Robin H. S. Boyd (14 May 1924 – 14 June 2018) was an

Irish Irish may refer to: Common meanings * Someone or something of, from, or related to: ** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe ***Éire, Irish language name for the isle ** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...

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 ...

and

missionary A missionary is a member of a religious group which is sent into an area in order to promote its faith or provide services to people, such as education, literacy, social justice, health care, and economic development.Thomas Hale 'On Being a Mi ...

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 ...

, ordained in the

Irish Presbyterian Church The Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI; ga, Eaglais Phreispitéireach in Éirinn; Ulster-Scots: ''Prisbytairin Kirk in Airlann'') is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the Republic of Ireland, and the largest Protestant denomination in ...

. He also worked with the Student Christian Movement and was a

presbyter Presbyter () is an honorific title for Christian clergy. The word derives from the Greek ''presbyteros,'' which means elder or senior, although many in the Christian antiquity would understand ''presbyteros'' to refer to the bishop functioning a ...

in the Church of North India.

Biography

Boyd was born in

Belfast Belfast ( , ; from ga, Béal Feirste , meaning 'mouth of the sand-bank ford') is the capital and largest city of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan on the east coast. It is the 12th-largest city in the United Kingdom ...

in 1924, to Irish missionaries to India. He pursued undergraduate studies in classics at

Trinity College Dublin , name_Latin = Collegium Sanctae et Individuae Trinitatis Reginae Elizabethae juxta Dublin , motto = ''Perpetuis futuris temporibus duraturam'' (Latin) , motto_lang = la , motto_English = It will last i ...

, which was interrupted from 1943 to 1945 for war service, and went on for theological studies at

New College, Edinburgh New College is a historic building at the University of Edinburgh which houses the university's School of Divinity. It is one of the largest and most renowned centres for studies in Theology and Religious Studies in the United Kingdom. Students ...

. He worked for two years with the Student Christian Movement as secretary to theological colleges (1951–1953), studied briefly in Basel with Karl Barth and

Oscar Cullmann Oscar Cullmann (25 February 1902, Strasbourg – 16 January 1999, Chamonix) was a French Lutheran theologian. He is best known for his work in the ecumenical movement and was partly responsible for the establishment of dialogue between the Luther ...

, before marrying his first wife and SCM colleague Frances Paton (granddaughter of

John Gibson Paton John Gibson Paton (24 May 1824 – 28 January 1907), born in Scotland, was a Protestant missionary to the New Hebrides Islands of the South Pacific. He brought to the natives of the New Hebrides education and Christianity. He developed small in ...

) and moving to India as Christian missionaries in 1954. In 1959, Boyd returned to Edinburgh to begin his PhD on the subject "The Place of Dogmatic Theology in the Indian Church." He was appointed to the Gujarat United School of Theology in Ahmedabad in 1961 and witnessed the formation of the Church of North India in 1970. In 1974, after twenty years as a missionary in India, Boyd took up the parish ministry in

Melbourne Melbourne ( ; Boonwurrung/Woiwurrung: ''Narrm'' or ''Naarm'') is the capital and most populous city of the Australian state of Victoria, and the second-most populous city in both Australia and Oceania. Its name generally refers to a met ...

and witnessed the formation of another church union, the

Uniting Church in Australia The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) was founded on 22 June 1977, when most congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church of Australia and almost all the churches of the Congregational Uni ...

in 1977. He later served as director of the

Irish School of Ecumenics The Irish School of Ecumenics (ISE) is an institute of Trinity College Dublin, dedicated to the study and promotion of peace and reconciliation in Ireland and throughout the world. The school is located in Dublin and Belfast, and consists of eight ...

(1980–1987) before returning to Melbourne for parish ministry and retiring in 1994. His wife Frances died in 1998 and, after a brief visit to Scotland, he married Anne Booth-Clibborn (née Forrester) a former Church of Scotland social worker in Kenya. Boyd died on 14 June 2018 in Edinburgh.

Indian Christian theology

Boyd is best known for his writings in Indian Christian theology. His PhD thesis was published in 1969 as ''An Introduction to Indian Christian Theology,'' and revised and expanded in 1975. In India, this work is described as the "standard textbook at the B.Th. and B.D. levels for the course in Indian Christian theology."

Works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Boyd, Robin 1924 births 2018 deaths Irish Calvinist and Reformed theologians Presbyterian missionaries in India World Christianity scholars Irish expatriates in India People from Belfast Alumni of the University of Edinburgh School of Divinity