John Barclay (Berean)
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John Barclay AM (1734–1798) was a
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minister of religion In Christianity, a minister is a person authorised by a church or other religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidance ...
, and founder of the
Bereans In ancient times, the Bereans were the inhabitants of the city of Berea, also referred to as Beroea in the Bible. Today, the city is known as Veria in what is today northern Greece. The name has been taken up by certain groups within Protestantism ...
.


Life

Barclay was born at
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in
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the son of Ludovic Barclay a farmer and miller. He studied Theology at St. Andrews University, and was highly influenced by the thoughts of Rev Archibald Campbell. After being licensed to preach by the
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 ...
through the presbytery of
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in September 1759, he became assistant to Rev James Jobson, the parish minister of Errol in
Perthshire Perthshire (Scottish English, locally: ; ), officially the County of Perth, is a Shires of Scotland, historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore, Angus and Perth & Kinross, Strathmore ...
. Owing to differences with the minister, he left in 1763 and was then appointed assistant to Antony Dow of
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in
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. During his period here he made several publications, and gained the reputation as a trouble-maker, distancing himself from the established church. In 1772, lacking a patron as then required by the church, he was rejected as successor to Dow, and was also refused by the presbytery the testimonials required in order to obtain another living. The refusal of the presbytery was sustained by the
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. Dow was instead succeeded by Rev Robert Foote. Barclay then left the established Scottish church and founded his own church in
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but also with branches
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and Sauchieburn (approximately 3 miles south of
Fettercairn Fettercairn (, ) is a small village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, northwest of Laurencekirk in Aberdeenshire on the B966 from Edzell. Fettercairn is also reached via the Cairn O' Mount road (B974) from Deeside. The name comes from the Scott ...
). His followers were called Barclayans, Barclayites or
Bereans In ancient times, the Bereans were the inhabitants of the city of Berea, also referred to as Beroea in the Bible. Today, the city is known as Veria in what is today northern Greece. The name has been taken up by certain groups within Protestantism ...
, the latter because they regulated their conduct by study of the Scriptures after the biblical Bereans of Acts xvii. 11. They held to a modified form of
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. The Berean Church had congregations in
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,
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and
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, but mainly merged with the
Congregationalists Congregationalism (also Congregational Churches or Congregationalist Churches) is a Reformed Christian (Calvinist) tradition of Protestant Christianity in which churches practice congregational government. Each congregation independently a ...
after Barclay's death. His works, which included many hymns and paraphrases of the psalms, and a book called ''Without Faith, without God'', were edited by J. Thomson and D. Macmillan, with a memoir (1852). In 1784 he was living in a house in Calton village on
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. The houses still exist but it is unclear which house he lived in. He continued to live on Calton Hill until his death. He died suddenly of
apoplexy Apoplexy () refers to the rupture of an internal organ and the associated symptoms. Informally or metaphorically, the term ''apoplexy'' is associated with being furious, especially as "apoplectic". Historically, it described what is now known as a ...
whilst kneeling in prayer at a friend's house in Edinburgh on 29 July 1798 and is buried in
Old Calton Burial Ground The Old Calton Burial Ground is a cemetery in Edinburgh, Scotland. It is located on Calton Hill to the north-east of the city centre. The burial ground was opened in 1718, and is the resting place of several notable Scots, including philosoph ...
.ODNB: Rev John Barclay


Publications

*''A Paraphrase of the Book of Psalms'' (1766) - this was part of Scottish hymnals until the late 20th century which were split into Psalms, Paraphrases and Hymns. *''Rejoice Evermore'' or ''Christ All in All'' (1767) *''Without Faith, Without God; or An Appeal to God Concerning His Own Existence'' (1769) *''Eternal Generation of the Son of God'' (1769) *''Assurance of Faith'' (1771) *''The Epistle to the Hebrews Paraphrased'' (1783)


References

;Attribution *


Sources

*''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church.'' E. A. Livingstone. Oxford University Press, 2000


Further reading

* *


External links


John Barclay
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001.

biography at ''Significant Scots''
Electric Scotland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barclay, John 1734 births 1798 deaths 18th-century ministers of the Church of Scotland 18th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers Alumni of the University of St Andrews Scottish Protestant hymnwriters Scottish religious writers