James Cooper (1846–1922) was a

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 and church historian. In 1917 he attained the highest position in the

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 ...

. He was a prolific author on religious topics and strong advocate of the reunion of the various schisms of the Scottish church.

Life

He was born in

Elgin Elgin may refer to: Places Canada * Elgin County, Ontario * Elgin Settlement, a 19th-century community for freed slaves located in present-day North Buxton and South Buxton, Ontario * Elgin, a village in Rideau Lakes, Ontario * Elgin, Manit ...

on 13 February 1846, the son of John Alexander Cooper (d.1881), a local merchant and former farmer, and his wife, Ann Stephen of Old Keith (d. 1909). He studied at Elgin Academy and

Aberdeen University The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in post-nominals; ) is a public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bishop of Aberdeen and Chancellor of Scotland, petitioned Pope Al ...

, graduating M.A. in 1867. He also spent at least one semester at the

University of Heidelberg Heidelberg University, officially the Ruprecht Karl University of Heidelberg (; ), is a public university, public research university in Heidelberg, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. Founded in 1386 on instruction of Pope Urban VI, Heidelberg is List ...

before being licensed to preach as a Church of Scotland minister by the Presbytery of Elgin.''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae''; vol. 7; by Hew Scott, p. 409 After serving some time as assistant in various parishes, Banchory-Ternan, Stirling and Elgin, he was ordained as minister of St Stephen's Church in

Broughty Ferry Broughty Ferry (; ; ) is a suburb of Dundee, in Scotland. It is situated four miles east of the City Centre, Dundee, city centre on the north bank of the Firth of Tay. The area was a separate burgh from 1864 until 1913, when it was incorporated ...

near

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

in April 1873. In May 1881 he translated to East Church, Aberdeen. During his time in Aberdeen he founded the Aberdeen Ecclesiastical Society and jointly founded the

Scottish Church Society The Scottish Church Society is a Church of Scotland society founded in 1892. Leading founders were Thomas Leishman and William Milligan, and the first secretary was James Cooper. Background Although always a minority within the Church of Scotla ...

. In 1892 Aberdeen University awarded him a

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...

. In September 1898 he was presented under patronage of

Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in January 1901. Her reign of 63 year ...

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 ...

as Professor of Ecclesiastical History, beginning teaching in 1899. In 1909 the

University of Dublin The University of Dublin (), corporately named as The Chancellor, Doctors and Masters of the University of Dublin, is a research university located in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. It is the degree-awarding body for Trinity College Dublin, whi ...

awarded him a

Doctor of Literature Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or '), also termed Doctor of Literature in some countries, is a terminal degree in the arts, humanities, and social sciences. In the United States, at universities such as Drew University, the degree ...

. Durham University made him a

Doctor of Canon Law Doctor of Canon Law (, JCD) is the doctoral-level terminal degree in the studies of canon law of the Roman Catholic Church. It can also be an honorary degree awarded by Anglican colleges. It may also be abbreviated ICD or dr.iur.can. (''Iuris Can ...

in 1910. He was Croall Lecturer for 1916. In 1917 Cooper was elected

Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the minister or elder chosen to moderate (chair) the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week in Edinburgh every year. After chairing the Ass ...

in place of

John Brown John Brown most often refers to: *John Brown (abolitionist) (1800–1859), American who led an anti-slavery raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia, in 1859 John Brown or Johnny Brown may also refer to: Academia * John Brown (educator) (1763–1842), Ir ...

. After 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 ...

, the Serbian government awarded him the

Order of St Sava The Order of St. Sava () is an ecclesiastic decoration conferred by the Serbian Orthodox Church and a dynastic order presented by the house of Karađorđević. It was previously a Order (distinction), state order awarded by both the Kingdom of S ...

in 1919. In the same year he was the

Olaus Petri Olof Persson, sometimes Petersson (6 January 1493 – 19 April 1552), better known under the Latinisation of names, Latin form of his name, Olaus Petri (or less commonly, Olavus Petri), was a clergyman, writer, judge, and major contributor to the ...

Lecturer in

Uppsala Uppsala ( ; ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the capital of Uppsala County and the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Loc ...

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. Widely respected, further doctorates continued:

from

Oxford University The University of Oxford is a collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the second-oldest continuously operating u ...

in 1920;

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Laws (LL.D.) is a doctoral degree in legal studies. The abbreviation LL.D. stands for ''Legum Doctor'', with the double “L” in the abbreviation referring to the early practice in the University of Cambridge to teach both canon law ...

(LLD) from

in 1922. He resigned his chair in ill-health in September 1922 and died in Elgin on 27 December 1922. He is buried with his parents and grandfather in Urquhart Old Parish Churchyard. The unusual grave takes the form of a

mercat cross A mercat cross is the Scots language, Scots name for the market cross found frequently in Scotland, Scottish cities, towns and villages where historically the right to hold a regular market or fair was granted by the monarch, a bishop or ...

Family

In January 1912 he married Margaret Williamson (d.1947), daughter of farmer George Williamson of Shempston. No children are recorded.

Publications

*Scotland's Gains from the Revolution of 1688 (1888) *Chartulary of the Church of St Nicholas, Aberdeen 2 vols. (1888 + 1892) *Bethlehem, a Series of Advent Sermons (1889) *Easter Communions (1889) *

John Henry Newman John Henry Newman (21 February 1801 – 11 August 1890) was an English Catholic theologian, academic, philosopher, historian, writer, and poet. He was previously an Anglican priest and after his conversion became a cardinal. He was an ...

(1890) *Scottish Presbyterian Reunion (1891) *Testamentum Domini (1902) translated from Syriac with Bishop Maclean *The Scottish Liturgy of 1637 (1904) *A Royal Abbey (Dunfermline) (1905) *Australian Reunion (1908) *Sonnets on Scottish Cathedrals and Universities (1911) *Kindness to the Dead (1913) *Historical Side of the Reunion Question (1914) *Soldiers of the Bible (1915) *Towards Christian Unity (1918)

Notes

External links

''Rev. James Cooper''
from ''Index of Glasgow Men'' (1909) {{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, James 1846 births 1922 deaths 19th-century ministers of the Church of Scotland 19th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers 20th-century Scottish historians People educated at Elgin Academy, Moray Alumni of the University of Aberdeen People from Elgin, Moray 19th-century Scottish historians 20th-century ministers of the Church of Scotland 20th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland