James Buchanan (1804–1870) was a preacher and theological writer. He was born in 1804 at Paisley, and studied at the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

. In 1827 he was ordained

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

minister of Roslin, near

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

, and in 1828 he was translated to charge of

North Leith Leith (; ) is a port area in the north of Edinburgh, Scotland, founded at the mouth of the Water of Leith and is home to the Port of Leith. The earliest surviving historical references are in the royal charter authorising the construction of ...

. In 1840 Buchanan was translated to the High Church ( St. Giles’), Edinburgh, and in 1843, after the Disruption, he became first minister of St. Stephen's Free Church. In 1845 he was appointed professor of apologetics in the New College (Free church), Edinburgh, and in 1847, on the death of Dr.

Thomas Chalmers Thomas Chalmers (17 March 178031 May 1847), was a Scottish Presbyterian minister, professor of theology, political economist, and a leader of both the Church of Scotland and of the Free Church of Scotland (1843—1900), Free Church of Scotl ...

, he was transferred to the chair of systematic theology, continuing there till his resignation in 1868.

Life

James Buchanan was born in Paisley on 14 April 1804 as the eldest son of James Buchanan, a wine merchant. He was educated at

Paisley Grammar School Paisley Grammar School is a secondary school in Paisley, Renfrewshire, Paisley, the largest town in Renfrewshire, Scotland. The school was founded in 1576 by royal charter of James VI of Scotland, King James VI and is situated on Glasgow Road. T ...

. After studies at

Glasgow University The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in post-nominals; ) is a public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the fourth-oldest university in the English-speaking world and one of Scotland's four ...

and

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 ...

, he was licensed to preach as a Church of Scotland minister by the Presbytery of Paisley in 1826. He was ordained as a minister of the Church of Scotland at Roslin in November 1827 and translated the

North Leith Parish Church North Leith Parish Church was a congregation of the Church of Scotland, within the Presbytery of Edinburgh. It served part of Leith, formerly an independent burgh and since 1920 a part of the city of Edinburgh, Scotland. Building The current b ...

in September 1828 in place of Walter Foggo Ireland, where he attained great fame as a preacher. In 1840, Buchanan was called to second charge of

St Giles Cathedral St Giles' Cathedral (), or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in the Old Town of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended until the early 16th century; significant alteratio ...

, in place of

George Husband Baird George Husband Baird Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, FRSE FSAScot (13 July 1761 – 14 January 1840) was a Scottish Church of Scotland minister, minister, educational reformer, linguist and the Principal of the University of Edinburg ...

. In this role he was under Rev Robert Gordon in first charge. In the

Disruption of 1843 The Disruption of 1843, also known as the Great Disruption, was a schism in 1843 in which 450 evangelical ministers broke away from the Church of Scotland to form the Free Church of Scotland. The main conflict was over whether the Church of Sc ...

he left the established church and joined 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 ...

. From 1843 to 1845 he was minister of the Free High Church of Edinburgh then moved to St Stephen's Free Church in

Stockbridge, Edinburgh Stockbridge is a district of Edinburgh, located north of the city centre, bounded by the New Town, Edinburgh, New Town and by Comely Bank. The name is Scots ''stock brig'' from Anglic languages, Anglic ''stocc brycg'', meaning a timber bridge. ...

in 1845. From May 1845, he was additionally appointed as Professor of Apologetics at the newly-built New College of the Free Church on the Mound in central Edinburgh. In 1847 he succeeded

as Professor of Systematic Theology, which he held until 1868 when he retired. He received an honorary Doctor of Divinity (DD) from

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in 1844 and an honorary Doctor of Laws (LLD) from

in 1852. He died on 19 April 1870 at 51 Lauriston Place, Edinburgh. He is buried in the north-east section of 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 ...

, facing the main north path.

Family

In February 1829 he married Elizabeth Cochrane, daughter of John Cochrane, a Glasgow merchant. They had a son James (1829-1888) and a daughter Elizabeth (b.1831) before his wife's early death in May 1832. In December 1836 he married Mary Morison, daughter of John Morison of Hetland, with whom he had a daughter, Janet (b.1840). Mary Morison died in 1887 and is buried with her parents in St Cuthbert's Churchyard in Edinburgh.

Works

*1837, '' Comfort in Affliction'' *1840, ''Improvement of Affliction'' *1842,
The Office and Work of the Holy Spirit
' *1843, ''On the Tracts for the Times'' *1855, ''Studies in apologetics, Faith in God and atheism compared in their essential nature, theoretical grounds and practical influence'' *1857, ''Modern Atheism under its forms of Pantheism, Materialism, Secularism, Development, and Natural Laws'' *1861, ''The ‘

Essays and Reviews ''Essays and Reviews'', published by John William Parker in March 1860, is a Broad church, broad-church volume of seven essays on Christianity. The topics covered the biblical research of the German critics, the evidence for Christianity, religio ...

’ Examined'' *1864,
Analogy Considered as a Guide to Truth and Applied as an Aid to Faith
' *1867 ''Doctrine of Justification - An Outline of Its History in the Church and of Its Exposition from Scripture'' (1866 Cunningham lectures

References

;Citations ;Sources: * * * * * * *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Buchanan, James Scottish Calvinist and Reformed theologians 1804 births 1870 deaths

Life

Family

Works

See also

References

External links