James Vi and I, the Church of Scotland, and British Ecclesiastical Convergence

Bibliographic Data

ID8958871
AuthorsAlan R Macdonald (0000-0002-3032-0086, University of Dundee, corresponding author)
Year2005
Volume48
Issue4
Pages885-903
Publication date2005-12-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueThe Historical Journal (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0018-246X • E-ISSN: 1469-5103
PublisherCambridge University Press (CUP) (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1017/s0018246x0500484x
OpenAlexW2069037558
LanguageEN
Citations received11

Recent historiography has argued that the British ecclesiastical policies of James VI and I sought ‘congruity’ between the different churches in Scotland, England, and Ireland, rather than British ecclesiastical union or the anglicanization of all the churches. It is argued here that the asymmetry of the changes he sought in Scotland and England has been underplayed and that this has masked his choice of a fundamentally Anglican model for the British churches. Through allowing the archbishop of Canterbury to interfere in Scottish ecclesiastical affairs, undermining the presbyterian system, promoting episcopal power and liturgical reform, anglicanization of the Church of Scotland was the goal of James VI and I, and one which he pursued until his death. The motivation for King James's persistent desire for the fulfilment of this policy is to be found in his rapid assimilation to the Church of England after 1603 and, moreover, in his goal of the reunification of Christendom as a whole, on the Anglican model

Archaeology · Archbishop · Historiography · New england · Political science · Politics · Power (physics · Classics · Historical Studies of British Isles · History · Law · Reformation and Early Modern Christianity · Scottish History and National Identity

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