Peter Blackburn (d.1616) was a Scottish scholar and

prelate A prelate () is a high-ranking member of the Christian clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin , the past participle of , which means 'carry before', 'be set above or over' or 'pref ...

. He was the second Protestant

Bishop of Aberdeen The Bishop of Aberdeen (originally Bishop of Mortlach, in Latin Murthlacum) was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Aberdeen, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics, whose first recorded bishop is an early 12th-century cleric named Nech ...

Life

Born in the east of Scotland he studied at

St Andrews University (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

. He became a "regent" (lecturer) in Philosophy at 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 , ...

in 1572 and continued this role until 1582. During this period he was promoted to Professor of Physics and Astronomy. In 1582 he became minister of West Kirk in Aberdeen and was translated to the East Kirk in 1596. He was

Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the ministers and elders of the Church of Scotland, minister or elder chosen to moderate (chair) the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week i ...

1597/8. In 1600 he was made Chancellor of

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 ...

. On 2 September 1600, King

James VI of Scotland James VI and I (James Charles Stuart; 19 June 1566 – 27 March 1625) was King of Scotland as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the Scottish and English crowns on 24 March 1603 until hi ...

provided him as

,Watt, ''Fasti Ecclesiae'', p. 4. attaching to the appointment a seat in the

Parliament of Scotland The Parliament of Scotland ( sco, Pairlament o Scotland; gd, Pàrlamaid na h-Alba) was the legislature of the Kingdom of Scotland from the 13th century until 1707. The parliament evolved during the early 13th century from the king's council o ...

– an innovation which was denounced by

Charles Ferme Charles Ferm, Ferme, Farholme or Fairholm (ca.1566–1617), was a leading campaigning Presbyterian minister in the Church of Scotland, and the Principal of Fraserburgh University, Scotland. Early life and education Ferm was born in Edinburgh of ...

. Another part of the controversy was that no new bishop had been appointed since 1585, and Blackburn's provision, along with those of David Lindsay to the bishopric of Ross and

George Gledstanes George Gledstanes (or Gladstanes; c. 1562 – 1615Alan R. MacDonald‘Gledstanes , George (c.1562–1615)’ ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004) was an Archbishop of St Andrews during the seventeenth ce ...

' provision to the bishopric of Caithness, broke this lull. He was not formally consecrated until 1611, in a ceremony at

Brechin Cathedral Brechin Cathedral dates from the 13th century. As a congregation of the Church of Scotland, which is Presbyterian, the church is not technically a cathedral, in spite of its name. It is in the Pointed style, but suffered maltreatment in 1806 at ...

. He died at his house in Guestrow, Aberdeen, after a long illness on 14 June 1616, at

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 is buried in the

Kirk of St Nicholas The Kirk of St Nicholas is a historic church located in the city centre of Aberdeen, Scotland. Up until the dissolution of the congregation on 31 December 2020, it was known as the ''"Kirk of St Nicholas Uniting"''. It is also known as ''"The Mit ...

in central Aberdeen.

Family

He married Isobel Johnston, daughter of George Johnston of Johnston and Caskichen, and Christian Forbes, daughter of Lord Forbes, and sister of the poet Arthur Johnston. Their children included:Fasti Ecclesiastae Scoticana vol.7 by Hew Scott *Peter Blackburn of Dyce, their heir *William Blackburn of Endowie *Janet Blackburn, married Rev Alexander Rait of Kintore *Archibald Blackburn, minister in Aberdeen *Margaret Blackburn, married Andrew Adie, 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- ...

*Christian Blackburn, married Abraham Sibbald of

Old Deer Old Deer ( sco, Auld Deer, gd, Dèir) is a parish and village in the district of Buchan, Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The population in 2011 was 152. The village lies on the Deer or South Ugie Water, west of Peterhead and from Mintlaw. Industries ...

*Elspet *Isobel

Publications

*A Treatise against James Gordon the Jesuit

Notes

References

* Gordon, Alexander, "Ferme airholm Charles (1565/6–1617)", rev. Alan R. MacDonald, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
, accessed 22 Feb 2007
* Keith, Robert, ''An Historical Catalogue of the Scottish Bishops: Down to the Year 1688'', (London, 1924) * MacDonald, Alan R., "Gledstanes , George (c.1562–1615)", in the ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 200
, accessed 22 Feb 2007
Blackburn, David Blackburn, David Blackburn, David Blackburn, David Blackburn, David Blackburn, David Members of the pre-1707 Parliament of Scotland 16th-century Scottish people 17th-century bishops of the Church of Scotland Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1612 Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Scottish bishops 1560–1638 {{Scotland-reli-bio-stub