James Sibbald (–1647) was a
Scottish
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*Scottish English
*Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...
Royalist
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divine
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, and
theologian
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
.
Life
James Sibbald was of an ancient family in the Mearns. His birth, about 1595, may be inferred from his being on ordination trials with the presbytery of Deer on 28 October 1613. He matriculated at
Marischal College, Aberdeen in 1614. He graduated MA in 1618 and he became a
regent
A regent (from Latin : ruling, governing) is a person appointed to govern a state '' pro tempore'' (Latin: 'for the time being') because the monarch is a minor, absent, incapacitated or unable to discharge the powers and duties of the monarchy ...
, and prelected on
philosophy
Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...
.
In 1626 he was admitted to the first charge in
St. Nicholas' Church,
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 ...
. He graduated B.D. at Marischal College on 14 October 1630, and before 1637 received the degree of D.D. from the two universities of Marischal College and King's College.
His first appearance in ecclesiastical politics is in connection with the unifying schemes of
John Durie (1596–1680). By advice of Archbishop Spotiswood, Durie had written to Aberdeen divines, seeking their opinion on the points of dispute between the
Lutherans and the
Reformed
Reform is beneficial change
Reform may also refer to:
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* ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang
* Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group
* ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine
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.
On 20 February 1637 Sibbald and five other
Aberdeen doctors
The Aberdeen doctors or Doctors of Aberdeen were six divines working at Marischal College and King's College in Aberdeen, Scotland in the seventeenth century. Until 1635, they enjoyed the leadership of Patrick Forbes, Bishop of Aberdeen. They ar ...
, headed by
John Forbes (1593–1648), gave it as their judgment that Lutherans and Reformed agreed in those points on which the ancient church had been of one opinion. The harmonising attempt was approved by
Robert Baillie
Robert Baillie (30 April 16021662) was a Church of Scotland minister who became famous as an author and a propagandist for the Covenanters. , D.D.; by
Samuel Rutherford
Samuel Rutherford (also Rutherfurd or Rutherfoord; – 29 March 1661) was a Scottish Presbyterian pastor and theologian who wrote widely read letters, sermons, devotional and scholastic works. As a political theorist, he is known for "L ...
it was denounced as a design for "reconciliation with popery".
On the arrival in Aberdeen (20 July 1638) of the deputation, charged with the task of procuring adhesion to the "
national covenant
The National Covenant () was an agreement signed by many people of Scotland during 1638, opposing the proposed reforms of the Church of Scotland (also known as ''The Kirk'') by King Charles I. The king's efforts to impose changes on the church i ...
" of 28 February (drafted by
Alexander Henderson, (1583?–1646)), the same six doctors, with the temporising adhesion of
William Guild, presented further "demands," questioning the lawfulness of the covenant. Answers, replies, further answers and "duplies," brought the negotiation to a deadlock. Sibbald had been elected to the general assembly which opened at
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 21 November. He did not attend.
On 28 March 1639, four days before the reduction of Aberdeen by the covenanting forces under
Montrose, he sailed for
Berwick with
Robert Baron (1593?–1639), other leaders of his party, and a small armed force, for the service of the king. They were coldly received. Sibbald returned to Aberdeen in August, and resumed his ministry on 13 October, practically accepting the situation, but resolutely declining to subscribe the "national covenant."
On 22 December he admonished his parishioners not to keep Christmas Day, this being forbidden by ecclesiastical authority (Act of Assembly, 10 December 1638).
On 24 May 1640 he was silenced by commission of assembly; on 7 July he was suspended till the meeting of assembly.
On 6 August he was deposed by the general assembly meeting at Aberdeen. In addition to his refusal of the covenant, he was charged with
Arminianism
Arminianism is a branch of Protestantism based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609) and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. Dutch Arminianism was originally articulated in the ''Re ...
and with doctrines tending to popery, a charge partly grounded on his circulation of the (unpublished) writings of
William Forbes. Under examination, he maintained the regeneration of all baptised infants; and while admitting the pope to be antichrist, he "knew not whether a greater antichrist would arise after him." His books and papers were seized, but returned to him.
In October he again sailed for
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
, but returned to Aberdeen at the beginning of 1641, having received no encouragement from the king. He made his way to Ireland, and obtained some ministerial charge in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of th ...
. He was probably the "Ja. Sybold" who joined (August 1646) in the address to Ormonde, thanking him for "the free exercise of the true reformed religion according to the liturgy and canons of the church," and who signed (9 July 1647) the "declaration" maintaining that the directory was without royal authority, and seeking permission "to use the ''
Book of Common Prayer
The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...
''."
Grub doubts whether he was the Dr. Sibbald who attended Hamilton on the scaffold in
Palace Yard,
Westminster
Westminster is an area of Central London, part of the wider City of Westminster.
The area, which extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street, has many visitor attractions and historic landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Bu ...
(9 March 1649), on the ground that the divines then in attendance are described as
presbyterians
Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their nam ...
. But this term is not inapplicable to Sibbald, a Scottish churchman, strongly attached to primitive doctrine, but accepting the ecclesiastical arrangements made by lawful authority.
Ten years after leaving Aberdeen he died in Dublin of the
plague
Plague or The Plague may refer to:
Agriculture, fauna, and medicine
*Plague (disease), a disease caused by ''Yersinia pestis''
* An epidemic of infectious disease (medical or agricultural)
* A pandemic caused by such a disease
* A swarm of pes ...
, in 1647.
He married Elizabeth Nicolson, and had issue. The
Scottish parliament
The Scottish Parliament ( gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba ; sco, Scots Pairlament) is the devolved, unicameral legislature of Scotland. Located in the Holyrood area of the capital city, Edinburgh, it is frequently referred to by the metonym Holyro ...
on 21 June 1661 granted £200 to his widow and children.
Works
* ''Theses Theologicæ de primatu B. Petri'', Aberdeen, 1627, 4to.
* ''Holinesse to the Lord'' (a sermon in the "Funerals" of Bishop Patrick Forbes), Aberdeen, 1635, 4to; reprinted, Spottiswoode Society, 1845, 8vo.
* ''Diverse Select Sermons'',"Aberdeen, 1658, 4to (fifteen sermons). (Posthumous)
Notes and references
Citations
Sources
*
*
Further reading
* Hew Scott's ''Fasti Eccles''. Scoticanæ, iii. 462
* preface to Sibbald's posthumous sermons
* ''Mant's Hist. of the Church of Ireland'', 1840, i. 584 sq.
* Grub's ''Eccl. Hist. of Scotland'', 1850, ii. 371 sq., iii. 13 sq.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sibbald, James
1590 births
1650 deaths
17th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland
17th-century Scottish theologians
Academics of the University of Aberdeen
Arminian ministers
Arminian theologians
Year of birth uncertain
Year of death uncertain