James Sharp, Thomas Kirkton

James Sharp (1618-1679) was a Scottish prelate whose political realism saw him shift from moderate Presbyterianism to became a supporter and agent of episcopacy in Scotland. Born at Banff Castle, the son William Sharp, Sheriff Clerk of the county of Banffshire, Sharp studied divinity at King's College, Aberdeen. In 1638, after the signing of the national covenant, he travelled to England in search of preferment there but was back in Scotland by 1642 as a regent at St Andrews University. Appointed minister at Crail in 1648, he became leader of the moderate wing of the Church of Scotland known as the Resolutioners in 1650 and led the search for reconciliation in the divided church for the next decade. In 1651, he was taken prisoner by Oliver Cromwell's forces and held for a year. Following Cromwell's death, Sharp was sent to London to represent the interests of the moderate Resolutioners, but appeared to his former associates to have conspired with General George Monk (1608-70) to bring about the restoration of King Charles II, and to restore the Episcopalian system in Scotland. Although he claimed to believe in a Presbyterian future for Scotland when in 1661, he moved back to St Andrews as principal of St Mary’s College and professor of divinity, he was also king’s chaplain in Scotland and tainted by Royalist connections. When the Scottish parliament passed the Act Concerning Religion and Church Government on which imposed royal supremacy on decision-making in the governance of the church, re-establishment of episcopacy in Scotland became inevitable and Sharp chose to try to influence it from the inside rather than oppose it as a Presbyterian, leaving him vulnerable to accusations of treachery. He accepted the post of Archbishop of St. Andrews and head of the Church in Scotland, though opposed by Samuel Rutherford (1600-61) and Robert Blair (1583 - 1666). Sharp began to repress the nonconformists and while his ability to act depended on the political ascendancy of his allies or enemies, he was a marked man. The Scottish parliament passed the Act of Supremacy in 1669 and again Sharp was seen to be to blame, although he had in fact opposed it. His vision for an independent church governed by a moderate episcopacy was in ruins. He became the focus of popular hatred and on the 3rd May, 1679 he was hauled from his coach on Magus Muir (west of St. Andrews) by a group of Covenanters and murdered.

Thomas Kirkton entered as a student at St Leonard's College in 1642 and gained his MA in 1646.