Robert Roche (c.1580–1640) was a

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 Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...

Scottish minister who served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1613.

Life

He studied

Divinity Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine< ...

at the

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

and graduated MA in 1597. He served as Clerk to the Presbytery of St Andrews from 1598 to 1606 and then served as assistant to the Rector at the university. In 1610 the Archbishop of St Andrews nominated him to assist John Burne at

Inverkeithing Inverkeithing ( ; gd, Inbhir Chèitinn) is a port town and parish, in Fife, Scotland, on the Firth of Forth. A town of ancient origin, Inverkeithing was given royal burgh status during the reign of Malcolm IV in the 12th century. It was an imp ...

, who was in ill-health. In 1611 he took over as minister on a stipend of 320 merks per annum. He also oversaw the parish of

Rosyth Rosyth ( gd, Ros Fhìobh, "headland of Fife") is a town on the Firth of Forth, south of the centre of Dunfermline. According to the census of 2011, the town has a population of 13,440. The new town was founded as a Garden city-style suburb ...

. In 1613 he was appointed Moderator to the Synod (a post later called

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 t ...

). In 1617 he was co-signator to the "Protestation for the Liberties of the Kirk". In April 1620 he was asked to appear at the Synod to explain his non-compliance with the

Five Articles of Perth The Five Articles of Perth was an attempt by King James VI of Scotland to impose practices on the Church of Scotland in an attempt to integrate it with those of the Church of England. This move was unpopular with those Scots who held Reformed vi ...

. In 1631 he was awarded the land known as The

Glebe Glebe (; also known as church furlong, rectory manor or parson's close(s))McGurk 1970, p. 17 is an area of land within an ecclesiastical parish used to support a parish priest. The land may be owned by the church, or its profits may be reserved ...

in Inverkeithing (this name traditionally links to land attaching a Scottish manse).Collins English Dictionary He died in Inverkeithing on 23 June 1640. He was succeeded as minister of Inverkeithing by Walter Bruce, son of Sir John Bruce of Kincavil.

Family

He married Isobel Greig, daughter of Matthew Greig. They had one son, John Roche.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Roche, Robert 1640 deaths Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Year of birth uncertain 17th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland