Alexander Macdonald Renwick (18 August 1888 – 5 February 1965) was a 20th century Scottish minister and theological author. He served as

Moderator of the General Assembly The moderator of the General Assembly is the Chair (official), chairperson of a General Assembly (presbyterian church), General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Calvinism, Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbytery (church pol ...

of the

Free Church of Scotland In contemporary usage, the Free Church of Scotland usually refers to: * Free Church of Scotland (since 1900), that portion of the original Free Church which remained outside the 1900 merger; extant It may also refer to: * Free Church of Scotland (1 ...

in 1931.

Life

Renwick was born in the isolated cottage of Maol-bhuidhe, in Kintail, Ross-shire. In March 1900 his wife is listed as living in

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

and several sources indicate he was also from there (probably

Chorlton-cum-Hardy Chorlton-cum-Hardy is a suburban area of Manchester, England, southwest of the Manchester city centre, city centre. Chorlton (ward), Chorlton ward had a population of 14,138 at the United Kingdom Census 2011, 2011 census, and Chorlton Park (w ...

). In the

First World War World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

he served in the Royal Army Chaplains Department. He was professor of theology at

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the town council under the authority of a royal charter from King James VI in 1582 and offi ...

and he was also a professor at the

Free Church College Edinburgh Theological Seminary, formerly known as the Free Church College, is a theological seminary in Edinburgh connected to the Free Church of Scotland. It traces its origins back to the foundation of New College, Edinburgh at the time of ...

on the Mound in Edinburgh. In 1931 he was elected Moderator of the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland, succeeding Rev Robert M. Knox. In 1957 at the time of his wife's death they were living at 19 Roseburn Cliff in western Edinburgh. He died in Lochgilphead on 5 February 1965, aged 76 and is buried in the

Grange Cemetery The Grange (originally St Giles' Grange) is an affluent suburb of Edinburgh, just south of the city centre, with Morningside and Greenhill to the west, Newington to the east, The Meadows park and Marchmont to the north, and Blackford Hi ...

in the south of Edinburgh. The grave lies against the south wall in the south-west corner of the original cemetery near the link to the west extension.

Family

He was married to Celia Ann Grassick (1883-1957) in Chorlton-cum-Hardy in November 1915. Renwick's stepdaughter Mairi married

Allan Harman Allan Macdonald Harman, (born 7 June 1936)Douglas J. W. Milne (ed.), ''Israel and the Church: Essays in Honour of Allan Macdonald Harman'' (2001). is an Australian Presbyterian theologian and Old Testament scholar. He has been described as a "w ...

, who subsequently updated and expanded Renwick's book ''The Story of the Church''.

Publications

*''The Story of the Church'' *''The Story of the Scottish Reformation''

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Renwick, Alexander Macdonald 1888 births 1965 deaths Military personnel from Ross and Cromarty People from Chorlton-cum-Hardy 20th-century ministers of the Free Church of Scotland 20th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers Academics of the University of Edinburgh Clergy from Manchester Historians of Christianity Scottish Christian clergy British military personnel of World War I