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Perth Assembly
Perth Assembly was written by David Calderwood in 1619. It was printed in Leyden, Holland by the Pilgrims just a year before they made the voyage to America to settle at Plymouth Colony. The book enraged King James VI and I, who sent authorities to Holland to arrest William Brewster, the printer. Brewster fled to England and went into hiding. He was never apprehended, and later made the voyage to America in 1620. Calderwood wrote Perth Assembly in protest at King James' imposition of the Five Articles upon the Church of Scotland. He fled to Holland after publishing the book, and did not return to Scotland until after the king's death in 1625.
156 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1619
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About the author
David Calderwood
76 books2 followersDavid Calderwood (1575 – 1650) was a Church of Scotland minister and historian.
Calderwood was educated at Edinburgh, where he took the degree of MA in 1593. In about 1604, he became minister of Crailing, near Jedburgh in Roxburghshire, where he became conspicuous for his resolute opposition to the introduction of Episcopacy. In 1617, while James VI was in Scotland, a Remonstrance, which had been drawn up by the Presbyterian clergy, was placed in Calderwood's hands.
He was summoned to St. Andrews and examined before the king, but neither threats nor promises could make him deliver up the roll of signatures to the Remonstrance. He was deprived of his charge, committed to prison at St. Andrews and afterwards removed to Edinburgh. The Privy Council ordered him to be banished from the kingdom for refusing to acknowledge the sentence of the High Commission. He lingered in Scotland, publishing a few tracts, till 27 August 1619, when he sailed for Holland. During his residence in Holland he published his Altare Damascenum.
Calderwood appears to have returned to Scotland in 1624-1625. He was appointed minister of Pencaitland, in the county of East Lothian, in about 1640, where he was one of those appointed to draw up The Directory for Public Worship in Scotland.
He continued to take an active part in the affairs of the church, and introduced in 1649 the practice, now confirmed by long usage, of dissenting from the decision of the General Assembly, and requiring the protest to be entered in the record.
His last years were devoted to the preparation of The Historie of the Kirk of Scotland which was published in an abridged form in 1646.
Calderwood was educated at Edinburgh, where he took the degree of MA in 1593. In about 1604, he became minister of Crailing, near Jedburgh in Roxburghshire, where he became conspicuous for his resolute opposition to the introduction of Episcopacy. In 1617, while James VI was in Scotland, a Remonstrance, which had been drawn up by the Presbyterian clergy, was placed in Calderwood's hands.
He was summoned to St. Andrews and examined before the king, but neither threats nor promises could make him deliver up the roll of signatures to the Remonstrance. He was deprived of his charge, committed to prison at St. Andrews and afterwards removed to Edinburgh. The Privy Council ordered him to be banished from the kingdom for refusing to acknowledge the sentence of the High Commission. He lingered in Scotland, publishing a few tracts, till 27 August 1619, when he sailed for Holland. During his residence in Holland he published his Altare Damascenum.
Calderwood appears to have returned to Scotland in 1624-1625. He was appointed minister of Pencaitland, in the county of East Lothian, in about 1640, where he was one of those appointed to draw up The Directory for Public Worship in Scotland.
He continued to take an active part in the affairs of the church, and introduced in 1649 the practice, now confirmed by long usage, of dissenting from the decision of the General Assembly, and requiring the protest to be entered in the record.
His last years were devoted to the preparation of The Historie of the Kirk of Scotland which was published in an abridged form in 1646.
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November 11, 2021
One of the first publications of this book was done by William Brewster in 1618 while living in Leiden, Holland. Doing so landed this Separatist in even more trouble with King James I and the Church of England. He would emigrate to the New World aboard the Mayflower a year later.
This book is a rebuttal to James’ efforts to force the Church of Scotland (Presbyterian)to adopt the practices of the Church of England (Anglican) via the Perth Assembly meeting. The book attacks the five key changes pushed by James: kneeling during communion, observation of holy days (such as Christmas and Easter), confirmation by bishops, private communion for the sick and infirm, and private baptism.
Of these five points, the most pages are dedicated to kneeling during communion and the observance of holy days. I found the section on holy days to be the most interesting. The argument is broken out into eight reasons that are very clearly present and convincing, especially considering the era in which it was written.
It’s a shame this book has not been given a modern reprinting, but the pdf I read which reproduced the images of the vintage 17th Century publication was still readable.
This book is a rebuttal to James’ efforts to force the Church of Scotland (Presbyterian)to adopt the practices of the Church of England (Anglican) via the Perth Assembly meeting. The book attacks the five key changes pushed by James: kneeling during communion, observation of holy days (such as Christmas and Easter), confirmation by bishops, private communion for the sick and infirm, and private baptism.
Of these five points, the most pages are dedicated to kneeling during communion and the observance of holy days. I found the section on holy days to be the most interesting. The argument is broken out into eight reasons that are very clearly present and convincing, especially considering the era in which it was written.
It’s a shame this book has not been given a modern reprinting, but the pdf I read which reproduced the images of the vintage 17th Century publication was still readable.
Displaying 1 of 1 review