved 6 May 2007
* Keith, Robert, ''An Historical Catalogue of the Scottish Bishops: Down to the Year 1688'', (London, 1924) {{DEFAULTSORT:Rose, Alexander 1640s births 1720 deaths Academics of the University of Glasgow Alumni of the University of Glasgow Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Bishops of Moray Bishops of Edinburgh People associated with the University of St Andrews Principals of the University of St Andrews Scottish Restoration bishops Scottish scholars and academics Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1689 Bishops of Edinburgh (pre-1689)