Robert Arnot (1744–1808) was a Scottish Presbyterian minister and professor of divinity in St Andrews University, who was Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1794.
"There is not a more staunch friend to the true principles of moderation, or a man more firmly attached to the Constitution, in the whole Church than Dr Arnot."
Thomas Chalmers in a letter from Anstruther 1800 says: "Dr Arnot resides in Kingsbarns, and will, I believe, win over the people by the popularity of his manners".
The king's letter to the assembly, written by Henry Dundas reflected the troubled times and urged "we cannot press too earnestly upon your minds the necessity of redoubling your common efforts to check that prevalent spirit of licentious innovation, by which the present times are so unhappily distinguished, and which threaten to fill the whole Christian world with violence and confusion".
The assembly published strict orders to all ministers to ensure the regular reading of the Bible in the Parish schools, along with the Shorter Catechism.
Some of the speeches against Dr Arnot were later printed—especially that of William Laurence Brown, principal of Marischal College—and helped foment a growing opposition to the Moderates, which eventually led to the Great Disruption of the Church of Scotland, when the many ministers left on the principle of opposition to Patronage and formed the Free Church of Scotland.