James Fairlie (minister)

James Fairlie (d. 1698) was a Scottish minister and Covenanter.

Fairlie was ordained minister of Largs in Ayrshire in 1645. He was a staunch supporter of the National Covenant and Solemn League and Covenant. Following the Restoration of the monarchy in 1660, he refused to conform to Episcopacy, and was consequently deprived of his living in 1662.

He continued to preach and minister to his congregation in private conventicles, facing persecution for his religious beliefs. He was frequently fined and imprisoned for his nonconformity. He was particularly active in the southwest of Scotland, a stronghold of Covenanter sentiment.

Details of his life, like many Covenanters, are scattered throughout Presbyterian historical records and accounts of the period known as "The Killing Time".

He died in 1698, after the Toleration Act of 1689 which allowed for Presbyterian ministers to preach with certain restrictions, but before the complete re-establishment of Presbyterianism in Scotland.