James Sellar (1812–1886) was a Scottish minister who served as

Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the ministers and elders of the Church of Scotland, minister or elder chosen to moderate (chair) the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week i ...

in 1875.

Life

He was born in

Keith Keith may refer to: People and fictional characters * Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Keith (surname) * Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949) * Baron Keith, a line of Scottish barons ...

on 20 February 1812 the son of Thomas Sellar a shoemaker, and his wife, Rachel Robertson. He was educated at

Keith Academy Lowell Catholic is a private, not-for-profit, college preparatory school in Lowell, Massachusetts. It is located in the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Boston and is a Xaverian Brothers Sponsored School. Lowell Catholic High School was establishe ...

then studied at

King's College, Aberdeen King's College in Old Aberdeen, Scotland, the full title of which is The University and King's College of Aberdeen (''Collegium Regium Abredonense''), is a formerly independent university founded in 1495 and now an integral part of the Universi ...

graduating MA in 1837 then doing further studies in divinity at

St Andrews University (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

. From 1838 to 1843 he was a schoolmaster at St Andrews

Lhanbryde Lhanbryde (Gaelic: ''Lann Brìghde'') is a village that lies east of Elgin in Moray, Scotland. Previously bisected by the A96, it was bypassed in the early 1990s and now lies to the north of this busy trunk road. It had a population of 1,88 ...

, being licensed to preach as a Church of Scotland minister by the Presbytery of Elgin in September 1842. In July 1843 he was ordained as minister of

Aberlour Aberlour ( gd, Obar Lobhair) is a village in Moray, Scotland, south of Elgin on the road to Grantown. The Lour burn is a tributary of the River Spey, and it and the surrounding parish are both named Aberlour, but the name is more commonly used ...

. In 1858 King's College awarded him 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 ...

. In 1867 he served on the Committee on Aids to Devotion. In 1875 he succeeded Rev Prof

Samuel Trail Samuel Trail (1806–1887) was a Scottish minister who served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1874. Life He was born in the parish of Udny on 31 May 1806, the son of John T. Trail, a farmer. He studied divinity ...

as Moderator of the General Assembly, the highest position in the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

. He was succeeded in turn by Rev George Cook. In the year of his being Moderator he served under the

Earl of Rosslyn Earl of Rosslyn is a title in the Peerage of the United Kingdom. It was created in 1801 for Alexander Wedderburn, 1st Baron Loughborough, Lord Chancellor from 1793 to 1801, with special remainder to his nephew Sir James St Clair-Erskine, as We ...

as Lord High Commissioner of the General Assembly, and with Robert Lee, advocate as Procurator. He died in Aberlour on 10 August 1886.

Publications

*Church Doctrine and Practice (1869) *The Conflicts: Progress and Final Triumph of God's Work in the World (1876)

Artistic recognition

He was painted by

George Paul Chalmers George Paul Chalmers (1833 – 20 February 1878) was a Scottish landscape, marine, interior and portrait painter. Life Chalmers was born at Montrose, the son of a captain of a coastal vessel, and at the age of twenty he started to study ...

around 1875.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sellar, James 1812 births 1886 deaths Alumni of the University of Aberdeen People from Keith, Moray Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland 19th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland 19th-century Scottish Presbyterian ministers