Alexander Scrogie (1565–1659) was a Scottish clergyman in the

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 Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...

who was minister of St Machar's Cathedral in

Aberdeen Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...

and was an anti-Covenanting figure in Scotland during the

English Civil War The English Civil War (1642–1651) was a series of civil wars and political machinations between Parliamentarians (" Roundheads") and Royalists led by Charles I ("Cavaliers"), mainly over the manner of England's governance and issues of re ...

. He served as Rector of

Aberdeen University , mottoeng = The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom , established = , type = Public research universityAncient university , endowment = £58.4 million (2021) , budget ...

Life

He was born in northern Scotland in 1565. He was educated at

King's College, Aberdeen King's College in Old Aberdeen, Scotland, the full title of which is The University and King's College of Aberdeen (''Collegium Regium Abredonense''), is a formerly independent university founded in 1495 and now an integral part of the Universi ...

graduating MA around 1580. He then became a "regent", lecturing at

Marischal College, Aberdeen Marischal College ( ) is a large granite building on Broad Street in the centre of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland, and since 2011 has acted as the headquarters of Aberdeen City Council. However, the building was constructed for and is on long- ...

. He became an assistant minister at Skene, Aberdeenshire in 1603 and was formally ordained there in 1605. In that year he attended the unlawful

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presb ...

in Aberdeen, chaired by Rev

David Rait David Rait (c. 1560–1632) was a Scottish clergyman in the Church of Scotland who was minister of St Machar's Cathedral in Aberdeen and served as Moderator of the General Assembly in Aberdeen in 1605. Life He was from the family of Rait o ...

. In January 1606 he translated to

Drumoak Drumoak (, gd, Druim M'Aodhaig, ) is a village situated between Peterculter and Banchory in North Deeside, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. Drumoak is proximate to the River Dee, with Park Bridge, named for the local Park Estate, being a local cross ...

parish south-west of

. In March 1608 the General Assembly ordered him to reside in the parish (as he was not) and in March 1609 they charged him with non-residence. He answered that his family lived there every day but he only lived there at weekends due to his commitments at Marischal College (which continued). He was ordered to quit his college role at Lammastide. In 1621 he translated to St Machar's Cathedral in place of

. In 1627 King's College awarded him a Doctor of Divinity. He joined with others of equal status to oppose the National Covenant in the early 1630s. He was elected Rector of King's College in 1636. In 1638 he was officially rebuked for celebrating communion on

Christmas Day Christmas is an annual festival commemorating the birth of Jesus Christ, observed primarily on December 25 as a religious and cultural celebration among billions of people around the world. A feast central to the Christian liturgical year, ...

(as the General Assembly had banned this). On 15 July 1639 his house was seized by soldiers of William Keith,

Earl Marischal The title of Earl Marischal was created in the Peerage of Scotland for William Keith, the Great Marischal of Scotland. History The office of Marischal of Scotland (or ''Marascallus Scotie'' or ''Marscallus Scotiae'') had been hereditary, held b ...

's Regiment, in his capture of Aberdeen. In August 1640 he was deposed as minister due to his continuing opposition to the Covenant, but in July 1641 made apology and made full recantation to his presbytery in May 1642 and was reinstated in full. He stepped down from St Machar's in 1640 but did not fully retire until 1655 and died in

Rathven Rathven ( sco, Raffin) is an ecclesiastical parish, village and former civil parish in the historic county of Banff, now in Moray, Scotland. The civil parish was last used as a census subdivision in 2001 when the population was 12,378, The for ...

manse (the home of his son William) on the north coast in 1659.

Family

He married Jean Ross daughter of Rev James Ross, second charge at Aberdeen. They had several children: *

William Scrogie William Scrogie (1609–1675) was a Scottish clergyman in the Church of Scotland who served as Bishop of Argyll. Life He was born in Old Aberdeen the son of Rev Alexander Scrogie minister of St Machar's Cathedral and Rector of King's Col ...

Bishop of Argyll The Bishop of Argyll or Bishop of Lismore was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Argyll The Diocese of Argyll was an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of Scotland in the Middle Ages. The Diocese was led by the Bishop of Argyll, and wa ...

from 1666 to 1675 * Alexander Scrogie (1615–1661), minister of St Machar's * James Scrogie * Patrick (F), married William Douglas of Forgue * Marjorie, married Alexander Innes of Mortlach

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scrogie, Alexander 1565 births 1659 deaths Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Academics of the University of Aberdeen