Patrick Gillespie (1617–1675) was a Scottish minister, strong Covenanter, and Principal of the University of Glasgow by the support of Oliver Cromwell.
He was baptised 2 March 1617, was educated at the University of St Andrews, where he graduated in 1635, became minister of the second charge of Kirkcaldy in 1642, and of the High Church of Glasgow in 1648.
He considered the terms made with Charles II unsatisfactory, and after the battle of Dunbar (3 September 1650) he assembled a meeting of gentlemen and ministers in the west, and persuaded them to raise a separate armed force, which was placed under the command of officers recommended by him.
His appointment to the principalship of the University of Glasgow followed in 1652, over protests on the grounds that the election belonged to the professors, that he was insufficient in learning, and had been deposed from the ministry.
[5] In 1653 Cromwell turned the general assembly out of doors, and in the following year he called Gillespie and two other protesters to London to consult with them on a new settlement of Scottish ecclesiastical affairs.
[3] In September 1655, having gone to Edinburgh to preach, Gillespie was interrupted by a part of the congregation, who asked how he dared to appear there, being a deposed minister and traitor.
[3] After his return home he quarrelled with the town council, and was libelled for neglect of duty and maladministration of funds, but the accusation was not pushed to extremities.