John Tulloch (1 June 1823 – 13 February 1886) was a

Scottish Scottish usually refers to something of, from, or related to Scotland, including: *Scottish Gaelic, a Celtic Goidelic language of the Indo-European language family native to Scotland *Scottish English *Scottish national identity, the Scottish ide ...

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

and

Presbyterian minister Presbyterian (or presbyteral) polity is a method of church governance ("ecclesiastical polity") typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the session (o ...

Life

Tulloch was born at Dron, south of

Bridge of Earn Bridge of Earn () is a small town in Perthshire, Scotland. Often referred to simply as 'Brig' (Scots Language, Scots for 'bridge'). The village grew up on the south bank of an important crossing of the River Earn, whose sandstone bridge existed ...

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 ...

, one of twin sons of Elizabeth (née Maclaren), the daughter of a Perthshire farmer, and William Weir Tulloch, parish minister of Tibbermore, near Perth. He was educated at

Perth Grammar School Perth Grammar School is a secondary school in Perth, Scotland. It is located in the Muirton district of Perth at the junction of Bute Drive and Gowans Terrace. The catchment serves the area to the north of Perth between Murthly and Methven w ...

and studied Divinity at the universities of

St Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...

and

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 ...

. He was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of Perth in March 1844. In March 1845 (following a period as assistant) he was ordained as minister of St Paul's church in

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 ...

, and in 1849 was translated to

Kettins Kettins is a village in Perth and Kinross, Scotland about northeast of Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous ci ...

, in Strathmore, where he remained for six years. In 1854 he was appointed

Principal Principal may refer to: Title or rank * Principal (academia), the chief executive of a university ** Principal (education), the head of a school * Principal (civil service) or principal officer, the senior management level in the UK Civil Ser ...

St Mary's College, St Andrews St Mary's College, founded as New College or College of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, is the home of the Faculty and School of Divinity within the University of St Andrews, in Fife, Scotland. History The college was founded in ...

. The appointment was immediately followed by the appearance of his Burnet prize essay on ''

Theism Theism is broadly defined as the belief in the existence of at least one deity. In common parlance, or when contrasted with '' deism'', the term often describes the philosophical conception of God that is found in classical theism—or the co ...

''. At St Andrews, where Tulloch was also

professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an Academy, academic rank at university, universities and other tertiary education, post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin ...

of systematic theology and

apologetics Apologetics (from Greek ) is the religious discipline of defending religious doctrines through systematic argumentation and discourse. Early Christian writers (c. 120–220) who defended their beliefs against critics and recommended their f ...

, his teaching was distinguished by several novel features. He lectured on comparative religion and treated doctrine historically, as being not a fixed product but a growth. He was appointed as one of Her Majesty's Chaplains for Scotland and preached a number of sermons before Her Majesty the Queen in Scotland between 1866 and 1876. Tulloch was popular with his students. In 1862 he was appointed a clerk of the General Assembly, and from then on he took a leading part in the councils of 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 ...

. Tulloch was also deeply interested in the reorganization of education in Scotland, both in school and university, and acted as one of the temporary board which settled the primary school system under the

Education Act Education Act (with its variations) is a stock short title used for legislation in Australia, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia, New Zealand, Ontario, the United Kingdom and the United States that relates to education. The Bill for an Act with this short ...

of 1872. In 1878 Tulloch was chosen to be

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 ...

, and did much to widen the national church. Two positions on which he repeatedly insisted took a firm hold—first, that a church must be comprehensive of various views and tendencies, and that a national church especially should seek to represent all the elements of the life of the nation; secondly, that subscription to a creed can bind no one to all its details, but only to the sum and substance, or the spirit, of the symbol. For three years before Tulloch's death he was convener of the church interests committee of the Church of Scotland, which had to deal with agitation for disestablishment. In 1884, he was a guest at

Haddo House Haddo House is a Scottish stately home located near Tarves, Aberdeenshire, Tarves in Aberdeenshire, approximately north of Aberdeen (). The former seat of the Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair, Earls and Marquesses of Aberdeen and Temair, Haddo Ho ...

for a dinner hosted by

John Hamilton-Gordon, 1st Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair John Campbell Hamilton-Gordon, 1st Marquess of Aberdeen and Temair, (3 August 1847 – 7 March 1934), styled Earl of Aberdeen from 1870–1916, was a Scottish peer and colonial administrator. Born in Edinburgh, Aberdeen held office in sever ...

in honour of

William Ewart Gladstone William Ewart Gladstone ( ; 29 December 1809 – 19 May 1898) was a British politican, starting as Conservative MP for Newark and later becoming the leader of the Liberal Party (UK), Liberal Party. In a career lasting over 60 years, he ...

on his tour of Scotland. Tulloch died at

Torquay Torquay ( ) is a seaside town in Devon, England, part of the unitary authority area of Torbay. It lies south of the county town of Exeter and east-north-east of Plymouth, on the north of Tor Bay, adjoining the neighbouring town of Paignt ...

, in 1886. A biography was written by Mrs Oliphant. His body was returned to Scotland for burial. He is buried beneath a large memorial at the centre of the Eastern Cemetery in

. His wife, Jane Anne Sophia (1826-1887) is buried with him.

Works

Tulloch's best-known works are collections of biographical sketches of leaders in church history, including those of the Reformation and

Puritan The Puritans were English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries who sought to rid the Church of England of what they considered to be Roman Catholic practices, maintaining that the Church of England had not been fully reformed and should b ...

ism. His major work, ''Rational Theology and Christian Philosophy'' (1872), treats the

Cambridge Platonists The Cambridge Platonists were an influential group of Platonist philosophers and Christian theologians at the University of Cambridge that existed during the 17th century. The leading figures were Ralph Cudworth and Henry More. Group and its nam ...

and other 17th century

latitudinarian Latitudinarians, or latitude men, were initially a group of 17th-century English theologiansclerics and academicsfrom the University of Cambridge who were moderate Anglicans (members of the Church of England). In particular, they believed that a ...

s in a similar way. He delivered the second series of the Croall lectures, on the Doctrine of Sin, which were afterwards published. He also published a small work, ''The Christ of the Gospels and the Christ of History'', in which the views of

Ernest Renan Joseph Ernest Renan (; ; 27 February 18232 October 1892) was a French Orientalist and Semitic scholar, writing on Semitic languages and civilizations, historian of religion, philologist, philosopher, biblical scholar, and critic. He wrote wo ...

on the gospel history were dealt with; a monograph on

Blaise Pascal Blaise Pascal (19June 162319August 1662) was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, and Catholic Church, Catholic writer. Pascal was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen. His earliest ...

for Blackwood's Foreign Classics for English Readers series; and a little work, ''Beginning Life'', addressed to young men, written at an earlier period.

Books

* ''English Puritanism and Its Leaders: Cromwell, Milton, Baxter, Bunyan''. Edinburgh: William Blackwood and Sons, 1861. * ''Beginning Life a Book for Young Men''. London: Alexander Strahan & Co., 1863. * ''Rational Theology and Christian Philosophy'', 2 vols. Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1872; second edition, 1874. * ''Luther and other Leaders of the Reformation.'' Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1883 * ''Modern Theories in Philosophy and Religion''. Edinburgh and London: William Blackwood and Sons, 1884.

References

Attribution

External links

*
Tulloch, John, 1823-1886, Principal, St Mary's College, University of St Andrews, Scotland

A Memoir of the Life of John Tulloch, D.D., LL.D.
Margaret Oliphant, 1888 * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tulloch, John 1823 births 1886 deaths Scottish Calvinist and Reformed theologians Alumni of the University of St Andrews Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Academics of the University of St Andrews Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Principals of the University of St Andrews Deans of the Thistle