David Rait (c. 1560–1632) 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 Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

who was minister of

St Machar's Cathedral St Machar's Cathedral usually called Old Machar (Scottish Gaelic: Cathair-eaglais Naomh Machar), (or, more formally, the Cathedral Church of St Machar) is a Church of Scotland church in Aberdeen, Scotland. It is located to the north of the c ...

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 served as

Moderator of the General Assembly The moderator of the General Assembly is the chairperson of a General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbyteries may also style the chairperson as moderator. The Oxford Dictionary states th ...

in Aberdeen in 1605.

Life

He was from the family of Rait of Hallgreen in

The Mearns ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

. In 1598 he replaced Alexander Arbuthnot as minister of

Old Aberdeen Old Aberdeen is part of the city of Aberdeen in Scotland. Old Aberdeen was originally a separate burgh, which was erected into a burgh of barony on 26 December 1489. It was incorporated into adjacent Aberdeen by Act of Parliament in 1891. It ret ...

. At the same time he served as Principal of the nearby

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 ...

. In his role as Moderator of the Synod he chaired the General Assembly in Aberdeen in 1605. He was awarded a

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

in 1620. He retired from St Machar's in 1621 being replaced by

Alexander Scrogie Alexander Scrogie (1565–1659) was a Scottish clergyman in the Church of Scotland who was minister of St Machar's Cathedral in Aberdeen and was an anti-Covenanting figure in Scotland during the English Civil War. He served as Rector of Aberdeen U ...

but continued as Principal of King's College until he died in 1632.

Family

In December 1592 he married Elizabeth Allardice, daughter of John Allardice of

Allardice Castle Allardice Castle (also spelled Allardyce) is a sixteenth-century manor house in Kincardineshire, Scotland. It is approximately 1.5 kilometres north-west of the town of Inverbervie. The Bervie Water flows around Allardice Castle on both sides. All ...

. They had one son, James Rait.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rait, David 1560 births 1632 deaths Academics of the University of Aberdeen Year of birth uncertain Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland 16th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland 17th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland