Life

Durie was second son of John Durie. He studied at St. Mary's College, St. Andrews and visited La Rochelle

La Rochelle

La Rochelle is a city in western France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime department.The city is connected to the Île de Ré by a bridge completed on 19 May 1988...

. He stayed with James Melville

James Melville

James Melville may refer to:* James Melville , Scottish divine and reformer* James Melville of Halhill , Scottish diplomat and memoir writer...

, whose wife is assumed to be his sister; accompanied Melville to the parliament of Linlithgow

Linlithgow

Linlithgow is a Royal Burgh in West Lothian, Scotland. An ancient town, it lies south of its two most prominent landmarks: Linlithgow Palace and Linlithgow Loch, and north of the Union Canal....

 in December 1585, and to Berwick-on-Tweed in September 1586. He became subsequently assistant to the schoolmaster of Dunfermline

Dunfermline

Dunfermline is a town and former Royal Burgh in Fife, Scotland, on high ground from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. According to a 2008 estimate, Dunfermline has a population of 46,430, making it the second-biggest settlement in Fife. Part of the town's name comes from the Gaelic word...

, and minister of Abercrombie, Fife

Abercrombie, Fife

Abercrombie is a hamlet in Fife, situated around 1 mile to the north of the village of St Monans, and 10 miles south of the town of St Andrews. Abercrombie was the former name of the parish of St Monans, although both Abercrombie and St Monans had churches.The hamlet is centered around Abercrombie...

 in 1588, and of Anstruther

Anstruther

Anstruther is a small town in Fife, Scotland. The two halves of Anstruther are divided by a small stream called Dreel Burn. Anstruther lies 9 miles south-southeast of St Andrews. It is the largest community on the stretch of north-shore coastline of the Firth of Forth known as the East Neuk,...

 in 1590.

He took part in the Church of Scotland

Church of Scotland

The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....

 mission to the island of Lewis

Lewis and Harris

Lewis and Harris in the Outer Hebrides make up the largest island in Scotland. This is the largest single island of the British Isles after Great Britain and Ireland.-Geography:...

 in 1598, to evangelise the population, which set up ten parish churches. In 1601 Durie visited the Orkney Islands

Orkney Islands

Orkney also known as the Orkney Islands , is an archipelago in northern Scotland, situated north of the coast of Caithness...

 and Zetland

Zetland

Zetland can refer to:Places* Zetland, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney, Australia* Zetland, an archaic spelling of ShetlandOther* Marquess of Zetland* Zetland Lifeboat* A type of Zony that's a cross between a male zebra and a female Shetland pony...

, and gave an account of his journey to the General Assembly of 1602.

In 1605 Durie attended as a member the general assembly at Aberdeen

Aberdeen

Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....

, which the king James VI had prohibited, but which ministers repudiating his jurisdiction had insisted on holding. For this offence he was summoned before the privy council, and on 18 July sent to Blackness Castle

Blackness Castle

Blackness Castle is a 15th century fortress, near the village of Blackness, Scotland, on the south shore of the Firth of Forth. It was built, probably on the site of an earlier fort, by Sir George Crichton in the 1440s. At this time, Blackness was the main port serving the Royal Burgh of...

. He and five others were tried at Linlithgow on 10 January 1606 for treasonably declining the jurisdiction of the council. Being found guilty, they were banished from the kingdom. Durie, after landing at Bordeaux

Bordeaux

Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...

, went to Holland, where he was admitted first minister of the Scottish church at Leyden, where he died in September 1616.

He was one of the closest friends of Andrew Melville

Andrew Melville

Andrew Melville was a Scottish scholar, theologian and religious reformer. His fame encouraged scholars from the European Continent to study at Glasgow and St Andrews.-Early life and early education:...

, who was in banishment at Sedan

Sedan

A sedan or saloon car is a passenger car in a three-box configuration with A, B & C-pillars and principal volumes articulated in separate compartments for engine, passenger and cargo...

 when Durie was at Leyden. At one time it was rumoured that a pardon had been given to Durie, but Melville warned him not to trust the rumour, having grounds for suspecting some foul play. He contributed a commendatory sonnet to James Melville's 'Spirituall Propine,' 1589.

Family

By his wife, Elizabeth Ramsay, Durie had five sons (John

John Dury

John Dury was a Scottish Calvinist minister and a significant intellectual of the English Civil War period. He made efforts to re-unite the Calvinist and Lutheran wings of Protestantism, hoping to succeed when he moved to Kassel in 1661, but he did not accomplish this...

, Andrew, Eliezer, John, and James), and three daughters.