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

    Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

    32 Citations (Scopus)

    Abstract

    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 anal. moreover.. in his goal of the reunification of Christendom as a whole, on the Anglican model.

    Original languageEnglish
    Pages (from-to)885-903
    Number of pages19
    JournalHistorical Journal
    Volume48
    Issue number4
    DOIs
    Publication statusPublished - Dec 2005

    Keywords

    • Church history
    • Scotland
    • Great Britain
    • James VI
    • James I

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'James VI and I, the Church of Scotland, and British Ecclesiastical Convergence'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this