James Renwick

James Renwick (born Feb. 15, 1662, Moniaive, Dumfries, Scot.—died Feb. 17, 1688, Edinburgh) was the last of the prominent Covenanter martyrs of Scotland.

Educated at Edinburgh University, Renwick joined (c. 1681) the group of Covenanters known as the Cameronians (those who adhered to the perpetual obligation of the covenants of 1638 and 1643) and soon became prominent among them. At their direction, he studied theology at the University of Groningen and was ordained a minister in 1683. Returning to Scotland, he became one of the field preachers of the Covenanters and was declared a rebel by the Privy Council. He was largely responsible for the “apologetical declaration” of 1684, by which he and his followers disowned the authority of Charles II; the Privy Council replied by ordering repudiation of the declaration on pain of death. Unlike some of his associates, Renwick refused to join the rebellion under the Earl of Argyll in 1685. In 1687, when the declarations of indulgence allowed some liberty of worship to the Presbyterians, he and his followers, often called Renwickites, continued to hold illegal meetings in the fields. A reward was offered for Renwick’s capture, and early in 1688 he was seized in Edinburgh. Tried and found guilty of disowning the royal authority and other offenses, he refused to apply for a pardon and was hanged.