John Paterson (1604–1679) was the Bishop of Ross in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

Life

Paterson graduated from King's College,

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 ...

in 1624, and was appointed to the church of

Foveran Foveran ( gd, Fobharan) is the name of both a parish and village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The village is located north of Aberdeen and southeast of Ellon; the main group of houses and the village school are located adjacent to the main A90 ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

, in 1632. He refused to sign 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 1639, and fled to

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 ...

to the king. In July of the following year, however, he recanted in a sermon before the

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 presby ...

and was restored to his church at Foveran. Paterson was a member of the commission of the assembly in 1644, 1645, 1648 and 1649. In 1661 he was named a commissioner for the visitation of the university of Aberdeen. In 1649 he had left Foveran to become minister of

Ellon Ellon may refer to: *Ellon, Aberdeenshire Ellon ( gd, Eilean) is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, approximately north of Aberdeen, lying on the River Ythan, which has one of the few undeveloped river estuaries on the eastern coast of Scotla ...

in Aberdeenshire. He was among the benefactors contributing to the erection of a new building 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 ...

, in 1658. In 1659 Paterson was translated to the

ministry Ministry may refer to: Government * Ministry (collective executive), the complete body of government ministers under the leadership of a prime minister * Ministry (government department), a department of a government Religion * Christian ...

of Aberdeen (the third charge). In 1662 he was appointed the Bishop of Ross, being consecrated on 7 May 1662 at

Holyrood Palace The Palace of Holyroodhouse ( or ), commonly referred to as Holyrood Palace or Holyroodhouse, is the official residence of the British monarch in Scotland. Located at the bottom of the Royal Mile in Edinburgh, at the opposite end to Edinbu ...

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 was opposed to the preaching of the Covenanting Presbytrian

John M'Gilligen John M'Gilligen was a 17th-century Presbyterian minister. He resisted the demands of the Episcopalian authorities and was imprisoned on the Bass Rock. His name is sometimes also spelled as John MacKilligen or John M'Killican or John MacKillican ...

. He died in January 1679.

Family

Paterson was married to Elizabeth Ramsay, by whom he had six sons and a daughter. His children were John Paterson (

Archbishop of Glasgow The Archbishop of Glasgow is an archiepiscopal title that takes its name after the city of Glasgow in Scotland. The position and title were abolished by the Church of Scotland in 1689; and, in the Scottish Episcopal Church, it is now part of the ...

), George Paterson of Seafield (

commissary A commissary is a government official charged with oversight or an ecclesiastical official who exercises in special circumstances the jurisdiction of a bishop. In many countries, the term is used as an administrative or police title. It often c ...

); Sir William Paterson of Granton (

barrister A barrister is a type of lawyer in common law jurisdictions. Barristers mostly specialise in courtroom advocacy and litigation. Their tasks include taking cases in superior courts and tribunals, drafting legal pleadings, researching law and ...

and clerk to the privy council); Thomas Paterson; Robert Paterson (principal of

Marischal College 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- ...

, Aberdeen); James Paterson; and a daughter, Isabella, who married

Kenneth Mackenzie of Suddie Captain Kenneth Mackenzie, 2nd of Suddie was a Scottish soldier who was killed at the Battle of Mulroy in 1688 whilst commanding Government troops against rebel Scottish clans. Lineage He was the son of Alexander Mackenzie, 1st of Suddie and his ...

.Gordon, ''Scots Affairs'', Spalding, ''Memorials, and Diary of the Lairds of Brodie'', all published by the Spalding Club; Guthrie, ''Memoirs''; Scott, ''Fasti Eccl. Scot.'' iii. pp. 454, 602, 607.

References

Sources

* Keith, Robert, ''An Historical Catalogue of the Scottish Bishops: Down to the Year 1688'', (London, 1824) * *Pearce, A. S. Wayne, "Paterson, John (1604–1679)", ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 200
retrieved 10 May 2007
;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Paterson, John 1604 births 1679 deaths Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Bishops of Ross (Scotland) Scottish Restoration bishops Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1661–1663 Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1669–1674 Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1678