- Stickit minister
A Stickit minister is a term of obloquy in
Scotland , for a candidate for holy orders who has failed to pass the necessary examination, or to give satisfaction before whom he preached the probationarysermon .Scottish Gaelic has a direct equivalent in "ministear-maide". There are two possible origins, firstly, as the Scottish Gaelic version "maide" implies, that the minister is "wooden" and stick like, or alternatively that it refers to hesitancy in speech, or "sticking" when giving the sermon itself. ("stickit" is the Lowland Scots for stuck).John Jamieson quotes an example: "Puir lad! The first time he tried to preach, he stickit his sermon." and further glosses "A speech is stickit when the speaker hesitates and is unable to proceed". The "stickit minister" is a staple ofScottish literature in the 18th and 19th Centuries, the most notable example being S.R. Crockett's novel, "The Stickit Minister", published in1893 . It was followed by a rapidly produced series of popular novels frequently featuring the history of Scotland or with his nativeGalloway . It is still in minor use, but is becoming extinct.The book may well be viewed as the underdog story of Christian ministry. A common theme of this work focuses on the humanity of christianity in that day. Thus the stories reveal both good and bad examples of ministers and their behaviour. The unseen world of the minister is laid bare, though in an understanding manner.
The term is not connected with the
Religion of the Yellow Stick .References
* MacKay, Charles – "A Dictionary of Lowland Scotch" (
1888 )
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