Robert Leighton (bishop)
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Robert Leighton (1611 – 25 June 1684) was a Scottish
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 'pre ...
and
scholar A scholar is a person who pursues academic and intellectual activities, particularly academics who apply their intellectualism into expertise in an area of study. A scholar can also be an academic, who works as a professor, teacher, or researche ...
, best known as a church minister,
Bishop of Dunblane The Bishop of Dunblane or Bishop of Strathearn was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Dunblane or Strathearn, one of medieval Scotland's thirteen bishoprics. It was based at Dunblane Cathedral, now a parish church of the Church of Scot ...
,
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 ...
, and Principal of the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...
from 1653 to 1662. He was "noted for his Christian piety, his humility and gentleness, and his devotion to his calling".


Early life

Leighton lived through one of the most turbulent periods in Scottish history. His grandfather was a Pre-Reformation Catholic; his father, Doctor
Alexander Leighton Alexander Leighton (c. 15701649) was a Scottish medical doctor and puritan preacher and pamphleteer best known for his 1630 pamphlet that attacked the Anglican church and which led to his torture by King Charles I. Early life Leighton was b ...
was tortured during the reign of King Charles I for his Presbyterian beliefs, after authoring a pamphlet ''Zion's Plea against Prelacy'' in which he criticised the church, condemning bishops as "anti-christian and satanic". Robert became an archbishop during one of the periods when the Church of Scotland was episcopal. Robert Leighton was born in
London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...
to Scottish parents in 1611."Robert Leighton", The Leighton Library
/ref> Robert Leighton's mother was Alexander Leighton's first wife. According to
Gilbert Burnet Gilbert Burnet (18 September 1643 – 17 March 1715) was a Scottish philosopher and historian, and Bishop of Salisbury. He was fluent in Dutch, French, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Burnet was highly respected as a cleric, a preacher, an academi ...
, Leighton was distinguished for his "saintly disposition" from his earliest childhood, even despite the persecution of his family. In 1627 (before his father published his pamphlet) at the age of sixteen, Robert Leighton went to study at the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...
, graduating with an MA in 1631. Following his graduation, his father sent him to travel abroad, and he is understood to have spent several years in
France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
, where he acquired a complete mastery of the
French language French ( or ) is a Romance language of the Indo-European family. It descended from the Vulgar Latin of the Roman Empire, as did all Romance languages. French evolved from Gallo-Romance, the Latin spoken in Gaul, and more specifically in N ...
. While there he passed a good deal of time with relatives at
Douai Douai (, , ,; pcd, Doï; nl, Dowaai; formerly spelled Douay or Doway in English) is a city in the Nord département in northern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the department. Located on the river Scarpe some from Lille and from Arras, Dou ...
who had become
Roman Catholic Roman or Romans most often refers to: * Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD * Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *'' Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a let ...
s, and with whom he kept up a correspondence for many years afterward. Either at this time or on some subsequent visit he had also a good deal of intercourse with members of the
Jansenist Jansenism was an early modern theological movement within Catholicism, primarily active in the Kingdom of France, that emphasized original sin, human depravity, the necessity of divine grace, and predestination. It was declared a heresy by th ...
party. This intercourse contributed to the charity towards those who differed from him in religious opinion, which ever afterward formed a feature in his character.


Church career

Having returned to Scotland, at the age of thirty, Leighton was ordained as a Minister 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 Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...
on 16 December 1641. The ordination took place at Newbattle in
Midlothian Midlothian (; gd, Meadhan Lodainn) is a historic county, registration county, lieutenancy area and one of 32 council areas of Scotland used for local government. Midlothian lies in the east- central Lowlands, bordering the City of Edinbu ...
and thirty-year-old Leighton was installed as Parish Minister of Newbattle on the same date. Following the furore over his father's actions, it took a while before Leighton was accepted as Minister. Parish records show that he had to deliver five trial sermons – two of which had to be delivered on the same day – before being accepted: :''On the 16th of December, decreed as a whilk day for the appointment of Mr Robert Lichtoune, a sermon was delivered by John Knox, based on
Hebrews The terms ''Hebrews'' (Hebrew: / , Modern: ' / ', Tiberian: ' / '; ISO 259-3: ' / ') and ''Hebrew people'' are mostly considered synonymous with the Semitic-speaking Israelites, especially in the pre-monarchic period when they were still ...
13 Verse 17. After his sermon, Mr John Knox put to Robert Lichtoune and the parishioners, sundry questions competent to ye occasion and after the imposition of hands and ye solemne prayer, was admitted minister of Newbattle'' (Session Records) Leighton signed the
Solemn League and Covenant The Solemn League and Covenant was an agreement between the Scottish Covenanters and the leaders of the English Parliamentarians in 1643 during the First English Civil War, a theatre of conflict in the Wars of the Three Kingdoms. On 17 August 1 ...
in 1643. Leighton served at Newbattle for eleven years, before resigning his charge in 1652. What led him to take this step is not immediately clear, though the account given is that he had little sympathy with the fiery zeal of his brother clergymen on certain political questions, and that this led to severe censures on their part.


University of Edinburgh

Early in 1653, Leighton was appointed principal of the
University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1 ...
, and primarius professor of
divinity Divinity or the divine are things that are either related to, devoted to, or proceeding from a deity.divine< ...
. The position was originally supposed to be filled by
William Colvill William Colvill, sometimes spelt William Colville (c.1612–1675) was a 17th-century Scottish minister of the Church of Scotland and scholar and was the Principal of the University of Edinburgh from 1662 to 1675. Life Colvill was educated ...
, but Colvill was unable to take possession of it, since he was in the
Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...
and so the position was declared vacant again, and Leighton appointed in Colvill's place. Leighton continued in this post until 1662, when he was succeeded by Colvill, who had since returned to Scotland. A considerable number of his Latin prelections and other addresses (published after his death) are remarkable for the purity and elegance of their Latinity, and their subdued and meditative eloquence. They are valuable instructions in the art of living a holy life rather than a body of scientific divinity. Throughout, however, they bear the marks of a deeply learned and accomplished mind, saturated with both classical and patristic reading, and like all his works they breathe the spirit of one who lived very much above the world. While at the university and afterwards he wrote commentaries on New Testament books and his theological and expository lectures were also published, notably ''An Exposition of the Creed, Lord's prayer and Ten Commandments'', ''Rules and Instructions for a Holy Life'' and ''A Modest Defence of Moderate Episcopacy''.


Bishop and Archbishop

Although an ordained Presbyterian minister, in 1661 Leighton allowed himself to be appointed
Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...
by King Charles II. Aware that he might be accused of seeking self-aggrandisement, he requested the post in
Dunblane Dunblane (, gd, Dùn Bhlàthain) is a small town in the council area of Stirling in central Scotland, and inside the historic boundaries of the county of Perthshire. It is a commuter town, with many residents making use of good transport links ...
, the smallest and poorest see in the country. He sought to reconcile Presbyterians and Episcopalians in a United Church of Scotland, but his mild-mannered nature gave him problems in this role, Bishop Leighton suggested a system of ecclesiastical government in which the bishops were guided by the majority view of their presbyters but this found no favour with the other bishops. He attempted to resign in 1665, making a trip to London for that purpose, but did not go through with this after King Charles II agreed to milder measures."Restoration of King and Episcopacy", The Scottish Episcopal Church
/ref> He repeated his trip to London again in 1669, but little result followed. In 1670, he hesitantly agreed to accept appointment as
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 ...
."Robert Leighton", University of Glasgow
/ref> In this higher sphere he redoubled his efforts with the Presbyterians to bring about some degree of conciliation with Episcopacy, but the only result was to embroil himself with the hot-headed Episcopal party as well as with the Presbyterians. He resigned the archbishopric in 1674.


Religious views

Leighton saw good and bad in both the Episcopal and the English Puritan forms of worship. The Puritan Party gained such popularity that Leighton retired from the Ministry at Newbattle, citing the introduction of the Cromwellian ideas as to doctrine and ritual, as his main reason. Scotland's "Apostle of Peace", as he became known, took up the post at Edinburgh University as principal for a period of 8 years, before being summoned to London, by Charles II, to be one of four bishops appointed to look after the King's Northern realm in the Westminster Way, hence his term at Dunblane as bishop and subsequently at Glasgow as archbishop.


Later life

After leaving his position as archbishop in 1674, Leighton retired to the mansion of his widowed sister Sapphira (Mrs Edward Lightmaker), and her son, at Broadhurst near
Horsted Keynes Horsted Keynes is a village and civil parish in the Mid Sussex District of West Sussex, England. The village is about north east of Haywards Heath, in the Weald. The civil parish is largely rural, covering . At the 2011 census, it had a populat ...
in
Sussex Sussex (), from the Old English (), is a historic county in South East England that was formerly an independent medieval Anglo-Saxon kingdom. It is bounded to the west by Hampshire, north by Surrey, northeast by Kent, south by the Englis ...
. Leighton died suddenly on 25 June 1684 during a trip to London, in an inn in the shadow of a partly finished
St Paul's Cathedral St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London ...
. His final parting wish was that "At eventide there might be light". Leighton was buried in Horsted Keynes. In his will, he bequeathed his collection of 1,400 volumes and a hundred pounds for the erection of the Leighton Library. He also gave instruction that all his personal papers and manuscripts be destroyed, though this never took place. Following his death, a commentary of his on
1 Peter The First Epistle of Peter is a book of the New Testament. The author presents himself as Peter the Apostle. The ending of the letter includes a statement that implies that it was written from " Babylon", which is possibly a reference to Rome ...
, was published in two volumes in 1693 and 1694, and has rarely been out of print ever since.


Family

Leighton never married, and so had no children. Father:
Alexander Leighton Alexander Leighton (c. 15701649) was a Scottish medical doctor and puritan preacher and pamphleteer best known for his 1630 pamphlet that attacked the Anglican church and which led to his torture by King Charles I. Early life Leighton was b ...

Mother: Unknown (Alexander's first wife) :Brother: Elisha Leighton (???–1684) (later Sir Ellis Leighton) who was secretary to
John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton John Berkeley, 1st Baron Berkeley of Stratton (1602 – 26 August 1678) was an English royalist soldier, politician and diplomat, of the Bruton branch of the Berkeley family. From 1648 he was closely associated with James, Duke of York, and ...
when he was
Lord-Lieutenant of Ireland Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (), or more formally Lieutenant General and General Governor of Ireland, was the title of the chief governor of Ireland from the Williamite Wars of 1690 until the Partition of Ireland in 1922. This spanned the King ...
in 1670 and
British Ambassador to France The British Ambassador to France is the United Kingdom's foremost diplomatic representative in France, and is the head of Britain's diplomatic mission in Paris. The official title is ''His Majesty's Ambassador to France''. Traditionally, the ...
in 1675. :Sister: Sapphira (later Mrs Edward Lightmaker) (1623–1704) :Other Siblings who did not survive to maturity: James, Caleb, Elizabeth. However it is possible that Elizabeth ''did'' survive to maturity, as Leighton mentioned his mother and sisters (as opposed to sister) in some correspondence to his brother-in-law, Mr Edward Lightmaker (year unknown): ::''My mother writes to me and presses my coming up. I know not yet if that can be. But I intend, God willing, so soon as I can conveniently ... Remember my love to my sisters. The Lord be with you, and lead you in his ways''.


Leighton Library

Leighton was a learned scholar, with wide-ranging interests. His legacy remains today in the Leighton Library (or Bibliotheca Leightoniana), which is the oldest purpose-built
library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...
in
Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...
. It contains a collection of around 4000 volumes and 78 manuscripts from the 16th to the 19th century, and is founded on the personal collection of Leighton, who bequeathed some 1500 books to Dunblane Cathedral. A library building was erected between 1684 and 1688 in order to house the books for the use of the local clergy. From 1734 the library became one of the first subscription libraries in Scotland. The collection covers a variety of subject areas, including history and politics (particularly 17th century), theology, medicine, travel, and language."Robert Leighton and His Books", University of Stirling
/ref> Some of the collection was originally owned by Newbattle and was stored at the Old Manse, but it is now held in its entirety at The Cross,
Dunblane Dunblane (, gd, Dùn Bhlàthain) is a small town in the council area of Stirling in central Scotland, and inside the historic boundaries of the county of Perthshire. It is a commuter town, with many residents making use of good transport links ...
. The catalogue of contents is now available to academics and researchers through arrangement with Stirling University.


References


External links


"Divines of the Church of England 1660–1700", ''The Cambridge History of English and American Literature in 18 Volumes'', Volume VIII. "The Age of Dryden" (1907–21)

His Complete Works
*''Archbishop Leighton'',
William Garden Blaikie William Garden Blaikie FRSE (5 February 1820, in Aberdeen – 11 June 1899) was a Scottish minister, writer, biographer, and temperance reformer. Life His father James Ogilvie Blaikie was the first Provost of Aberdeen following its reformed ...

Butler, Dugald. ''The Life and Letters of Robert Leighton: Restoration Bishop of Dunblane and Archbishop of Glasgow'', Hodder and Stoughton, London, 1903
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Leighton, Robert 1611 births 1684 deaths Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Anglican saints Roman Catholic archbishops of Glasgow Bishops of Dunblane Covenanters Chancellors of the University of Glasgow Principals of the University of Edinburgh 17th-century Christian saints Scottish Restoration bishops Anglican clergy from London Scottish Calvinist and Reformed theologians Academics of the University of Edinburgh Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1661–1663 Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1669–1674 People from Horsted Keynes 17th-century Anglican theologians