Charles Inglis

Charles Inglis
Name	Charles Inglis
Birth date	c. 1734
Death date	1816
Birth place	Glencolmcille, County Donegal
Death place	Halifax, Nova Scotia
Occupation	Clergyman, Bishop
Notable works	An Address to the Episcopalians
Religion	Anglicanism

Charles Inglis was an Irish-born Anglican clergyman who became the first Bishop of Nova Scotia and a prominent Loyalist ecclesiastical figure during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. He served in parish and diocesan roles in the British colonies of North America, navigating institutional relationships with the Church of England, colonial authorities, Loyalist assemblies, and evangelical societies. Inglis's tenure intersected with the American Revolution, Loyalist migration, and debates about episcopacy, charity, and clerical polity among figures across the Atlantic world.

Early life and education

Born in Glencolmcille, County Donegal to a Scottish-Irish family, Inglis received his early schooling in Ulster before matriculating at Trinity College, Dublin, where he studied classical languages and theology. Influences during his Dublin years included interactions with fellows associated with Church of Ireland, ties to patrons within the Anglican Communion network, and exposure to theological debates circulating in London and Edinburgh. After ordination in the mid-1750s, Inglis accepted a curacy that led to transatlantic engagement with clergy connected to Samuel Seabury's circle, the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts, and missionary activity affiliated with King George III's imperial administration.

Ecclesiastical career and episcopacy

Inglis emigrated to North America and became rector of an influential parish in New York City where he ministered to Loyalist congregants and maintained connections with the Church of England in North America, the Bishop of London's office, and colonial governors. During the 1770s he was identified with clergy who remained loyal to George III and cooperated with institutions such as the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts and Loyalist charitable organizations. After the American Revolution forced many Loyalist clergy to relocate, Inglis resettled in Nova Scotia where he petitioned for formal episcopal jurisdiction.

In 1787 Inglis was consecrated as the first Bishop of Nova Scotia, a consecration that involved prelates from Canterbury, including the Archbishop of Canterbury, and bishops tied to the Church of England establishment. His episcopacy extended jurisdiction over a vast diocese that encompassed New Brunswick, parts of Prince Edward Island, and British settlements in the Maritimes. Inglis worked closely with colonial administrators such as Sir John Wentworth and with Loyalist assemblies to reorganize parishes, establish clerical residency, and secure funds from the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. He negotiated the distribution of glebe lands and the establishment of parsonages, drawing upon precedents from Winchester, York and other diocesan models in England.

Role during the American Revolution

During the American Revolution Inglis was a vocal Loyalist who opposed the revolutionary leadership of figures like Samuel Adams, John Hancock, and Thomas Paine. He defended imperial measures and the ecclesiastical link to Canterbury in sermons that addressed contested acts of the British Parliament and revolutionary assemblies in Boston and Philadelphia. As hostilities escalated, Inglis's public positions aligned him with Loyalist military and civil authorities such as General Thomas Gage and William Tryon, and he provided pastoral care to Loyalist soldiers, refugees, and families displaced by campaigns including the Siege of Boston and the New York and New Jersey campaign.

Following evacuation from revolutionary centers, Inglis assisted in the resettlement of Loyalist clergy and laity to Nova Scotia and other British colonies, coordinating with governors like Sir Guy Carleton and committees organizing Loyalist settlements. His episcopal advocacy helped secure pensions and stipends for displaced clergy and influenced imperial policy toward church establishment in the colonies, intersecting with debates involving William Pitt the Younger and parliamentary committees responsible for Loyalist relief.

Writings and theological views

Inglis authored sermons, addresses, and pamphlets defending episcopacy, clerical order, and orthodox Anglican doctrine against republican and dissenting critiques advanced by writers such as John Wesley, Jonathan Mayhew, and Thomas Paine. His notable published works include polemical tracts and pastoral letters circulated among clergy in Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Upper Canada. Inglis emphasized sacramental theology rooted in the Book of Common Prayer and upheld a moderate High Church stance while engaging evangelical societies concerned with mission work among Indigenous peoples and Black Loyalists relocated to the Maritimes.

He corresponded with leading ecclesiastical and political figures including the Bishop of London, Archbishop of Canterbury, and colonial governors, debating issues of clerical discipline, missionary policy toward the Mi'kmaq and the resettled Black communities in Birchtown, and the role of episcopal oversight in pluralistic settler societies. Inglis's theological conservatism led him to critique radical republicanism and to defend apostolic succession as practiced within the Anglican Communion.

Personal life and legacy

Inglis married into Loyalist networks and his family connections linked him to prominent United Empire Loyalist families that dominated ecclesiastical and civic life in Nova Scotia. His descendants and relatives continued to serve in clerical, legal, and political offices across the Maritimes, interacting with institutions such as King's College, Nova Scotia, Halifax civic authorities, and Anglican diocesan bodies.

As the first Bishop of Nova Scotia, Inglis established precedents for colonial episcopacy, clerical training, parish organization, and Loyalist integration that influenced later bishops in Canada and the development of Anglican Church of Canada structures. His legacy is visible in surviving church buildings, diocesan archives, and the enduring debates about the relationship between church and imperial authority that shaped early Canadian religious and political culture. Category:Anglican bishops in North America