Robert Durie (1555–1616) was a Scottish presbyterian minister. He achieved notoriety for his

presbyterian 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 ...

principles which brought him into conflict with

James VI James is a common English language surname and given name: *James (name), the typically masculine first name James * James (surname), various people with the last name James James or James City may also refer to: People * King James (disambiguat ...

who wished to impose an episcopalian system. He attended the

General Assembly of Aberdeen The disastrous General Assembly of Aberdeen was held in 1605. A few ministers of the Presbyterian party met in defiance of royal authority as the general assembly was prohibited by royal proclamation. There was doubt about the legality of the se ...

in 1605 which had been

prorogued A legislative session is the period of time in which a legislature, in both parliamentary and presidential systems, is convened for purpose of lawmaking, usually being one of two or more smaller divisions of the entire time between two elections ...

by royal authority and was one of six ministers who were imprisoned and later exiled as a result.

Life

Durie was second son of

John Durie John Durie (1537–1600) was one of the first Presbyterian ministers in Edinburgh after the Reformation in Scotland. He was born at Mauchline in Ayrshire in 1537, and educated at Ayr. He became one of the Benedictine monks of Dunfermline, but ...

. He studied at St. Mary's College, St. Andrews and visited

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle''; oc, La Rochèla ) is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department. With ...

. While at St Andrew he, and James Melville tutored

Robert Bruce Robert I (11 July 1274 – 7 June 1329), popularly known as Robert the Bruce (Scottish Gaelic: ''Raibeart an Bruis''), was King of Scots from 1306 to his death in 1329. One of the most renowned warriors of his generation, Robert eventuall ...

. He stayed with James Melville, whose wife was his sister; accompanied Melville to the parliament of

Linlithgow Linlithgow (; gd, Gleann Iucha, sco, Lithgae) is a town in West Lothian, Scotland. It was historically West Lothian's county town, reflected in the county's historical name of Linlithgowshire. An ancient town, it lies in the Central Belt on a ...

in December 1585, and to

Berwick-on-Tweed Berwick-upon-Tweed (), sometimes known as Berwick-on-Tweed or simply Berwick, is a town and civil parish in Northumberland, England, south of the Anglo-Scottish border, and the northernmost town in England. The 2011 United Kingdom census recor ...

in September 1586. He became subsequently assistant to the schoolmaster of

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; sco, Dunfaurlin, gd, Dùn Phàrlain) is a city, parish and former Royal Burgh, in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. The city currently has an estimated population of 58,508. Accord ...

, and minister of

Abercrombie, Fife Abercrombie (Gaelic: ''Obar Chrombaidh'') is a village in Fife , Scotland. Abercrombie, recorded in 1157-60 as ''Abercrumbin'', means 'mouth of the river Crombie'. The first element is the Pictish word ''aber'' 'river mouth'. Crombie is a stream ...

in 1588, and of

Anstruther Anstruther ( sco, Ainster or Enster ; gd, Ànsruthair) is a small coastal resort town in Fife, Scotland, situated on the north-shore of the Firth of Forth and south-southeast of St Andrews. The town comprises two settlements, Anstruther ...

in 1590. He took part 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 ...

mission to the

Isle of Lewis The Isle of Lewis ( gd, Eilean Leòdhais) or simply Lewis ( gd, Leòdhas, ) is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides archipelago in Scotland. The two parts are frequently referred to as ...

in 1598, to evangelise the population, which set up ten parish churches. In 1601 Durie visited the

Orkney Islands Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...

and Zetland, and gave an account of his journey to the General Assembly of 1602. In 1605 Durie attended as a member the

, which the king

had prohibited, but which ministers repudiating his jurisdiction had insisted on holding. For this offence he was summoned before the privy council, and on 18 July sent to

Blackness Castle Blackness Castle is a 15th-century fortress, near the village of Blackness, Scotland, on the south shore of the Firth of Forth. It was built, probably on the site of an earlier fort, by Sir George Crichton in the 1440s. At this time, Blacknes ...

. He and five others were tried at Linlithgow on 10 January 1606 for treasonably declining the jurisdiction of the council. Being found guilty, they were banished from the kingdom. Durie, after landing at

Bordeaux Bordeaux ( , ; Gascon oc, Bordèu ; eu, Bordele; it, Bordò; es, Burdeos) is a port city on the river Garonne in the Gironde department, Southwestern France. It is the capital of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine region, as well as the prefectur ...

, went to Holland, where he was admitted first minister of the Scottish church at

Leyden Leiden (; in English and archaic Dutch also Leyden) is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland, Netherlands. The municipality of Leiden has a population of 119,713, but the city forms one densely connected agglomeration with ...

, where he died in September 1616. He was one of the closest friends of

Andrew Melville Andrew Melville (1 August 1545 – 1622) was a Scottish scholar, theologian, poet and religious reformer. His fame encouraged scholars from the European continent to study at Glasgow and St. Andrews. He was born at Baldovie, on 1 August 154 ...

, who was in banishment at Sedan when Durie was at Leyden. At one time it was rumoured that a pardon had been given to Durie, but Melville warned him not to trust the rumour, having grounds for suspecting some foul play. He contributed a commendatory sonnet to James Melville's ''Spirituall Propine'', 1589.

Family

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He married Elizabeth Ramsay, who survived him, and had issue — *Andrew ; *Eliezer ; *

John John is a common English name and surname: * John (given name) * John (surname) John may also refer to: New Testament Works * Gospel of John, a title often shortened to John * First Epistle of John, often shortened to 1 John * Second ...

, minister of the English Merchants' or Court Kirk at Rotterdam, well known for his endeavours to accomplish a union between the Lutheran and other reformed churches, author of various works, born at Edinburgh 1596, died at Cassel 28 Sept. 1680; *James; *Margaret ; *Nanse ; *Jean ; *Robert, presented for baptism 8 March 1607 by George Ramsay of Langraw.

Bibliography

*Reg. Assig. *Reg. of Deeds, xli. *Booke of the Kirk *M'Crie's Melville, i. 328, ii. 119, 122 *Forbes's Records *Pitcairn's Criminal Trials, ii., 494, 503 *N. Archief vour Kietel Geschied, viii. *Steven's Scot. Church, Rotterdam, 312, 315 *Fischer's Scots in Germany, 175-85

References

;Citations ;Sources: * * * * * ;Attribution {{DEFAULTSORT:Durie, Robert 1555 births 1616 deaths 16th-century Scottish people 17th-century Scottish people 16th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland 17th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland