Reverend Alexander McCaul (16 May 1799 – 13 November 1863) was an Irish
Hebraist and
missionary
A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Tho ...
to the Jews.
Life
McCaul, the son of Alexander
McCaul (a
cordwainer
A cordwainer () is a shoemaker who makes new shoes from new leather. The cordwainer's trade can be contrasted with the cobbler's trade, according to a tradition in Britain that restricted cobblers to repairing shoes. This usage distinction ...
) was born to a Protestant family in
Dublin
Dublin (; , or ) is the capital and largest city of Ireland. On a bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the province of Leinster, bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, a part of the Wicklow Mountains range. At the 2016 ...
, 16 May 1799. He was educated at a private school, and entering
Trinity College Dublin
, name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin
, motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin)
, motto_lang = la
, motto_English = It will last i ...
, 3 October 1814, graduated B.A. 1819, and proceeded M.A. 1831; he was created D.D. in 1837. He was for some time tutor to the
Earl of Rosse, and then, was sent in 1821 to Poland as a missionary, by the
London Society for Promoting Christianity among the Jews.
McCaul studied Hebrew and German at
Warsaw
Warsaw ( pl, Warszawa, ), officially the Capital City of Warsaw,, abbreviation: ''m.st. Warszawa'' is the capital and largest city of Poland. The metropolis stands on the River Vistula in east-central Poland, and its population is official ...
, and at the end of 1822 went to
St. Petersburg, where he was received by
Alexander I of Russia
Alexander I (; – ) was Emperor of Russia from 1801, the first King of Congress Poland from 1815, and the Grand Duke of Finland from 1809 to his death. He was the eldest son of Emperor Paul I and Sophie Dorothea of Württemberg.
The son of Gra ...
. Returning to England, he was ordained and served the curacy of
Huntley, near Gloucester, where he became close to
Samuel Roffey Maitland. In 1823 he married and returned to Poland, living at Warsaw as head of the mission to the Jews, and English chaplain, until 1830. He was supported by the Grand Duke Constantine, but had disputes with the
Lutheran
Lutheranism is one of the largest branches of Protestantism, identifying primarily with the theology of Martin Luther, the 16th-century German monk and Protestant Reformers, reformer whose efforts to reform the theology and practice of the Cathol ...
congregations. Moving to
Berlin
Berlin is Capital of Germany, the capital and largest city of Germany, both by area and List of cities in Germany by population, by population. Its more than 3.85 million inhabitants make it the European Union's List of cities in the European U ...
, where he was befriended by
George Henry Rose, the English ambassador, and by the
Crown Prince of Prussia, who had known him at Warsaw.
To improve his health McCaul visited Ireland, and returned for a short time to Poland in 1832. Deciding to settle in London, he took up residence in Palestine Place, Cambridge Road and actively supported the London Society. He assisted in founding the Jews' Operatives Converts Institution, and in 1837 started the publication of ''Old Paths'', a weekly pamphlet on Jewish ritual, which continued for sixty weeks.
In 1840, McCaul was appointed principal of the Hebrew college founded by the London Society; and in the summer of 1841, through Frederick William IV of Prussia, he was offered the
bishopric of Jerusalem, but declined it because he thought it would be better held by one who had been a Jew. His friend
Michael Solomon Alexander was appointed, and McCaul succeeded Alexander as professor of Hebrew and rabbinical literature at
King's College, London. In 1846 he was also elected to the chair of divinity.
In 1843, McCaul was appointed rector of
St James Duke's Place
St James Duke's Place was an Anglican parish church in the Aldgate ward of the City of London It was established in the early 17th century, rebuilt in 1727 and closed and demolished in 1874.
History
The area which was to become Duke's Place was o ...
, London. In 1844 he became prebendary of
St Paul's Cathedral
St Paul's Cathedral is an Anglicanism, Anglican cathedral in London and is the seat of the Bishop of London. The cathedral serves as the mother church of the Diocese of London. It is on Ludgate Hill at the highest point of the City of London ...
, and in 1847 declined Archbishop
William Howley's offer of one of the new colonial bishoprics. In 1850 he became rector of the united parish of
St Magnus-the-Martyr. When the sittings of
Convocation were revived in 1852, McCaul was elected proctor for the London clergy, and represented them for the rest of his life. At first strongly opposed to the revival of the ancient powers of convocation, he modified his views and worked with the
High Church
The term ''high church'' refers to beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology that emphasize formality and resistance to modernisation. Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term originat ...
party, opposing the relaxation of the subscription to the
39 articles.
McCaul died at the rectory, St Magnus-the-Martyr, near
London Bridge, on 13 November 1863.
He is buried in the
City of London Cemetery
The City of London Cemetery and Crematorium is a cemetery and crematorium in the east of London. It is owned and operated by the City of London Corporation. It is designated Grade I on the Historic England National Register of Historic Park ...
in the north-east of the city.
Works
McCaul's major works:
* ''Plain Sermons on subjects Practical and Prophetic'' (1840).
* ''A Hebrew Primer'' (1844).
* ''
Warburtonian Lectures
The Warburton Lectures (until the end of the nineteenth century often called the Warburtonian Lectures) are a series of theology lectures held in Lincoln's Inn, London. They were established in 1768 with money given by William Warburton, and were i ...
'' (1st ser. 1846; 2nd ser. 1852).
* ''
Rationalism
In philosophy, rationalism is the epistemological view that "regards reason as the chief source and test of knowledge" or "any view appealing to reason as a source of knowledge or justification".Lacey, A.R. (1996), ''A Dictionary of Philosophy' ...
, and the Divine Interpretation of
Scripture
Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual pract ...
'' (1850).
* ''The Old Paths'' (1854).
*
Some Notes on the first chapter of the Book of Genesis' (1861; criticism of ''Essays and Reviews'').
*
Testimonies to the Divine authority of the Holy Scriptures' (1862).
*
Reasons for Holding Fast the Authorized English Version of the Bible'
* ''An Examination of
Bishop Colenso's Difficulties with regard to the
Pentateuch
The Torah (; hbo, ''Tōrā'', "Instruction", "Teaching" or "Law") is the compilation of the first five books of the Hebrew Bible, namely the books of Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy. In that sense, Torah means the ...
'' (1863–4, 2 vols. McCaul seconded
George Anthony Denison's motion for the appointment of a committee — of which he was then a member — for the consideration of
John Colenso's works on the Old Testament).
Family
Married in 1823, McCaul left several sons.
His daughter,
Elizabeth Anne (1825–1921), writer and social activist, married
James Finn,
Consul
Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states th ...
to Ottoman Palestine,
[Arnold Blumberg (1980): ''A View from Jerusalem, 1849–1858. The Consular Diary of James and Elisabeth Anne Finn'', Associated University Presses, , p. 28] and founded the Distressed Gentlefolk's Aid Association, now known as
Elizabeth Finn Care Elizabeth Finn Care, established by Elizabeth Anne Finn in 1897 as the Distressed Gentlefolk's Aid Association, is a British charity providing help and assistance to relieve the problems of old age, illness, social isolation and disability. In May 2 ...
.
References
Attribution
Further reading
*
Finn, Elizabeth Anne (1929). ''Reminiscences of Mrs. Finn.'' London: Marshall, Morgan and Scott.
*
External links
*
Works by Alexander McCaul at
Hathi Trust
HathiTrust Digital Library is a large-scale collaborative repository of digital content from research libraries including content digitized via Google Books and the Internet Archive digitization initiatives, as well as content digitized locally ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:McCaul, Alexander
1799 births
1863 deaths
Church of Ireland priests
Hebraists
Christian Hebraists
Irish Christian missionaries
Criticism of Judaism
Jewish–Christian debate
Missionary linguists