Robert Hamilton (c.1530–1581) 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 Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

minister who served as

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 th ...

in 1572 and was Principal of New College in

St Andrews St Andrews ( la, S. Andrea(s); sco, Saunt Aundraes; gd, Cill Rìmhinn) is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fou ...

Life

Little is known of his early life. He was probably born around 1530 in eastern central Scotland. He is first mentioned in the first

General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the sovereign and highest court of the Church of Scotland, and is thus the Church's governing body.''An Introduction to Practice and Procedure in the Church of Scotland'' by A. Gordon McGillivray ...

in December 1560 where he is minuted as being "maist (most) qualified for ministering and teaching". From at least 1560 he was a Regent of New College in St Andrews (now known as

St Mary's College, St Andrews (In the Beginning was the Word) , established = , type = College , endowment = , staff = , faculty = , rector = , chancellor = , principal = Oliver D. Crisp , free_label = Teaching staff , free = 20 , ...

) which means this is certainly where he studied. As a Regent he would lecture in Divinity to the younger students. From around 1570 he was Principal of the College. At some time between November 1565 and September 1566 he became minister of

Parish Church, in place of Christopher Goodman. This was one of the most important ecclesiastical positions in Scotland. In 1572 he succeeded

Gilbert Gardin Gilbert may refer to: People and fictional characters *Gilbert (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters *Gilbert (surname), including a list of people Places Australia * Gilbert River (Queensland) * Gilbert River (South A ...

Fordyce, Aberdeenshire Fordyce is a village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland that is slightly inland from the point where the Burn of Fordyce meets the sea between Cullen and Portsoy. It has existed since at least the 13th century. In 1990, Charles McKean wrote that Fordyce ...

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 ...

the highest position in the Scottish church. He attended 26 out of the 31 General Assemblies occurring during his ministry. In 1576 the General Assembly ordered him to give up the Principalship as they perceived a conflict with his ministry. He refused to comply with this order. He died in

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 ...

on 16 April 1581.Fasti Ecclesiastae Scoticana by Hew Scott

Family

He married Elspeth Traill (died 1595) daughter of John Traill the younger of Magask. They had at least four children. Following Hamilton's death, Elspeth married Thomas Buchanan, minister of

Ceres Ceres most commonly refers to: * Ceres (dwarf planet), the largest asteroid * Ceres (mythology), the Roman goddess of agriculture Ceres may also refer to: Places Brazil * Ceres, Goiás, Brazil * Ceres Microregion, in north-central Goiás ...

and Moderator in 1588.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hamilton, Robert 1581 deaths Alumni of the University of St Andrews Academics of the University of St Andrews Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Year of birth uncertain