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James Blair (clergyman)

James Blair (clergyman)

James Blair D.D. (1656 – April 18, 1743) was a Scottish Episcopalian clergyman, missionary and educator, best known as the founder of the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia.

Youth and education

James Blair was born in Banffshire, Scotland as one of five children. His father, Robert Blair, was a clergyman. James Blair was educated at Marischal College, University of Aberdeen and the University of Edinburgh. After completing his education, in 1679 he was ordained in the national Church of Scotland (known officially at this time as the Kirk of Scotland, see kirk). During the entire seventeenth century the Kirk had been experiencing passionate internal conflicts between Presbyterians and Episcopalians (see, for example, the Bishops' Wars). The Episcopalians were in the ascendancy during this period and the Church of Scotland was briefly aligned with the Church of England during the reign of Charles II of Scotland. Charles was a strong opponent of Presbyterianism and converted to Roman Catholicism on his deathbed. In 1681, Blair, aligned with the Episcopalians, was deprived of his parish in Edinburgh due to the conflict within the Episcopalian movement between those supporting the Roman Catholic Church and those advocating a continued Protestant Episcopalian national church. Discouraged, Blair relocated to London later that year.

Missionary to the Virginia Colony

In London, 1685, he became ordained in the Church of England, and at the request of Henry Compton, the Bishop of London (responsible for the colonies), Blair traveled to the New World with a mission to "revive and reform the church in the Virginia Colony." [http://www.answers.com/topic/james-blair]. His initial assignment was to serve as rector of the Parish of Henrico at Varina. He developed good relationships with prominent political familes, such as the Harrisons, whose daughter Sarah became his wife in 1685. The leaders of the Virginia Colony had long desired a school of higher education. An earlier attempt to establish a university at Henricus around 1618 had been promising, but failed after the Indian Massacre of 1622 wiped out the entire settlement, which was not rebuilt. With encouragement from the Colony's House of Burgesses and other prominent individuals, Blair prepared a plan, believed by some historians to be modeled after the earlier one from Henricus, and returned to England in 1691 to petition the monarchy for a new college.

College of William and Mary

The trip to London proved successful. Blair was supported in his efforts by John Tillotson, who was the Archbishop of Canterbury. In 1693, a charter was granted for The College of William and Mary in Virginia, named to honor King William III of England and Queen Mary II of Great Britain, the reigning monarchs. Blair was made president of the new school for life. After Blair returned to Virginia, the trustees of the new college bought a parcel of 330 acres from Thomas Ballard for the new school. The location chosen was at Middle Plantation, a high point on the Virginia Peninsula so named because its was equidistant from the James and York Rivers. Middle Plantation had served as a fortress during periodic conflicts with the Native Americans since its establishment in 1632. The College was given a seat in the House of Burgesses. Financial income was to come by taxation of a penny per pound on tobacco exported from Maryland and Virginia to countries other than England, and from other similar sources, such as an export duty on furs and animal skins. The new school opened in temporary buildings in 1694. Properly called the "College Building," the first version of the Wren Building was built at Middle Plantation beginning on August 8, 1695 and occupied by 1700. Today, according to the College, the Wren Building is the oldest academic structure still in use in America. (Incidentally, it is called the "Wren Building" because tradition has it that the building was designed by the famed English architect Sir Christopher Wren who had designed St. Paul's Cathedral in London. His actual involvement with the College Building completed in 1700 is disputed by some historians).

Capital of Virginia, Williamsburg

The State House at Jamestown burned again (for the third time) in 1698, and as it had in the past, the legislature again took up temporary quarters at Middle Plantation. On May 1, 1699, Blair and five students of the College of William and Mary appeared before the House of Burgesses (which was meeting nearby in temporary quarters) to suggest that they designate Middle Plantation (soon to renamed Williamsburg in honor of King William III), as the new capital of Virginia, and a month later, the legislators agreed. Williamsburg served as the capital of Virginia for 81 years, until 1780, when the capital was moved to Richmond for security reasons at the outset of the American Revolution. Incidentally, primarily due to fire hazards in the Colonial era, the current building in Richmond, known as the Virginia State Capitol, is the eighth one.

Religious leadership, writing

James Blair served as a member and for a time, president of the Governor's Council in Virginia. As representative of the Bishop of London, Blair was in a position of great power and responsibility in the period in Virginia before the separation of church and state became a fundamental political concept in Virginia which was put into place after the American Revolution. Blair worked to improve the moral condition of the people while he also defended them against the tyranny of the royal governors. he had great influence in England, and reportedly was involved with the recall to England of 3 royal governors: Edmund Andros, Francis Nicholson, and Alexander Spotswood. He was also the Rector of Bruton Parish Church in Williamsburg from 1710 until his death. Dr. Blair organized the construction of the now-historic church building, which began in 1711. It was beautifully restored in the early 20th century under then-rector Reverend Dr. W.A.R. Goodwin, a project which inspired Goodwin to advocate further restorations of other buildings, and seek sources of funding to do so, which led him to Colonial Williamsburg greatest benefactor, Standard Oil fortune heir John D. Rockefeller, Jr.. In 1722, Blair published Our Savior's Divine Sermon on the Mount, a five-volume collection of his sermons from 1707 to 1721. With Henry Hartwell and Edward Chilton, Blair wrote The Present State of Virginia and the College, which was published in 1727.

Death, burial at Jamestown

James Blair died on April 18, 1743 at the age of 87, after a long career. Dr. Blair was buried next to his wife Sarah (née Harrison) Blair (who had died earlier in 1713) at Jamestown Island, where Association for the Preservation of Virginia Antiquities (APVA), owns the original site of Jamestown, including the church and cemetery.

Heritage

During the Colonial period, Dr. Blair was instrumental in reviving and reforming the Church of England in Virginia. Dr. Blair's contributions to education in Virginia are recognized not only at the College of William and Mary, but in the naming of various schools, including James Blair Middle School in James City County, Virginia, (formerly James Blair High School) and James Blair Middle School in Norfolk, Virginia. On the William and Mary campus in the city of Williamsburg, a large portrait of Dr. Blair is displayed in the Great Hall. Nearby, there is a statue of him prominently displayed. In 2005, the Cypher Society of the College announced it was taking responsibility for a site restoration and beautification of the Blair graves at Jamestown Island in anticipation of Jamestown 2007, which will celebrate the settlement's 400th anniversary.

Sources

- [http://www.answers.com/topic/james-blair James Blair at answers.com]
- [http://www.history.org/Almanack/places/hb/hbwren.cfm Colonial Williamsburg, Wren Building web page]
- [http://ww2.nps.k12.va.us/education/school/schoolhistory.php?sectiondetailid=62 Norfolk Virginia Public Schools, James Blair Middle School web page]
- [http://www.electricscotland.com/history/other/blair_james.htm Electricscotland.com, James Blair web page]
- [http://www.britannica.com/eb/article-9015575 Encyclopedia Britannica online edition]
- [http://www.brutonparish.org/history.htm Bruton Parish Church, history web pages]
- [http://www.wm.edu/news/index.php?id=3499 new about College of William and Mary's Cypher Society] group plans to restore James and Sarah Blair grave site at Jamestown

External links

- [http://www.wm.edu/ College of William and Mary, official website]
- [http://www.lva.lib.va.us/ Library of Virginia webpage] collections at this State Library include rare documents, correspondence, and published work of James Blair Blair, James Blair, James Blair, James Blair, James Blair, James Blair, James Blair, James Blair, James Blair, James Blair, James Blair, James

1656

Events

- Mehmed Köprülü becomes Grand Vizier of the Ottoman Empire.
- Jews are readmitted to England by Oliver Cromwell.
- The Stockholm Banco, the first bank to issue banknotes, is founded.
- The only Fifty Shilling British coin is minted.
- Adams' Grammar School in Shropshire, England is founded by William Adams.
- April 1: King Jan Kazimierz crowns Our Lady of Częstochowa (the Black Madonna) as Queen and Protector of Poland in the cathedral of Lwów after the miraculous saving of the monastery of Jasna Góra during The Deluge, an event which actually changed the course of the war.
- December - The pendulum clock is invented by Christiaan Huygens.

Ongoing Events

- The Deluge (1648-1667)

Births

- May 31 - Marin Marais, French composer and viol player (d. 1728)
- June 5 - Joseph Pitton de Tournefort, French botanist (d. 1708)
- August 6 - Claude de Forbin, French naval commander (d. 1733)
- September 6 - Guillaume Dubois, French cardinal and statesman (d. 1723)
- September 14 - Thomas Baker, English antiquarian (d. 1746)
- October 20 - Nicolas de Largillière, French painter (d. 1746)
- October 29 - Edmond Halley, English scientist (d. 1742)
- Patrick Abercromby, Scottish physician and antiquarian See also :Category:1656 births.

Deaths

- January 3 - Mathieu Molé, French statesman (b. 1584)
- March 21 - James Ussher, Archbishop of Armagh and Primate of All Ireland (b. 1581)
- April 24 - Thomas Fincke, Danish mathematician and physicist (b. 1561)
- April 27 - Jan van Goyen, Dutch painter (b. 1596)
- June 9 - Thomas Tomkins, Welsh composer (b. 1572)
- July 2 - François-Marie, comte de Broglie, Italian-born French commander (b. 1611)
- August 11 - Prince Octavio Piccolomini, Duke of Amalfi, Austrian field marshal (b. 1599)
- September 8 - Joseph Hall, English bishop and writer (b. 1574)
- October 3 - Myles Standish, Mayflower colonist
- October 8 - John George I, Elector of Saxony (b. 1585)
- November 6 - King John IV of Portugal (b. 1603)
- Stephen Bachiler, English clergyman See also :Category:1656 deaths. Category:1656 ko:1656년

1743

Events

- February 14 - Henry Pelham becomes British Prime Minister
- February 21 - - The premiere in London of George Frideric Handel's oratorio, Samson.
- September 13 - Treaty of Worms (1743) - a treaty between Great Britain, Austria and Sardinia
- Battle of Dettingen

Ongoing events

- War of the Austrian Succession (1740-1748)

Births

- January 25 - Friedrich Heinrich Jacobi, German philosopher (d. 1819)
- February 13 - Sir Joseph Banks, British naturalist and botanist (d. 1820)
- February 19 - Luigi Boccherini, Italian composer (d. 1805)
- February 23 - Mayer Amschel Rothschild, German-born banker (d. 1812)
- March 4 - Johann David Wyss, Swiss author (d. 1818)
- April 13 - Thomas Jefferson, 3rd President of the United States (d. 1826)
- May 17 - Seth Warner American revolutionary hero (d. 1784)
- August 26 - Antoine Lavoisier, French chemist (d. 1794)
- September 11 - Nikolaj Abraham Abildgaard, Danish painter (d. 1809)
- September 17 - Marquis de Condorcet, French mathematician, philosopher, and political scientist (d. 1794)
- José Fernando de Abascal, Spanish viceroy of Peru

Deaths

- January 29 - Cardinal André-Hercule de Fleury, Bishop of Fréjus, chief minister of France under Louis XV (b. 1653)
- January 29 - Charles-Irénée Castel de Saint-Pierre, French writer (b. 1658)
- February 18 - Anna Maria Luisa de' Medici, last of the Medicis (b. 1667)
- April 4 - Daniel Neal, English historian (b. 1678)
- July 2 - Spencer Compton, 1st Earl of Wilmington, English statesman
- August 5 - John Hervey, Lord Hervey, English statesman and writer (b. 1696)
- September 14 - Nicolas Lancret, French painter (b. 1690)
- September 21 - Jai Singh II, King of Amber-Juiper, India (b. 1688)
- October 4 - John Campbell, 2nd Duke of Argyll, Scottish soldier (b. 1678)
- December 27 - Hyacinthe Rigaud, French painter (b. 1659) Category:1743 ko:1743년

Scotland

Scotland (Alba in Gaelic) is a nation in northwest Europe and a constituent country of the United Kingdom. The name originally meant Land of the Gaels (see below). The country occupies the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shares a land border to the south with England and is bounded by the North Sea on the east and the Atlantic Ocean on the west. Its capital city is Edinburgh. Despite no longer being an independent sovereign state, Scotland is still considered a country in its own right. Scotland existed as an independent Kingdom until 1 May 1707, when the Act of Union 1707 merged Scotland with the Kingdom of England to create the Kingdom of Great Britain. The flag of Scotland — the Saltire — is thought to be the oldest national flag still in use. The patron saint of Scotland is Saint Andrew, and Saint Andrew's Day is the 30 November. There are currently attempts to create an additional national holiday on this day.

Etymology

The English language name Scotland could date from at least the first half of the 10th century, when it was used in the Anglo-Saxon Chronicle. The word Scot- was borrowed from Latin. We cannot assume Scotland was being used here to mean anything other than Land of the Gaels, just like Latin Scotia. Scottish kings adopted the title Basileus/Rex Scottorum (= High King/King of the Gaels) and Rex Scotiae (King of Gael-Land) some time in the 11th century. The earliest attribution of the latter Latin title was by the Germany-based Irish writer Marianus Scotus, recording the death of King Máel Coluim mac Cináeda as Moelcoluim Rex Scotiae, for the year 1034. In taking this title, they were likely influenced by the style Imperator Scottorum known to have been employed by Brian Bóruma in 1005. In the early 13th century, the Scotto-Norman author of de Situ Albanie protested that Scotia was a corrupt word for what should be called Albania; but by then Scotia was becoming the norm in Latin, French and English; and hence Scotia and its derivitives prevailed in all languages except the Celtic ones. The Kingdom of Scotland has traditionally been regarded as being united in 843, by Cináed mac Ailpín, King of the Picts, the man who is known to the modern English-speaker as King Kenneth I of Scotland.

History

See also the main article: History of Scotland. The written history of Scotland largely began with the arrival of the Roman Empire in Britain, when the Romans occupied what is now England and Wales, administering it as a Roman province called Britannia. To the north was territory not governed by the Romans—Caledonia, peopled by the Picts. From a classical historical viewpoint Scotland seemed a peripheral country, slow to gain advances filtering out from the Mediterranean fount of civilisation, but as knowledge of the past increases it has become apparent that some developments were earlier and more advanced than previously thought, and that the seaways were very important to Scottish history. The country's lengthy struggle with England, its more powerful neighbour to the south, was the cause of the Wars of Scottish Independence, forcing Scotland to rely on trade, cultural and often strategic ties with a number of European powers, most notably France. In these, the Scots repudiated the English king's assertions of paramountcy. They fought firstly under the leadership of Sir William Wallace and Andrew de Moray in support of John Balliol, and later under that of Robert the Bruce. Bruce, crowned as King Robert I in 1306, won a decisive victory over the English at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314. Battle of Bannockburn From roughly the end of the 14th century, Scotland began to show a split into two cultural areas — the mainly Scots, or English, speaking Lowlands, and the mainly Gaelic-speaking Highlands. Gaelic persisted in remote parts of the southwest, which had formed part of the rival kingdom of Galloway during the early medieval period, probably up until the late 1700s. Historically, the Lowlands were closer to the mainstream European culture, and adopted a variant of the feudal system after the Norman Conquest of England. A number of major families of Norman ancestry, such as the Bruce, Douglas, and Stewart families, provided most of the monarchs after approximately 1100. By comparison, the clan system of the Highlands formed one of the region's more distinctive features, with a number of powerful clans remaining dominant until after the Act of Union. It is worth noting that the Western Isles, along with Orkney and Shetland, were part of Norway until 1266 and 1468 respectively; the culture of these islands, in many ways, remained distinct from the rest of Scotland until the modern period. In 1603, the Scottish King James VI inherited the throne of England, and became James I of England. James moved to London, only returning to Scotland once. Although he subsequently styled himself as the King of Great Britain, this was a personal union: the two nations shared a head of state but remained separate kingdoms, with the exception of a brief period when Oliver Cromwell overthrew the monarchy and Scotland was under English military occupation. In 1707, the Scottish and English Parliaments enacted the Acts of Union, which merged the Kingdom of Scotland with the Kingdom of England, creating the Kingdom of Great Britain. The Union dissolved both the English and the Scottish Parliaments, and transferred all their powers to a new Parliament sitting in London which then became the Parliament of the United Kingdom. However, most of Scotland's institutions remained separate, notably the country's legal system and its established church; these distinctions remain to the present day. In 1801, Scotland became part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, when the Kingdom of Great Britain merged with the Kingdom of Ireland. Since 1922, Scotland has been one of the four constituent nations (along with England, Northern Ireland and Wales) of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland. In 1997 the people of Scotland voted to create a new devolved Scottish Parliament, subsequently established by the UK government under the Scotland Act 1998. Following the Act of Union and the subsequent Scottish Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution, Scotland became one of the commercial, intellectual and industrial powerhouses of Europe. Its industrial decline following the Second World War was particularly acute, but in recent decades the country has enjoyed something of a cultural and economic renaissance, fuelled in part by a resurgent financial services sector, the proceeds of North Sea oil and gas, and latterly the devolved parliament.

Geography

Clan Grant Main article: Geography of Scotland. Scotland comprises the northern part of the island of Great Britain; it is bordered on the south by England. Scotland's territorial extent is generally that established by the 1237 Treaty of York between Scotland and England and the 1266 Treaty of Perth between Scotland and Norway. Exceptions include the Isle of Man, which is now a crown dependency outside the United Kingdom, Orkney and Shetland, which are Scottish rather than Norwegian, and Berwick-upon-Tweed, which was defined as subject to the laws of England by the 1746 Wales and Berwick Act. The country consists of a mainland area plus several island groups, including Shetland, Orkney, and the Hebrides, divided into the Inner Hebrides and Outer Hebrides. Three main geographical and geological areas make up the mainland: from north to south, the generally mountainous Highlands containing Ben Nevis, Britain's highest mountain, the low-lying Central Belt, and the hilly Southern Uplands. The majority of the Scottish population resides in the Central Belt, which contains three of the country's six largest cities (Edinburgh, Glasgow, and Stirling) and many large towns. Most of the remaining population lives in the North-East Lowlands, where two of the remaining three cities (Aberdeen and Dundee) are situated. The final city, Inverness, is situated where the River Ness meets the Moray Firth, on the Great Glen Fault between the North-West Highlands and the Cairngorms. Highest maximum temperature: 32.9°C (91.2°F) at Greycrook, near Newtown St. Boswells, Borders on 9 August 2003. Lowest minimum temperature: -27.2°C (-17.0°F) at Braemar, Aberdeenshire on 11 February 1895 and 10 January 1982 and at Altnaharra, Highland on 30 December 1995. [http://www.metoffice.com/climate/uk/location/scotland/#temperature]

Major cities

The six designated cities in descending order of population size:
- Glasgow
- Edinburgh, the capital
- Aberdeen
- Dundee
- Inverness
- Stirling Scottish towns:
- List of burghs in Scotland

Waterways

- Major Rivers:
- The Clyde, The Dee, The Don, The Forth, The Tay, The Tweed, The Spey, ...
- Firths:
- Solway, Clyde, Cromarty, Dornoch, Forth, Lorne, Moray, Tay
- Sea Lochs (fjords):
- Loch Linnhe, Loch Fyne, Loch Long, Loch Etive, Loch Sunart, Loch Nevis, Loch Hourn, Loch Broom, Loch Eil
- Freshwater Lochs (lakes) include:
- Loch Ness, Loch Lomond, Loch Morar, Loch Tay, Loch Rannoch, Loch Awe, Loch Shiel, Loch Maree, The Lake of Menteith
- Artificial & Enhanced waterways include:
- Caledonian Canal, Crinan Canal, Forth and Clyde Canal, Union Canal
- See Also Falkirk Wheel

Geology

When vulcanism actively occurred in East Lothian, 350 million years ago, the rocks which now comprise Scotland lay close to the equator, and formed part of the newly amalgamated supercontinent of Pangaea. The continental plates making up Pangaea continued to converge, and a major collision occurred with the continent of Gondwana. The northern and southern parts of the island of Great Britain became adjoined only 75 million years before the onset of vulcanism in East Lothian. Before then, Scotland lay on the margin of the Laurentian continent, which included North America and Greenland. England and Wales lay some 40° of latitude further south, adjacent to Africa and South America in the Gondwanan continent. In the Early Ordovician, approximately 475 million years ago, England and Wales, on the Avalonian plate, rifted away from Gondwana and drifted northward towards Laurentia. The Iapetus Ocean, which separated the two land masses, began to close. By the mid-Silurian, about 420 million years ago, its margins had become attached along the Iapetus Suture, which roughly follows a line running West to East from the Solway Firth to Northumberland. When the later episode of vulcanism occurred, approximately 270 million years ago, Scotland still comprised part of Pangaea, but had drifted northward. East Lothian stood at about 8°North. Consolidation of Pangaea had continued so that the nearest ocean, the Tethys seaway, lay between Eurasia and Africa. Siccar Point in Berwickshire, Scotland, is where James Hutton (the "father" of modern geology) first observed this classic unconformity and recognized the meaning of stratigraphy.

Government and politics

Government

As one of the constituent parts of the United Kingdom, Scotland is represented in the Parliament of the United Kingdom in London. The Scottish Parliament in Edinburgh has the power to govern the country on Scotland-specific matters and has a limited power to vary income tax. The United Kingdom Parliament retains responsibility for Scotland's defence, international relations and certain other areas. The Scottish Parliament is not a sovereign authority, and the UK Parliament could, in theory, overrule or even abolish it at any time. For the purposes of local government, Scotland is divided into 32 unitary authority districts. Popular folk-memory continues to divide Scotland into 33 traditional counties.

Head of state

traditional counties]] Queen Elizabeth II, head of state of the United Kingdom, is descended from King James VI, King of Scots, the first Scottish monarch to also be King of England (James I, King of England from 1603). While great controversy has simmered amongst the Scottish public over her official title since her coronation (many believe that, being the first Queen Elizabeth of Great Britain, she should use the regnal name "Elizabeth I"), the courts of Scotland have confirmed "Elizabeth II" as her official title. She has said that in the future monarchs will follow the international ordinal tradition that, where a monarch reigns in a number of non-independent territories (or independent territories that agree to share a monarch) that each have a differing number of previous monarchs of the same name, the highest ordinal used in any of the territories is the one used across all (see List of regnal numerals of future British monarchs). Monarchs between 1603 and 1707, such as James VI and I and James VII and II, reigned over separate states and hence used a dual ordinal (see Personal union). Properly, the Scottish monarch was known as King of Scots or Queen of Scots, and referred to as "your Grace", rather than "your Majesty".

Scots Law

Scotland retains its own unique legal system, based on Roman law, which combines features of both civil law and common law. The terms of union with England specified the retention of separate systems. The barristers being called advocates, and the judges of the high court for civil cases are also the judges for the high court for criminal cases. Scots Law differs from England's common law system. Formerly, there were several regional law systems in Scotland, one of which was Udal Law (also called allodail or odal law) in Shetland and Orkney. This was a direct descendant of Old Norse Law, but was abolished in 1611. Despite this, Scottish courts have acknowledged the supremacy of udal law in some property cases as recently as the 1990s. There is a movement to restore udal law[http://www.udallaw.com/] to the islands as part of a devolution of power from Edinburgh to Shetland and Orkney. The laws regarding the nobility are also different in Scotland. Lords known as "Barons" in England are known as "Lords of Parliament." Gentlemen known as "Barons" in Scotland are not members of the House of Lords, as their titles (although still legitimate) are based on the old system of feudal baronies. Various systems based on common Celtic or Brehon Laws also survived in the Highlands until the 1800s.

Politics

See main article: Politics of Scotland, also Politics of the United Kingdom Politics of the United Kingdom Historically the politics of Scotland have reflected those of the UK as a whole, although with some differences. For example, besides the main UK-wide political parties (Labour, Conservatives and the Liberal Democrats) a number of Scottish-specific parties operate. These include the Scottish National Party (SNP) which is Scotland's second largest party and forms the main opposition in Parliament to the Labour-Liberal Democrats coalition, as well as the Scottish Socialist Party (SSP) and the Scottish Green Party. These parties became more of a force in Scottish politics after the establishment of the Scottish Parliament in 1998. Unlike England, which has a more of a left/right split politically, the political right in Scotland is actually amongst the smallest political groupings with the four main Parties all coming from a mix of far-left to moderate-left philosophies. The traditional political divides of left and right have also intersected with arguments over devolution, which all the UK-wide parties have supported to some degree throughout their history (although both Labour and the Conservatives have swithered a number of times between supporting and opposing it). However, now that devolution has occurred, the main argument about Scotland's constitutional status remains between those who support Scottish independence and those who oppose it. Recent trends indicate, according to the Joseph Rowntree [http://www.jrrt.org.uk/FINDINGS.pdf Reform Trust "State of the Nation Poll"] 2004, that 66% of Scots would like the Scottish Parliament to have more powers, while only 2% would like to see the powers returned to the House of Commons and Whitehall, with 21% happy with the status quo.

Language

Scotland has three distinct languages: English, Gaelic, and Scots. Almost all Scots speak Scottish Standard English. It is estimated by the General Register Office for Scotland that 30% of the population are also fluent in Scots, a West Germanic language sister to the English language. Slightly more than 1% of the population are native Gaelic speakers, a Celtic language similar to Irish. Eilean Siar is the only unitary council region of Scotland where Gaelic is spoken by a majority of the population and that fact is reflected in the use of Gaelic in its official name. Almost all Gaelic speakers also speak fluent English. By the time of James VI's accession to the English throne, the old Scottish Court and Parliament spoke and wrote in Scots, also known as Lowland Scots or Lallans (although strictly speaking Lallans is a literary dialect of the Scots language). Scots is widely believed to have developed from the Northumbrian form of Anglo-Saxon, spoken in Bernicia which, in the 6th century, conquered the Brythonic kingdom of Gododdin (modern-day Lothian) and renamed its capital, Dunedin, to Edinburgh. The influence of settlers from the Low Countries and Norway in the east coast burghs founded from the reign of David I onwards was also an important factor in the development of the language, however. Scots contains a number of loanwords from Gaelic. Equally, there is a strong movement in the Aberdeen area to have Doric, the dialect of Scots spoken around Aberdeen, recognised as a language. In addition, there is a movement to revive Norn, a dialect of Old Norse which died out in the 19th century, on Orkney and Shetland. Town names on signs in Shetland are written in both languages. The Scottish Parliament recognises both English and Gaelic as official languages of Scotland, both receiving "equal respect" although not equal validity. Gaelic received official recognition through the Gaelic Language (Scotland) Act 2005. The Scots language was also officially recognised as a "regional or minority language" under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages ratified by the United Kingdom in 2001, and the Scottish Executive, has promised to provide support in their Partnership Agreement 2003. The [http://www.scotsdictionaries.org.uk/ Scottish Language Dictionaries] receive some state funding via the Scottish Arts Council.

Culture

Main article: Culture of Scotland Scotland has a civic and ethnic culture distinct from that of the rest of the British Isles. It originates from various differences, some entrenched as part of the Act of Union, others facets of nationhood not readily defined but readily identifiable.

Scottish education

The system of Education in Scotland is also separate, and has a distinctive history as the first country since Sparta in classical Greece to implement a system of general public education. The early roots were in the Education Act of 1496 which first introduced compulsory education for the eldest sons of nobles, then the principle of general public education was set with the Reformation establishment of the national Kirk which in 1561 set out a national programme for spiritual reform, including a school in every parish. In 1633 the Parliament of Scotland introduced a tax on local landowners to fund this, subsequently strengthened with the Education Act of 1696 which remained in force until 1872. The Act of Union guaranteed the rights of the Scottish universities and confirmed the position of the Kirk, maintaining Scotland's pre-eminence in public education. Education finally came under the control of the state rather than the Kirk and became compulsory for all children from the implementation of the Education Act of 1872 onwards. As a result, for over two hundred years Scotland had a higher percentage of its population educated at primary, secondary and tertiary levels than any other country in Europe. The differences in education have manifested themselves in different ways, but most noticeably in the number of Scots who went on to become leaders in their fields during the 18th and 19th centuries. The then-Deputy First Minister Jim Wallace stated in October 2004 that Scotland still produces a higher number of university and college graduates per head than anywhere else in Europe. School students in Scotland sit Standard Grade exams while students in England sit GCSE exams, and then a broad range of Higher Grade exams rather than becoming more specialised under the English A-level system. Following this, a Scottish university's honours degree takes four years of study as opposed to three in the rest of the UK. The university systems in several Commonwealth countries show marked affinities with the Scottish rather than the English system.

Banking and currency

Finance in Scotland also features unique characteristics. Although the Bank of England remains the central bank for the UK Government, three Scottish corporate banks still issue their own banknotes: (the Bank of Scotland, the Royal Bank of Scotland and the Clydesdale Bank). These notes have no status as legal tender in England, Wales or Northern Ireland; but in practice they are universally accepted throughout the UK (including in Northern Ireland, where Irish banks also issue their own banknotes), as well as in the Isle of Man and the Channel Islands). The Royal Bank of Scotland still produces a £1 note, unique amongst British banks. The full range of notes commonly accepted are £1, £5, £10, £20, £50 and £100. Bank of England currency is also accepted as legal currency in Scotland. (See British banknotes for further discussion) The only legal tender, by a strict definition, in Scotland is coinage of the Royal Mint (including gold); by statute, Bank of England notes below the value of £5 are legal tender, but none are currently circulating. No Bank of England notes in use, or any of the Scottish banknotes, are legal tender in Scotland. In practice this has little effect, as creditors are obliged to accept any "reasonable" attempt to settle a debt under Scots law. All four sets of banknotes are freely accepted in Scotland, and can be considered legal currency, though it is unusual for notes over £20 to be used in normal business. The pound Scots, which ceased being used with the Act of Union, is still sometimes invoked. Originally the same value as the pound sterling, today it is treated as being worth one-twelfth of a pound sterling, or eight and a third pence, the value it had in 1707. It only exists in a legal sense; generally in archaic laws or bequests, with values given either in pounds Scots or in merks, another archaic unit of currency. The merk, or mark, was worth around thirteen or fourteen shillings Scots — just over one English shilling. Both the Bank of Scotland and the Bank of England were founded by William Paterson of Dumfries. In addition the modern system of branch banking (in which banks maintain a nationwide system of offices rather than one or two central offices) originated in Scotland. Only strong political pressure during the 19th century prevented the resultant strong banking system from taking over banking in England. However, although Scottish banks proved unwelcome in England at the time, their business model became widely copied, firstly in England and later in the rest of the world. The Savings Bank movement was created in Scotland in 1810 by the Reverend Henry Duncan as a means of allowing his parishioners to save smaller amounts of money than the major banks would accept as deposits at that time. His model for the Ruthwell Parish Bank was adopted by well-to-do sponsors throughout the world, with most of the British savings banks eventually amalgamating to form the Trustee Savings Bank - more recently merged with the commercial bank, Lloyds Bank, to form Lloyds TSB - and the American examples becoming a Savings and Loan Association. See [http://www.savingsbanksmuseum.co.uk/] for further information.

Sport

Savings and Loan Association Scotland also has its own sporting competitions distinct from the rest of the UK, such as the Scottish Football League and the Scottish Rugby Union. This gives the country independent representation at many international sporting events such as the football World Cup and various rugby tournaments such as the Six Nations. Scotland cannot compete in the Olympic Games independently however, and Scottish athletes must compete as part of the Great Britain team if they wish to take part. Scotland does however send its own team to compete in the Commonwealth Games. Association Football is the most popular sport in the country, both played and watched. Innovations such as a passing style of play, a team working as a unit, half-time and free-kicks were introduced by Queen's Park F.C., all of which were later incorporated and remain in the modern game. Their Hampden Park home, the world's first and oldest international football stadium, holds several European attendance records including 149,415 watching a Scottish international. The Scottish Football Association is the second oldest national football association in the world, with the Scottish national football team playing and hosting the world's first ever international football match. The Scottish Cup is the world's oldest national trophy. The oldest professional football club in Scotland is Kilmarnock FC, founded in 1869. Scotland is considered the "Home of Golf", and is well known for its many courses, including the Old Course that is synonymous with the game. Established in 1754, The Royal and Ancient Golf Club of St Andrews also codified the rules of golf. As well as its world famous Highland Games, where several traditional events such as the McGlashan stones are now common in world strongman events, Scotland has also given the world curling, and shinty, a stick game related to Ireland's hurling, and similar to England's field hockey. Whilst stereotypically seen as an English game, Scottish cricket has always had a large following throughout the country. Scottish cricketScottish professional rugby clubs compete in the Celtic League, along with teams from Ireland and Wales. However, the country retains a national league for amateur and semi-pro clubs. Shinty is run by the Camanachd Association and is played primarily in its Highland heartland, but also in most universities and cities. Kingussie have the distinction of appearing in the Guinness Book of Records as the most successful sporting team of all time, having won the league for twenty years in a row.

Media

Scotland has distinct media from the rest of the UK. For example, it produces many national newspapers such as Daily Record (Scotland's leading tabloid), The Herald broadsheet, based in Glasgow, and The Scotsman in Edinburgh. The Herald, formerly known as the Glasgow Herald, changed its name to promote a national rather than a regional identity, while The Scotsman, which used to be a broadsheet, recently switched to tabloid format. Sunday newspapers include the tabloid Sunday Mail (published by Daily Record parent company Trinity Mirror) and the Sunday Post, while the Sunday Herald and Scotland on Sunday have associations with The Herald and The Scotsman respectively. Regional dailies include The Courier and Advertiser in Dundee in the east, and The Press and Journal serving Aberdeen and the north. Scotland has its own BBC services which include the national radio stations, BBC Radio Scotland and Gaelic language service, BBC Radio nan Gaidheal. There are also a number of BBC and independent local radio stations throughout the country. In addition to radio, BBC Scotland also runs two national television stations. Much of the output of BBC Scotland Television, such as news and current affairs programmes, and the Glasgow-based soap opera, River City, are intended for broadcast within Scotland, whilst others, such as drama and comedy programmes, aim at audiences throughout the UK and further afield. Sports coverage also differs, reflecting the fact that the country has its own football leagues, separate from those of England. Three independent television stations (Scottish TV, Grampian TV and ITV1 Border) also broadcast in Scotland. Although they previously had independent existences, Scottish TV (serving the Central Lowlands) and Grampian (serving the Highlands and Islands) now belong to the same company (The Scottish Media Group) and resemble each other closely, apart from local news coverage. English-based ITV1 Border has had a more complex position, as it serves communities on both sides of the border with England, as well as the Isle of Man, and it now has separate news programs for each side of the border. Most of the independent television output equates to that transmitted in England, Wales and Northern Ireland, with the exception of news and current affairs, sport, cultural and Gaelic language programming.

Other facets of Scottish culture

Isle of Man Scotland retains its own distinct sense of nationhood. Academic research consistently shows that people in Scotland feel Scottish, whilst not necessarily feeling the need to see that translated into the establishment of a fully-independent Scottish nation-state. Scotland also has its own unique family of languages and dialects, helping to foster a strong sense of "Scottish-ness". See Scots language and Scottish Gaelic language. An organisation called Iomairt Cholm Cille (http://www.colmcille.net) has been set up to support Gaelic-speaking communities in both Scotland and Ireland and to promote links between them. Scotland retains its own national church, separate from that of England. See Church of Scotland and the section on "Religion" below. These factors combine together to form a strong, readily identifiable Scottish civic culture.

Religion

The Church of Scotland (sometimes referred to as The Kirk) is the national church, but it is not subject to state control nor is it "established" in the same manner as the Church of England within England. It is, however, recognised as the national church by Act of Parliament - Church of Scotland Act 1921. The Church of Scotland differs from the Church of England in several key respects, most notably in terms of not having a prescriptive liturgy and also in that it has a Presbyterian rather than Episcopalian form of church governance. Presbyterian church government was guaranteed by the Act of Union in 1707. The Scots are proud of the fact that the Scottish Reformation took place at a grassroots level, unlike the English experience, where the reformation, at least in its first thrust under Henry VIII, was a politically motivated top-down reform. The Scottish Reformation, initiated in 1560 and led by John Knox, was Calvinist, and throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, the Church of Scotland maintained a strict theology and kept a tight control over the morality of the population. The Church had an overwhelming influence on the cultural development of Scotland in early modern times. Because Calvinism does not adhere to the Liturgical Year, for example, Christmas was not widely celebrated in Scotland until the mid-20th century. The intellectual nature of Calvinism contributed greatly to the predominance of Scottish thinkers in the age of Enlightenment (see Scottish Enlightenment), but the Church's distrust of the sensual is seen as the reason why Scotland contributed little to classical music and art before the 19th century. Since the mid-19th century, however, the Church of Scotland has developed into a generally tolerant and heterogenous church with an interest in ecumenism. A number of other Christian denominations exist in Scotland, foremost amongst them Roman Catholicism, which survived the reformation especially on islands like Uist and Barra despite the suppression of the 16th to late 18th centuries, and was strengthened in the 19th century by immigration from Ireland. It has now become the largest Christian denomination after the Church of Scotland, and is strongest in the West of Scotland (although roadside shrines can be seen in the South Isles of the Outer Hebrides, similar to those in Ireland). Much of Scotland (particularly the West Central Belt around Glasgow) has experienced problems caused by the religious divide between Presbyterians and Roman Catholics. Some Scots maintain that sectarianism is still deeply rooted in Scottish society. This problem has historically manifested itself in a number of ways, particularly in discrimination in employment and in football fanaticism. The problems associated with sectarianism in Scotland have diminished markedly in recent years, although some issues remain. The Scottish police have recently moved to restrict the number of Orange Order parades and the state funding of separate Roman Catholic primary and secondary schools remains a controversial issue. As well as the Church of Scotland there are various other Protestant churches, including the Scottish Episcopal Church, which forms a full part of the Anglican Communion, and the Free Church of Scotland, a Presbyterian off-shoot from the Church of Scotland adhering to a more conservative style of Calvinism. Islam is the largest non-Christian religion in Scotland, although its numbers remain small. There are also significant Jewish (though higher in past decades) and Sikh communities, especially in Glasgow (Nancy Morris is Scotland's first woman rabbi). Scotland has a high proportion of persons who regard themselves as belonging to 'no religion'. Indeed, this was the second most common response in the 2001 census.

Economy

Main article: Economy of Scotland Most Scottish industry and commerce is concentrated in a few large cities on the waterways of the central lowlands. Edinburgh, on the Firth of Forth, is a cultural centre, the capital of Scotland, and one of the top financial centres in Europe. Glasgow, one of the largest cities in the UK, lies on the River Clyde; it is Scotland's leading seaport and today is the fourth largest manufacturing centre in the UK, accounting for well over 60% of Scotland's manufactured exports, with particular strengths in shipbuilding, engineering, food and drink, printing, publishing, clothing and textiles as well as new growth sectors such as software development and biotechnology. The dominant sector of Glasgow's economy is the service sector industries such as finance and banking, public administration, education, healthcare, and tourism. Glasgow is one of Europe's top 20 financial centres and is home to many of Britain's leading businesses. Glasgow also has the UK's largest and most economically important commerce and retail district. Although heavy industry has declined, the high-technology Silicon Glen corridor has developed between Glasgow and Edinburgh. Tourism is also very important. The significance of coal, once Scotland's most important mineral resource, has declined. Oil, however, gained prominence in Scotland's economy during the 1970s, with the growth of North Sea oil extraction companies. Natural gas is also abundant in the North Sea fields. Aberdeen is the centre of the oil industry. Scotland is a net exporter of energy to the rest of the UK, with abundant electricity generation capacity. Other important industries are textile production (woollens, worsteds, silks, and linens), distilling, and fishing. Textiles, beer, and whisky, which are among Scotland's chief exports, are produced in many towns. Salmon are taken from the Tay and the Dee, and numerous coastal towns and villages are supported by fishing from the North Sea. Only about one quarter of the land is under cultivation (principally in cereals and vegetables), but sheep raising is important in the less arable mountainous regions. Because of the persistence of feudalism and the land enclosures of the 19th cent. (see History, below), the ownership of most land in Scotland is concentrated in relatively few hands (some 350 people own about half the land). In 2003, as a result, the Scottish Parliament passed a land reform act that empowered tenant farmers and communities to purchase land even if the landlord did not want to sell.

National symbols

- The Flag of Scotland dates from the 9th century making it one of the oldest flags in the world. It now forms part of the Union Flag, the national flag of the United Kingdom. However the Flag of Scotland, known as the Saltire or St Andrew's Cross can be found flying all over Scotland.
- The Royal Standard of Scotland, a banner showing the old royal arms of the Kings of Scotland is also frequently to be seen, particuarly at sporting events involving a Scottish team. Often called the lion rampant (after its chief heraldic device), it is the property of the Queen and its use by anybody else is technically illegal. The banner is flown from Holyrood Palace and Balmoral Castle when the Queen is not in residence.
- The unicorn is also used as a symbol of Scotland. The Royal Coat of Arms of Scotland, used prior to 1603 by the Kings of Scotland, incorporated a lion rampant shield supported by two unicorns. On the union of the crowns, the Arms were quartered with those of England and Ireland, and one unicorn was replaced by a lion (the supporters of England).
- The thistle, the national flower of Scotland, features in many Scottish symbols and logos, and UK currency. According to one common legend, a Danish attacker stepped on one at night, so alerting the defenders of a Scottish castle; hence it is called the "guardian thistle".
-

Episcopalian
The word episcopal is derived from the Greek επισκοπος epískopos, which literally means "overseer"; the word, however, is used in religious contexts to refer to a bishop.
Episcopal churches
Episcopal churches are churches that use an episcopalian church governance, i.e. that use bishops generally regarded as being in Apostolic succession. More specifically, the term "episcopal" is applied to those churches associated with Henry VIII and with the Church of England. It is also commonly used to distinguish between the various organizational structures of Protestant churches; for instance the word "presbyterian" (from the Greek πρεσβύτης) is used to describe churches governed by elected elders, while "episcopal" is used to describe churches governed by bishops. Protestant churches governed neither by elders nor bishops are usually referred to as "congregational". Examples of specific episcopal churches include:
- The Episcopal Church in the United States of America (ECUSA)
- The Scottish Episcopal Church
- Any of several churches listed in the article titled Episcopal churches
- The Charismatic Episcopal Church (no relation to the Church of England or the Anglican Communion) However, other churches overseen by bishops and with a connection to the Church of England are not members of the Anglican Communion. The United Methodist Church is one example. All Methodist churches have their roots in Anglicanism because their founder, John Wesley, was an Anglican priest in England in the 1700s. Methodists, however, do not look to the Archbishop of Canterbury for leadership as Anglicans do, nor to the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church (ECUSA) in America. Further, Methodist bishops are not in Apostolic Succession. Wesley held that bishops are merely presbyters (elders) who have been chosen for a supervisory position by the Church, and that there is, therefore, no necessity of them receiving a laying on of hands of prior bishops whose "orders" are allegedly traceable in unbroken succession to the Apostles. Churches that are members of the Anglican Communion are episcopal churches in polity, and some are named "Episcopal." However, some Anglican churches do not belong to the Anglican Communion, and not all episcopally-governed churches are Anglican. The Roman Catholic Church, the Old Catholic Churches (member of the Anglican Communion), and the Eastern Orthodox churches are recognized, and also their bishops, by Anglicans.
See also

- Episcopal see
- Anglicanism
- Church of England
External links
Episcopal Church Official Page http://www.episcopalchurch.org/index_new.htm
- http://www.stjohnadulted.org/episcopl.htm Category:Anglicanism Category:Methodism

Missionary

:This article is about the religious missionary. For the US generation, see Missionary Generation. A missionary is a propagator of religion, often an evangelist or other representative of a religious community who works among those outside of that community. The English word "missionary" is derived from Latin, the equivalent of the Greek-derived word, "apostle". Although missionaries can be sent by any religion, the word is most often used to refer to Christian missionaries. Missionaries of all religions make up just one component of Faith-Based Foreign Aid.

Jewish missions

In ancient times, the Hebrew patriarch Abraham and his wife Sarah were considered to be the prime role-models to "convert" the masses to Monotheism based on the verse in the Book of Genesis: "God said to Abram, 'Go away from your land, from your birthplace, and from your father's house, to the land that I will show you ... Abram took his wife Sarai, his nephew Lot, and all their belongings, as well as the people they had gathered, and they left, heading toward Canaan..." [http://bible.ort.org/books/pentd2.asp?ACTION=displaypage&BOOK=1&CHAPTER=12] (Genesis 12:1;5). "[T]he people they had gathered" is interpreted to mean the people whom Abraham and Sarah had brought over to the belief in the Hebrew God worshipped by Abraham and Sarah themselves. In modern times, Jewish teachers repudiate proselytization. One basic argument is that all people have the law of God in their heart to a limited degree, and that to teach them more would be to make them responsible for more than Jewish law requires of them. That is, they would start as virtuous gentiles, protected by their lack of formal Torah observance, but after contact with Jewish teachings they would be held accountable to a higher Jewish religious standard. Non-Jews are therefore encouraged to observe the universal "Seven Noahide Laws" through which they can attain all their pre-destined goals in the world during their entire lifetimes. However, most Jewish religious groups encourage "Outreach" to Jews alienated from their own heritage due to assimilation and intermarriage. The overall movement encourages Jews to become more observant of Jewish religious law (known as halakha). Those people who do become religious are known as Baal teshuvas. The large Hasidic group known as Chabad Lubavitch has internationally promoted such "outreach." Others, such as the National Jewish Outreach Program do the same in North America. In recent times, members of the Reform Judaism movement began a program to convert to Judaism the non-Jewish spouses of its intermarried members and non-Jews who have an interest in Judaism. Their rationale is that so many Jews were lost during the Holocaust that newcomers must be sought out and welcomed. This approach has been repudiated by Orthodox and Conservative Jews as unrealistic and posing a danger. They say that these efforts make Judaism seem an easy religion to join and observe when in reality being Jewish entails many difficulties and sacrifices.

Christian missions

Since the Lausanne Congress of 1974, a widely accepted definition of a Christian mission has been "to form a viable indigenous church-planting movement." This definition is motivated by theological analyses of the acts required to enhance God's reputation (usually expressed as "glory" or "honor"). The definition is claimed to summarize the acts of Jesus' ministry, which is taken as a model for all minstries. The motivation is said to be God's will, plainly stated throughout the Bible, including the Old Testament. Most missionaries promote economic development, literacy, education, health care and orphanages as well, because these all promote the glory of God. Standard Christian doctrines (the Doctrine of Love) cause most missions to give this aid without requiring conversion. See also: Christian Mission

In the Bible

According to the documents of the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization, the Biblical authority for missions begins quite early in Genesis, 12:1-3, in which Abraham is blessed so that through him and his descendants, all the "peoples" of the world would be blessed. The Bible also says in Matthew 28:20 that the apostles were to "make disciples of all nations" Others point to God's wish, often expressed in the Bible, that all peoples of the earth would worship Him. Therefore, Christian missions go where worship is not, in order to bring worship to God...

Catholic missions

During the Age of Discovery, the Roman Catholic Church established a number of Missions in the Americas and other colonies, in order to spread Christianity in the New World and to convert the Native Americans and other indigenous 'heathens'. These are arguably the most well-known missions in history. As the church normally organises itself along territorial lines, it was logical for the missions, especially in early phases, to be undertaken largely by orders and congregations, which are more personal and flexible then the secular hierarchy. Over time a new structure is established in the mission area, often strating with special jurisdictions known an apostolic prefecture and apostolic vicariate, which aim to 'graduate' to regular diocesan status, often finally topped of with one of more archbishops, even a cardinal, as the young church is considered 'grown up', especially after a former colony's independence.

Missionary congregations

Major examples include
- Dominicans
- Franciscans
- Jesuits
- Salesians
- White Fathers etc.

Examples

- Spanish Missions of California
- Mission San Luis Obispo de Tolosa
- Mission Santa Barbara
- Mission San Juan Bautista
- St. Francis Xavier

Protestant missions

Jehovah's Witness missionaries

:Main article: Organizational structure of Jehovah's Witnesses Jehovah's Witnesses are known for their missionary activities. Typically, all adult Witnesses are expected to spend time every week "witnessing" in their area. Depending on the laws in the respective country, this can take the form of proselytizing door to door, distribution of magazines and other literature (The Watchtower and Awake!) and responding to the questions of passersby. Some Witnesses volunteer to pledge seventy hours a month (regular pioneers) or fifty hours (auxilary pioneers) in their local areas. Called "pioneer service," it is of particular importance in areas where the need of publishers is great. Such pioneers attend special seminars and courses to refine their teaching ability. The requirements are challenging, as Jehovah's Witnesses do not receive salaries for their minsterial work. A pioneer strives for self-sufficiency, often working part or full time while fulfilling ministerial obligations. This is especially important when working in poorer nations where they need to provide for their own needs while organizing congregations. Foreign missionaries take on additional special tasks, such as establishing congregations, translating literature and organzing building projects (as well as relief work) in remote areas and countries. This requires a commitment to at least 120 hours monthly in the public ministry. To prepare them for this, a special training course is provided semi-annually for Jehovah's Witnesses who qualify (by experience and circumstance) to perform this service, and is held at the Watchtower Bible School of Gilead. All of their basic needs (including food, clothing, shelter and transportation) are fully provided, and they visit their countries of origin at least once every five years.

Latter-Day Saint missionaries

:Main article: Mormon missionary The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints is one of the most active modern practitioners of missionary work. Young men between the ages of 19 and 26 are strongly encouraged to go on a two-year, full-time proselyting mission. This is usually served in a foreign country or different area of the country from where the missionary lives. Young women and retired couples may serve missions as well. Missionaries typically spend one to two months in the Missionary Training Center (MTC) in Provo, UT or in other MTCs throughout the world, studying scripture, learning new languages, and otherwise preparing themselves for the culture in which they will be living. The LDS church has about 60,000 missionaries worldwide. [http://www.lds.org/newsroom/page/0,15606,4037-1---6-168,00.html]

Other religious missionaries

While in cultures largely stamped by judeo-christianism, the term is most commonly used for missions to propagate the biblical faiths, it applies just as well to all other proselyzing creeds. While some faiths, especially those focussed on ancester cult and/or local spirit, as in Animisms (in many 'primitive' cultures) and Japanese Shintoism, make little or no effort to spread beyond their ethno-cultural home societies, most religions have a less exclusive creed and do engage in missionary activities to propagate it- which is often part of their succes.

Muslim missionary activity

Islam, the second largest religion next to Christianity, started out as an aggressively spreading religion, using holy war to establish a new muslim social order, on the one hand in principle requiring state authority to be held by muslims, wrested from 'giaur' hands, on the other hand remarkably accomodating for non-muslim subjects as long as they accept Islamic rule and pay a special tax. Only after the political expansion 'planting the green banner of faith' had met its limits, this model of taking over whole communities needed to shift focus to more individualist voluntary conversion drives, though these existed much longer; thus since the XXth century, generous donations from the Gulf States, largely for development, enabled some significant advances in black Africa.

India-based religions

- Hinduism
- Buddhism was fairly succesfull in converting most hindu societies, except in their native Indian subcontinent

Syncretism

Non-religious missionaries

The original meaing of the word "missionary" is not specifically religious, but refers instead to anyone who attempts to convert others to a particular doctrine or program.

External links

- [http://www.bimi.org Baptist International Missions, Inc.]
- [http://www.baptistworldmission.org/ Baptist World Missions]
- [http://www.watchtower.org/library/jt/article_05.htm Missionary work of Jehovah's Witnesses]
- [http://www.mtc.byu.edu/ The Official LDS MTC website]
- [http://www.lightplanet.com/mormons/daily/missionary/MTC_EOM.htm LDS Missionary Training Centers article]
- [http://home.telkomsa.net/south_africa Christian Missionaries in South Africa]
- [http://www.urbana.org Urbana Missions Convention ]
- [http://missionary-blogs.com Links to blogs of worldwide Christian missionaries ]

Individual missionary links

- [http://www.clanbrandon.co.uk Stephen and Varya Brandon] Missionaries in the Czech Republic
- [http://www.watchtower.org/library/w/1998/6/1/article_01.htm Éva Josefsson], Missionary in Hungary
- [http://www.stevekramer.org Steve & Julie Kramer] Missionaries to the Netherlands
- [http://www.mattanddebbiemann.org/index2.cfm Matt and Debbie Mann] Missionaries to Botswana, Africa
- [http://www.australiaforjesus.net Wesley Pittman] Missionary to Australia
- [http://www.thomasmexico.org Ryan and Christy Thomas] Missionaries to Mexico ja:宣教師 zh-min-nan:Thoân-kàu-sū Category:Religious behaviour and experience Category:Christian evangelicalism Category:Christian interfaith and secular relations

College of William and Mary

The College of William and Mary in Virginia is the second-oldest institution of higher education in the United States (after Harvard). The Reverend Dr. James Blair founded the College in 1693 by virtue of a Royal Charter issued by King William III and Queen Mary II of England, Orange, Scotland and Ireland. Named in their honor, William and Mary is a small, public university located in Williamsburg, Virginia. It is considered a Public Ivy. In conjunction with its liberal-arts undergraduate program, William and Mary has several professional schools (law, education and business) as well as numerous graduate programs in the arts and sciences. Although it would be called a university in traditional American usage, the original charter specified that it "always and forever" retain its formal name: "The College of William and Mary in Virginia." Today, as a gesture to that requirement and the traditional importance placed on its undergraduate program, the entire university is often called simply "The College" by those close to it (also called William & Mary or W&M for short). Well before university-level education was the norm, the College educated many of America's founding leaders, including such notables as Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe, John Tyler, and John Marshall. On the College's campus, the historic Wren Building was reconstructed during the 1930s along with the adjacent restored area of Colonial Williamsburg. The College is highly selective, enrolling 5,700 undergraduate and 2,000 graduate students on an historic and picturesque campus. The College is known for the high quality of its undergraduate programs in the sciences, government, religion, philosophy, theatre and international relations, among others, and for its Law School and doctoral program in U.S. Colonial history. Notably, all undergraduate classes are taught by professors rather than teaching assistants. In support of its committment to undergraduate teaching, the College maintains a low student-to-faculty ratio of 11:1 (approximately 11 students for every professor) and is recognized as one of the most "unwired" colleges in America due to its wireless campus. Graduates of its undergraduate program traditionally experience one of the highest acceptance rates to law and medical schools among Virginia's universities and among the Public Ivies. Recently, William and Mary made great strides in private fund raising (the College has over 75,000 alumni) and increased its endowment. Thanks to a restructuring initiative passed by the Virginia General Assembly in 2005, the publicly-funded institution now enjoys increased autonomy over its affairs. On October 4, 2005, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States Sandra Day O'Connor was named as the 23rd Chancellor of the College, replacing former Secretary of State, Henry Kissinger.

Early History

Henry Kissinger]] The history of the College's founding begins in the seventeenth century in the Virginia Colony, which was first established at Jamestown in 1607. A school of higher education had long been a goal of the original colonists and a notable effort was made at Henricus (but the plan unfortunately disappeared, along with the entire Henricus community in the Indian Massacre of 1622). Indian Massacre of 1622] In 1691 the House of Burgesses sent James Blair (the colony's top religious leader) to England to secure a charter to establish "a certain Place of Universal Study, a perpetual College of Divinity, Philosophy, Languages, and the good arts and sciences...to be supported and maintained, in all time coming." Blair journeyed to London and began a vigorous campaign. With support from his friends, Henry Compton, the Bishop of London, and John Tillotson (Archbishop of Canterbury), Blair was ultimately successful. The College was founded on February 8, 1693, under a Royal Charter secured by Blair. Named in honor of the reigning monarchs King William III and Queen Mary II, the College was one of the original Colonial colleges. Fittingly, the Royal Charter named Blair as the College's first president (a lifetime appointment which he held until his death in 1743). The Royal Charter called for a center of higher education consisting of three schools: the Grammar School, the Philosophy School and the Divinity School. The Philosophy School instructed students in the advanced study of moral philosophy (logic, rhetoric, ethics) as well as natural philosophy (physics, metaphysics, and mathematics); upon completion of this coursework, the Divinity School prepared these young men for ordination into the Church of England. These early offerings in moral and natural philosophy were precursors to the College's present-day liberal arts program. In 1693, the College was given a seat in the House of Burgesses and it was determined that the College would be supported by tobacco taxes and export duties on furs and animal skins. In 1694, Blair returned from England and William & Mary opened in the original "College Building." The College Building (the precursor to today's Wren Building) was completed in 1699 on a picturesque site comprised of 330 acres. The present-day College is still located upon those grounds. 1699 Williamsburg served as the capital of Colonial Virginia from 1699 to 1780. During this time, the College served as a law center and its buildings frequently were utilized by lawmakers. It was also during this period that the College educated future U.S. Presidents Thomas Jefferson, James Monroe and John Tyler. Most notably, a sixteen year old Thomas Jefferson arrived at the College in 1760. As a young student, Jefferson developed a keen interest in science, mathematics and political philosophy from Professor William Small; Small introduced Jefferson to the writings of John Locke, Francis Bacon and Isaac Newton. By most accounts, Jefferson studied incessantly as a William & Mary student, always carrying his Greek grammar book with him. He perfected his French but also found time to practice the violin and cello. And by studying in Williamsburg, Jefferson was able to view the operation of a colonial government; Jefferson would later join the leaders of that government. [http://www.wm.edu/about/jefferson/jefferson_college.php] Jefferson completed the coursework and graduated with high honors in 1762. Jefferson later went on to author the U.S. Declaration of Independence (signed by alums George Wythe, Benjamin Harrison V and Carter Braxton) and become the third U.S. President (1801-1809), among other accomplishments. In 1783, he received the honorary degree of Doctor of Laws from the College. Doctor of Laws George Wythe also attended the College as a young man, but dropped out unable to afford the fees. Wythe went on to become one of the more distinguished jurists of his time. Under Wythe's tutelage, Thomas Jefferson studied law (1762-1767); Jefferson, who later referred to Wythe as "my second father," was then admitted to the bar of Virginia. By 1779, Wythe held the nation's first Law Professorship at the College. Wythe is widely regarded as a pioneer in American legal education -- some of his other students included Henry Clay, James Monroe and John Marshall. [http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/signers/wythe.htm]

Post-Colonial History

The colonies gained their independence in 1776 and William & Mary severed formal ties to England; thereafter, the Royal Charter lapsed in 1882, but the College subsequently received a new charter from Virginia. Yet the College's connection to regal history remains as a distinct point of pride; it maintains a relationship with the British monarchy and includes Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher among its former Chancellors. The College is the only American institutio