Claudius Buchanan
FRSE
Fellowship of the Royal Society of Edinburgh (FRSE) is an award granted to individuals that the Royal Society of Edinburgh, Scotland's national academy of science and letters, judged to be "eminently distinguished in their subject". This soci ...
(12 March 1766 – 9 February 1815) was a
Scottish theologian
Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...
, an ordained minister of the
Church of England
The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...
, and an
evangelical
Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide Interdenominationalism, interdenominational movement within Protestantism, Protestant Christianity that affirms the centrality of being "bor ...
missionary for the
Church Missionary Society
The Church Mission Society (CMS), formerly known as the Church Missionary Society, is a British mission society working with the Christians around the world. Founded in 1799, CMS has attracted over nine thousand men and women to serve as mission ...
. He served as Vice Provost of the College of Calcutta in India.
Early life
Buchanan was born in
Cambuslang
Cambuslang ( sco, Cammuslang, from gd, Camas Lang) is a town on the south-eastern outskirts of Greater Glasgow, Scotland. With approximately 30,000 residents, it is the 27th largest town in Scotland by population, although, never having had a ...
near
Glasgow
Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...
. His father, Alexander Buchanan, was the local schoolmaster in
Inverary
Inveraray ( or ; gd, Inbhir Aora meaning "mouth of the Aray") is a town in Argyll and Bute, Scotland. It is on the western shore of Loch Fyne, near its head, and on the A83 road. It is a former royal burgh, the traditional county town of ...
.
He was educated at the
University of Glasgow
, image = UofG Coat of Arms.png
, image_size = 150px
, caption = Coat of arms
Flag
, latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis
, motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita
, ...
and the
Queens' College, Cambridge
Queens' College is a constituent college of the University of Cambridge. Queens' is one of the oldest colleges of the university, founded in 1448 by Margaret of Anjou. The college spans the River Cam, colloquially referred to as the "light s ...
. He was ordained in 1795 by the Bishop of London.
India
After holding a
chaplaincy
A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secular institution (such as a hospital, prison, military unit, intellige ...
in
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
at
Barrackpur
Barrackpore (also known as Barrackpur) is a city and a municipality of urban Kolkata of North 24 Parganas district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is also a part of the area covered by Kolkata Metropolitan Development Authority (KMDA ...
(1797–1799), Buchanan was appointed
Calcutta
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...
chaplain and vice-principal of the
college of Fort William. In this capacity he did much to advance
Christianity
Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...
and native education in India, especially by organizing systematic translations of the
scriptures
Religious texts, including scripture, are texts which various religions consider to be of central importance to their religious tradition. They differ from literature by being a compilation or discussion of beliefs, mythologies, ritual prac ...
.
First Malayalam Bible
During a visit to Malabar in 1806, present day South-western state of
Kerala
Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...
, he visited
Mar Thoma VI
Mar Dionysius I (Mar Thoma VI) (died 8 April 1808), was the 6th Metropolitan of the Malankara Syrian Church from 1765 until his death. A member of the Pakalomattom family (Thazhmon, Ayroor) he appealed to outside authorities to assert his posit ...
, head of the Malankara Church at
Angamali
Angamaly (''Aṅkamāli''), , Malayalam : അങ്കമാലി Situated about north of the city centre, the town lies at the intersection of Main Central Road (MC Road) and National Highway 544. MC Road, which starts from Thiruvananthapu ...
, near
Kochi
Kochi (), also known as Cochin ( ) ( the official name until 1996) is a major port city on the Malabar Coast of India bordering the Laccadive Sea, which is a part of the Arabian Sea. It is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of K ...
. Mar Thoma was very happy to hear Buchanan’s intention of translating the
Bible
The Bible (from Koine Greek , , 'the books') is a collection of religious texts or scriptures that are held to be sacred in Christianity, Judaism, Samaritanism, and many other religions. The Bible is an anthologya compilation of texts of a ...
into
Malayalam
Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...
, the local language, and he presented a Syriac Bible said to be of some antiquity to Buchanan. The Bible was subsequently deposited among the Oriental Manuscripts in the public library of the University of Cambridge.
Work on translation was started the same year by
Pulikkottil Joseph Ittoop and
Kayamkulam Philipose Ramban
Kayamkulam Philipose Ramban, was a Syriac scholar belonging to the Malankara Orthodox Syrian Church who made the translation of the Bible for the first time to the vernacular language Malayalam.
He lived in Kayamkulam, in his family home, Man ...
, with further assistance from Colonel (later General)
Colin Macaulay
Colin Macaulay (13 April 1760 – 20 February 1836), was a Scottish general, biblical scholar and key activist in the campaign to abolish slavery.
Early life
Macaulay was a son of the Rev. John Macaulay (1720–1789), minister in the Church of ...
. Macaulay was British Resident of Travancore at that time. As well as being a senior administrator, Macaulay was a gifted linguist with a keen personal interest in the Christian and Jewish heritage and communities of Travancore. He actively supported Buchanan, attending meetings with senior church leaders as well as facilitating audiences with the Rajah of Travancore to secure his approval too. Buchanan asked Macaulay to undertake the task of supervising the translators. By early 1808 the manuscript was complete and awaiting printing. In March of that year Buchanan left India for England leaving Macaulay in sole charge of the operation.
In January 1806, Buchanan was elected a Fellow of the
Royal Society of Edinburgh
The Royal Society of Edinburgh is Scotland's national academy of science and letters. It is a registered charity that operates on a wholly independent and non-partisan basis and provides public benefit throughout Scotland. It was established i ...
. He was also created an honorary
Doctor of Divinity
A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity.
In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...
by
Cambridge University
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
.
He died in
Broxbourne
Broxbourne is a town and former civil parish, now in the unparished area of Hoddesdon, in the Broxbourne district, in Hertfordshire, England, north of London, with a population of 15,303 at the 2011 Census.Broxbourne Town population 2011 It is ...
in
Herefordshire
Herefordshire () is a county in the West Midlands of England, governed by Herefordshire Council. It is bordered by Shropshire to the north, Worcestershire to the east, Gloucestershire to the south-east, and the Welsh counties of Monmouthshire ...
in 1815 where he was superintending an edition of the Syriac Scriptures (c.f. his extensive memorial inscription). He is buried, along with his wife Mary and two infant children, in the churchyard of
Holy Trinity, Little Ouseburn, North Yorkshire. His former residence, Moat Hall, is adjacent to the church.
Juggernaut
Buchanan was influential in introducing the
Jagannath
Jagannath ( or, ଜଗନ୍ନାଥ, lit=Lord of the Universe, Jagannātha; formerly en, Juggernaut) is a deity worshipped in regional Hindu traditions in India and Bangladesh as part of a triad along with his brother Balabhadra, and sister ...
tradition and
Hinduism
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...
to Western audiences in the early 19th-century. He called Jagannath "Juggernaut" and Hindu "Hindoo" in the letters he wrote from India. According to Michael J. Altman, a professor of Religious Studies, Buchanan presented Hinduism through "Juggernaut", as a "bloody, violent, superstitious and backward religious system" that needed to be eliminated and substituted with the Christian gospel.
He described "Juggernaut" with Biblical terminology for his audience, called him the
Moloch
Moloch (; ''Mōleḵ'' or הַמֹּלֶךְ ''hamMōleḵ''; grc, Μόλοχ, la, Moloch; also Molech or Molek) is a name or a term which appears in the Hebrew Bible several times, primarily in the book of Leviticus. The Bible strongly co ...
, and his shrine as
Golgatha
Calvary ( la, Calvariae or ) or Golgotha ( grc-gre, Γολγοθᾶ, ''Golgothâ'') was a site immediately outside Jerusalem's walls where Jesus was said to have been crucified according to the canonical Gospels. Since at least the early mediev ...
– the place where Jesus Christ was crucified – but with the difference that the "Juggernaut tradition" was of endless meaningless bloodshed, and fabricating allegations that children were sacrificed in the "valley of idolatrous blood shed to false gods".
In his letters, states Altman, Buchanan "constructed an image of Juggernaut as the diametric opposite of Christianity".
In his book ''Christian Researches in Asia'', published in 1811, Buchanan built on this theme and added licentiousness to it. He called hymns in the language he did not comprehend as "obscene stanzas", artworks on temple walls as "indecent emblems", and described "Juggernaut" and Hinduism to his readers as the religion of disgusting Moloch and false gods. Buchanan's writings formed the "first images of Indian religions" to the evangelical audience in the early 19th century and were promoted by American magazines such as
The Panoplist ''The Panoplist'' was a religious monthly magazine printed from 1805 until 1820 edited by Jeremiah Evarts.
Other names for the publication
*''The Panoplist''; or, ''The Christian Armory'' (1805-1808).
*''Panoplist and Missionary Magazine'' (1808- ...
. His book on "Juggernaut" attracted enough reader demand that it went through numerous editions.
Buchanan's pamphlets moved Christian missionaries and triggered a bitter debate between them and officials of the
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
. His writings led to many emotional sermons and mission advocates lectured on the need to "combat immorality and convert the unsaved" Indians. The writings of Buchanan and other missionaries constructed and exploited cultural and religious differences, which had a profound and lasting effect on how Americans saw non-Christian peoples.
Works
His main work was an account of his travels in the south and west of India and called ''Christian Researches in Asia'' (Cambridge, 1811). Shortly before publication, in December 1810 Buchanan (whose health was failing) had asked
Colin Macaulay
Colin Macaulay (13 April 1760 – 20 February 1836), was a Scottish general, biblical scholar and key activist in the campaign to abolish slavery.
Early life
Macaulay was a son of the Rev. John Macaulay (1720–1789), minister in the Church of ...
(also recently returned to England) to revise any parts of the manuscript he thought appropriate. He also asked Macaulay to choose the book's title. Upon publication the book became an immediate bestseller, being republished twelve times over the next two years.
[''A Life of General Colin Macaulay'', pp. 41-42.]
After Buchanan's return to the
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
in 1808, he still took an active part in matters connected with India, and, by his book entitled ''Colonial Ecclesiastical Establishment'' (
London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...
, 1813), he assisted in settling the controversy of 1813, which eventually ended in the establishment of an Anglican Indian
episcopate
A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution.
In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...
in 1878 in the
Travancore-Cochin states. This church, known as CMS Church, merged with other churches in South India on 27 September 1947 to form The Church of south
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
(CSI).
A collection of 'Sermons on interesting subjects' by Buchanan was printed for J. Ogle in Edinburgh in 1812. It consists of the texts of eight sermons preached in the Britain between 26 February 1809 and 2 June 1811. The first sermon was entitled "The Star in the East". It was preached in the parish church of St James, Bristol, on the author's return from India.
References
*
Further reading
* Buchanan, Rev. Claudius, LL.D. Memoir of the Expediency of an Ecclesiastical Establishment for British India. Second Cambridge Edition, 1811.
* Buchanan, Rev. Claudius. "The Star of The East". 1809.
External links
Significant Scots: Claudius BuchananBuchanan Biblein
University of Cambridge
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
Related History
{{DEFAULTSORT:Buchanan, Claudius
Alumni of Queens' College, Cambridge
Alumni of the University of Glasgow
Scottish Christian theologians
Scottish travel writers
1766 births
1815 deaths
People from Cambuslang
Scottish Anglican missionaries
Anglican missionaries in India
British expatriates in India