
Today the weather in Scotland is not so conducive to getting out and about, as there is a wet snow falling here in Dundee. It is not sticking, and we have the promise of better weather after today, so today I am taking it easy, and decided that I would do some posting on one of my favorite figures from Scottish church history, the Rev. Alexander Henderson (1583-1646). Henderson, who is largely forgotten in Scotland now, was probably the most significant Scottish Reformer after John Knox. Born in the region of Fife, Henderson was born into the Church of Scotland in a time when there were tensions between the Church of Scotland and King James VI (who would later become King James I of England, thus uniting the thrones of the two kingdoms of Scotland and England. James the VI and I, as he is often called, is the same King James who ordered a translation of the Bible, the KJV).
James wanted to impose bishops on the Church of Scotland, and did so, as he wanted to control the church, much in the way that the Kings and Queens of England were able to do to. This created a lot of tensions within the Church of Scotland, as it was Presbyterian in its government. So in 1612, as a young man, Alexander Henderson became the minister of the church in the town of Leuchars and was placed there by the Archbishop of St. Andrews. However, the people of Leuchars did not want Henderson to be their pastor, because they had no say in his appointment (a violation of Presbyterian principles). Thus, on the day he was to be installed, Henderson had to enter the church through a window, as the doors had been locked to him! Henderson became pastor, and slowly began to win the hearts of the people of Leuchars.
James wanted to impose bishops on the Church of Scotland, and did so, as he wanted to control the church, much in the way that the Kings and Queens of England were able to do to. This created a lot of tensions within the Church of Scotland, as it was Presbyterian in its government. So in 1612, as a young man, Alexander Henderson became the minister of the church in the town of Leuchars and was placed there by the Archbishop of St. Andrews. However, the people of Leuchars did not want Henderson to be their pastor, because they had no say in his appointment (a violation of Presbyterian principles). Thus, on the day he was to be installed, Henderson had to enter the church through a window, as the doors had been locked to him! Henderson became pastor, and slowly began to win the hearts of the people of Leuchars.
(The pictures above are from the church in Leuchars where Henderson was pastor. His name is fourth on the board of pastors. The church building has had a lot of changes made to it over the centuries, so only the front portion of the church is a part of the building as it stood in the 17th century, and there was not tower at that time).
Some time after Henderson settled in as pastor at Leuchars, he got word that the great preacher Rev. Robert Bruce, of Edinburgh, would be preaching at a nearby parish, in Forgan, just a few miles from Leuchars. Henderson wanted to hear Bruce, but there was a problem. Bruce was a proponent of the Presbyterian form of church order, and openly opposed the role of bishops (and the king, for that matter) intruded on the church. Henderson was at that time satisfied with having bishops. But Henderson went to hear Bruce anyway, slipping into the back of the church so that he would not be seen. (The ruins of that church, where Henderson heard Bruce, are pictured below.)
Some time after Henderson settled in as pastor at Leuchars, he got word that the great preacher Rev. Robert Bruce, of Edinburgh, would be preaching at a nearby parish, in Forgan, just a few miles from Leuchars. Henderson wanted to hear Bruce, but there was a problem. Bruce was a proponent of the Presbyterian form of church order, and openly opposed the role of bishops (and the king, for that matter) intruded on the church. Henderson was at that time satisfied with having bishops. But Henderson went to hear Bruce anyway, slipping into the back of the church so that he would not be seen. (The ruins of that church, where Henderson heard Bruce, are pictured below.)