John Albert Broadus (January 24, 1827 – March 16, 1895) was an American
Baptist
Baptists are a Christian denomination, denomination within Protestant Christianity distinguished by baptizing only professing Christian believers (believer's baptism) and doing so by complete Immersion baptism, immersion. Baptist churches ge ...
pastor and President of the
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) is a Baptist theological institute in Louisville, Kentucky. The seminary was founded in 1859 in Greenville, South Carolina, where it was at first housed on the campus of Furman University. The s ...
.
Early life
Born in 1827 in
Culpeper County, Virginia
Culpeper County is a county located along the borderlands of the northern and central region of the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 52,552. Its county seat and only incorporated community is ...
, Broadus was educated at home and at a private school. He taught in a small school before completing his undergraduate studies at the
University of Virginia
The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...
in
Charlottesville, Virginia
Charlottesville, colloquially known as C'ville, is an independent city (United States), independent city in Virginia, United States. It is the county seat, seat of government of Albemarle County, Virginia, Albemarle County, which surrounds the ...
.
Career
Broadus was ordained in 1850 and became pastor of the Baptist church in Charlottesville.
In 1859, Broadus along with James P. Boyce, Basil Manly Jr., and William Williams, founded the
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (SBTS) is a Baptist theological institute in Louisville, Kentucky. The seminary was founded in 1859 in Greenville, South Carolina, where it was at first housed on the campus of Furman University. The s ...
in Greenville, South Carolina. Broadus became professor of
New Testament
The New Testament (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus in Christianity, Jesus, as well as events relating to Christianity in the 1st century, first-century Christianit ...
interpretation and homiletics at the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. With Manley, Broadus was also one of the first leaders of the
Sunday School Board publishing operations.
During the
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
, he served as a Confederate chaplain to
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee (January 19, 1807 – October 12, 1870) was a general officers in the Confederate States Army, Confederate general during the American Civil War, who was appointed the General in Chief of the Armies of the Confederate ...
's army in Northern Virginia.
He delivered a lecture at the University of Virginia in memorial to Professor
Gessner Harrison in 1873.
In 2018 the President of the Seminary commissioned a "Report on slavery and racism within the history of the Southern Baptist Seminary" which found that Broadus and its principal founders combined owned 50 slaves,
Broadus owning at least two slaves,
and the faculty and trustees at the seminary defended the “righteousness of slavery” and supported the Confederacy's efforts to preserve slavery. After the war ended and public sentiment began to shift, Broadus 'repudiated' American slavery in 1882.
In 1883, he delivered an address for the Confederate cause at
Louisville
Louisville is the most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeast, and the 27th-most-populous city in the United States. By land area, it is the country's 24th-largest city; however, by populatio ...
's
Cave Hill Cemetery arguing both sides had justifiable reasons for war.
In 1888, he became Southern Seminary's second president.
In 1889, Broadus delivered the
Beecher Lectures at
Yale Divinity School
Yale Divinity School (YDS) is one of the twelve graduate and professional schools of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut.
Congregationalist theological education was the motivation at the founding of Yale, and the professional school has ...
.
Broadus died on March 16, 1895, in Louisville. He was buried in Cave Hill Cemetery.
Personal life
Broadus married Maria Carter Harrison on November 14, 1849. She died October 21, 1857. He remarried, to Charlotte Eleanor Sinclair (1836–1913) on January 4, 1859.
Legacy
Charles Spurgeon
Charles Haddon Spurgeon (19 June 1834 – 31st January 1892) was an English Particular Baptist preacher. Spurgeon remains highly influential among Christians of various denominations, to some of whom he is known as the "Prince of Preachers." ...
called Broadus the "greatest of living preachers."
Church historian
Albert Henry Newman called Broadus "perhaps the greatest preacher the Baptists have produced."
The official
gavel
A gavel is a small ceremonial mallet/hammer commonly made of hardwood, typically fashioned with a handle. It can be used to call for attention or to punctuate rulings and proclamations and is a symbol of the authority and right to act officially ...
of the
Southern Baptist Convention
The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestant, and the second-largest Chr ...
controversially bears the name of Broadus and, in June, 2020, President
J.D. Greear proposed the organization "retire the Broadus gavel" "amid nationwide protests around racial injustice that has led to the removal of Confederate statues and symbols."
The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, named Broadus chapel, (modeled after the
First Baptist Church in America, located in
Providence, Rhode Island) in his honor.
Lottie Moon was converted at an evangelistic meeting led by Broadus in 1858. Broadus had founded the Albemarle Female Institute which Moon attended and from which she graduated.
Selected works
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James Petigru Boyce
James Petigru Boyce (January 11, 1827 – December 28, 1888) was an American pastor, theologian, professor, chaplain, and a principle founder of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.
Biography
Early life
James Petigru Boyce was born in ...
)
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References
Further reading
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David S. Dockery and
Roger D. Duke eds., John A. Broadus: A Living Legacy Studies in Baptist Life and Thought, ed. Michael A.G. Haykin. Nashville: Broadman and Holman Academic, 2008. 260 pp.
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External links
John Albert Broadus Papers''Baptist Identity and Christian Higher Education'', monograph by Donald D. Schmeltekopf and Dianna M. Vitanza
{{DEFAULTSORT:Broadus, John Albert
1827 births
1895 deaths
American slave owners
People from Culpeper County, Virginia
University of Virginia alumni
American Baptist theologians
Confederate States Army chaplains
19th-century Baptist ministers from the United States
Burials at Cave Hill Cemetery
Presidents of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
Southern Baptist Theological Seminary faculty
Southern Baptists
Baptists from Virginia
Baptists from Kentucky