Edward Steane (1798–1882) was a British Baptist minister who founded the

Evangelical Alliance The Evangelical Alliance (EA) is a national evangelical alliance, member of the World Evangelical Alliance. Founded in 1846, the activities of the Evangelical Alliance aim to promote evangelical Christian beliefs in government, media and societ ...

. He was pastor in

Camberwell Camberwell () is a district of South London, England, in the London Borough of Southwark, southeast of Charing Cross. Camberwell was first a village associated with the church of St Giles and a common of which Goose Green is a remnant. This e ...

Life

Steane was born in March 1798 in Oxford. His father dealt in wines and spirits and the family attended New Road Baptist Church. Steane went to school where he was taught by James Hinton and became a lifelong friend with his son,

John Howard Hinton John Howard Hinton (23 March 1791 – 11 December 1873) was an English author and Baptist minister who published, along with many other works, ''The History and Topography of the United States of North America'' together with his brother Isaac ...

. Steane's interests were at the New Road church and although he briefly worked as a chemist the church agreed that he was to be a minister. He was sent for training at

Bristol Baptist College Baptists Together (officially The Baptist Union of Great Britain) is a Baptist Christian denomination in England and Wales. It is affiliated with the Baptist World Alliance and Churches Together in England. The headquarters is in Didcot. Hi ...

and then unsuccessfully at

Edinburgh University The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 1582 ...

. He returned to London where after a brief trial he started on his long career as minister at Denmark place in Camberwell. In 1823 Steane was appointed to be the pastor of the Baptist church in Denmark Place in

. In 1826 he was on a committee that published a new Baptist hymnal called the ''New Selection''. The book included one hymn by Steane called ''Prophetic era! blissful day! (The Triumphs of Christ anticipated)''. In 1834 he married Mary Stevenson, the granddaughter of Abraham Booth, another Baptist minister, and they had five children.Biblicalsociety.org.uk - Abraham Booth and some of his descendants (Ernest A. Payne) In 1840 Steane attended the 1840

World Anti-Slavery Convention The World Anti-Slavery Convention met for the first time at Exeter Hall in London, on 12–23 June 1840. It was organised by the British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society, largely on the initiative of the English Quaker Joseph Sturge. The exclu ...

and he was included in the commemorative painting.The Anti-Slavery Society Convention, 1840

Benjamin Robert Haydon Benjamin Robert Haydon (; 26 January 178622 June 1846) was a British painter who specialised in grand historical pictures, although he also painted a few contemporary subjects and portraits. His commercial success was damaged by his often tactles ...

, 1841, National Portrait Gallery, London, NPG599, Given by

British and Foreign Anti-Slavery Society British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

in 1880 Steane also helped found the Bible Translation Society charity after the

British and Foreign Bible Society The British and Foreign Bible Society, often known in England and Wales as simply the Bible Society, is a non-denominational Christian Bible society with charity status whose purpose is to make the Bible available throughout the world. The Soc ...

refused to fund a translation. The pivotal case was a translation of the Bible into

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. William Yates who had made the translation had chosen to translate the word "Baptise" as "Immerse" and this was in line with the Baptist beliefs and not necessarily every denomination. Steane served as its first secretary and later its treasurer. The formation of new bible translation societies proved divisive and expensive and they were eventually demerged. In 1846 Steane was appointed as one of the people required to set up a conference that resulted in the ''Evangelical Alliance''. He is seen as one of the founders and he edited the organisation's periodical, ''Evangelical Christendom''. Steane's failing health caused the church to appoint Rev Charles Stanford as a co-pastor at Camberwell in May 1858. Three years later Stanford took the job on full-time, but Steane was left with the title of Pastor until 1866. His first wife, Mary, died in 1862 and in 1864 he married Eliza Pigeon and gave up editing the ''Evangelical Christendom''. Steane died at his home near Rickmansworth.Rosemary Chadwick, ‘Steane, Edward (1798–1882)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, Oxford University Press, 200
accessed 30 July 2014
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steane, Edward 1798 births 1882 deaths English Baptist ministers