![Prof Patrick Fairbairn's grave, Grange Cemetery](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f3/Prof_Patrick_Fairbairn%27s_grave%2C_Grange_Cemetery.JPG)
Patrick Fairbairn (28 January 1805 – 6 August 1874) was a Scottish
Free Church
A free church is a Christian denomination that is intrinsically separate from government (as opposed to a state church). A free church does not define government policy, and a free church does not accept church theology or policy definitions fr ...
minister and theologian. He was
Moderator of the General Assembly
The moderator of the General Assembly is the chairperson of a General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbyteries may also style the chairperson as moderator. The Oxford Dictionary states th ...
1864/65.
Early life and career
He was born in Halyburton,
Greenlaw
Greenlaw is a town and civil parish situated in the foothills of the Lammermuir Hills on Blackadder Water at the junction of the A697 and the A6105 in the Scottish Borders area of Scotland. At the 2001 census, the parish had a population of ...
,
Berwickshire
Berwickshire ( gd, Siorrachd Bhearaig) is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area in south-eastern Scotland, on the English border. Berwickshire County Council existed from 1890 until 1975, when the area became part of th ...
, on 28 January 1805. Patrick was the second son of John Fairbairn,
farmer, and Jessie Johnston, Middlestots. He was educated at Greenlaw School and studied at the
University of Edinburgh
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 15 ...
at the age of 13. He graduated in 1826 and was licensed to preach by Presbytery of Duns on 3 October 1826. He began employment as a tutor in the family of Captain Balfour of Balfour and was ordained to
Ringansay in
Orkney
Orkney (; sco, Orkney; on, Orkneyjar; nrn, Orknøjar), also known as the Orkney Islands, is an archipelago in the Northern Isles of Scotland, situated off the north coast of the island of Great Britain. Orkney is 10 miles (16 km) north ...
on 28 July 1830 and remained there for six years. He translated to the Extension Church at
Bridgeton, Glasgow
Bridgeton ( sco, Brigtoun, gd, Baile na Drochaid) is a district to the east of Glasgow city centre. Historically part of Lanarkshire, it is bounded by Glasgow Green
Glasgow Green is a park in the east end of Glasgow, Scotland, on the north ...
on 16 March 1837. Fairbairn translated, and admitted to
Salton, East Lothian on 25th June 1840.
After the Disruption
After the
Disruption of 1843
The Disruption of 1843, also known as the Great Disruption, was a schism in 1843 in which 450 evangelical ministers broke away from the Church of Scotland to form the Free Church of Scotland.
The main conflict was over whether the Church of S ...
, Fairbairn joined the
Free Church of Scotland. In 1852 he became assistant to Prof Maclagan at the
Free Church Theological College in
Aberdeen
Aberdeen (; sco, Aiberdeen ; gd, Obar Dheathain ; la, Aberdonia) is a city in North East Scotland, and is the third most populous city in the country. Aberdeen is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas (as Aberdeen City), and ...
and in 1853, the
General Assembly
A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company.
Specific examples of general assembly include:
Churches
* General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of presby ...
appointed him as successor to Maclagan as Professor of Theology. He then lived at 25 Bon Accord Terrace in Aberdeen.
When the
Free Church College was founded in Glasgow in 1856, Fairbairn became Professor of Church History and Exegesis, and was made Principal the following year. He held these positions until his death in 1874. He was elected
Moderator of the General Assembly
The moderator of the General Assembly is the chairperson of a General Assembly, the highest court of a Presbyterian or Reformed church. Kirk sessions and presbyteries may also style the chairperson as moderator. The Oxford Dictionary states th ...
in 1864, succeeding
Rev Roderick McLeod, and was succeeded in turn in 1865 by Rev
James Begg
James Begg (31 October 1808 in New Monkland, Lanarkshire, Scotland – 29 September 1883) was a minister of the Free Church of Scotland who served as Moderator of the General Assembly 1865/66.
Life
He was born in the manse at New Monkla ...
.
In 1845, Fairbairn published ''The Typology of Scripture''. MacLehose (1886) noted that this was "one of the most important theological works of its day," and suggested that it "appeared at a time when Scotland was singularly barren in theological scholarship, and gained for its author a great reputation, not only in his own country but also in England and America."
Fairbairn's work on
typology
Typology is the study of types or the systematic classification of the types of something according to their common characteristics. Typology is the act of finding, counting and classification facts with the help of eyes, other senses and logic. Ty ...
was followed by ''Prophecy viewed in its Distinctive Nature, its Special Functions, and Proper Interpretation'' (1856) and ''Hermeneutical Manual; or, Introduction to the exegetical study of the Scriptures of the New Testament'' (1858). He also wrote commentaries on
Ezekiel
Ezekiel (; he, יְחֶזְקֵאל ''Yəḥezqēʾl'' ; in the Septuagint written in grc-koi, Ἰεζεκιήλ ) is the central protagonist of the Book of Ezekiel in the Hebrew Bible.
In Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, Ezekiel is acknow ...
and the
Pastoral epistles, and edited the ''Imperial Bible Dictionary''.
Fairbairn was "large and imposing in appearance,"
but "modest and retiring in his habits and feelings." He was married three times,
but little is known of his private life because Fairbairn "asked his friends not to allow his biography to be written, and destroyed letters and other documents which might have led them to a disregard of his wish."
Walker (1964) suggested that Fairbairn's "zeal for ascertaining and propagating the truth of God ... continued steadfastly with all the vigour of his powerful intellect until the closing days of his life."
He died at home, 13 Elmbank Crescent, in west Glasgow.
[Glasgow Post Office Directory 1874]
He is buried against the north wall of the
Grange Cemetery
The Grange (originally St Giles' Grange) is an affluent suburb of Edinburgh, just south of the city centre, with Morningside and Greenhill to the west, Newington to the east, The Meadows park and Marchmont to the north, and Blackford Hil ...
in
Edinburgh
Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...
with his wives Mary Playfair (1808-1852) and Frances Eliza Turnbull (1828-1903).
His Glasgow home was demolished in the late 20th century.
Works
*The Typology of Scripture, 2 vols. (Edinburgh, 1845–7, and various editions)
*Jonah, his Life, Character, and Mission (1849)
*Ezekiel and the Book of his Prophecy (Edinburgh, 1851)
*Opinions of Reformers regarding the Sabbath (Edinburgh, 1852)
*The Christian Ministry (Edinburgh, 1852)
*Prophecy, its Nature, Function, and Interpretation (Edinburgh, 1856)
*Hermeneutical Manual (Edinburgh, 1858)
*The Revelation of Law in Scripture (Cunningham Lectures ; Edinburgh, 1869)
*The Pastoral Epistles of St Paul (Edinburgh, 1874)
*Pastoral Theology (Edinburgh, 1875) which was published posthumously and contained a Memoir by James Dodds.
*He edited The Imperial Bible Dictionary (London, 1864–6, 2 vols.), contributing many important articles, and for Clark's Biblical Cabinet and Foreign Theol. Library he translated in whole or in part several works from the German — Hengstenberg's Commentary on the Psalms and Commentary on the Revelation, etc.
Family
He married:
*(1) 27 March 1833, Margaret (died 4th May 1837), daughter of Alexander Pitcairn, merchant, Edinburgh, and had issue —
**John, born 22 January 1834, died in Australia 1874
**Alexander, born 7 October 1836, died 21 May 1837
**Margaret, born 27 April 1837, died 22 May 1837
*(2) 23 July 1839, Mary (died 9 December 1852), daughter of Patrick Playfair, merchant, Glasgow, and had issue —
**Patrick, born 21 Sept. 1840, died at Demerara, 20 March 1910
**Jane Jessie, born 27 September 1842, died 28 September 1859
**Thomas Pitcairn, born 16 March 1848, died 3 November 1877
**Marian, born 9 December 1852 (married Alexander Guthrie, merchant, Liverpool, son of
Thomas Guthrie
Thomas Guthrie FRSE (12 July 1803 – 24 February 1873) was a Scottish divine and philanthropist, born at Brechin in Angus (at that time also called Forfarshire). He was one of the most popular preachers of his day in Scotland, and was associat ...
)
*(3) 21 September 1861, Frances Eliza Turnbull, Eyemouth, who died 25 Jan. 1903, aged 85.
References
;Citations
;Sources
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Further reading
{{DEFAULTSORT:Fairbairn, Patrick
1805 births
1874 deaths
Scottish Calvinist and Reformed theologians
19th-century Ministers of the Free Church of Scotland
Alumni of the University of Edinburgh
People from Berwickshire
Scottish religious writers
Presidents of Calvinist and Reformed seminaries
19th-century Calvinist and Reformed theologians
British biblical scholars