Thomas Black (c. 1670–1739) was a

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 ...

minister who served as

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 1721.

Life

Black studied at

Glasgow University , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

but there is no record of his graduating. He was licensed to preach by the Presbytery of

Cupar Cupar ( ; gd, Cùbar) is a town, former royal burgh and parish in Fife, Scotland. It lies between Dundee and Glenrothes. According to a 2011 population estimate, Cupar had a population around 9,000, making it the ninth-largest settlement in Fif ...

Fife Fife (, ; gd, Fìobha, ; sco, Fife) is a council area, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland. It is situated between the Firth of Tay and the Firth of Forth, with inland boundaries with Perth and Kinross (i ...

in July 1695.''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae''; by Hew Scott; vol. 4 In September 1695 he was ordained as minister of

Strathmiglo Strathmiglo ( gd, Srath Mioglach) (Ordnance Survey ) is a village and parish in Fife, Scotland on the River Eden. It lies on the old A91 road from Milnathort to Cupar and St. Andrews but was bypassed by a new road to the north in the 1970s. N ...

Parish Church. In October 1697 he translated to Wemyss Parish Church. In April 1698 he moved to "second charge" of St John's Church in

Perth Perth is the capital and largest city of the Australian state of Western Australia. It is the fourth most populous city in Australia and Oceania, with a population of 2.1 million (80% of the state) living in Greater Perth in 2020. Perth is ...

originally under Rev Adam Barclay and from 1691 under Rev Robert Anderson. Black became first charge in 1704 or 1705, remaining in this role until death.''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae''; by Hew Scott In 1707 Queen Anne appointed him the additional role as Professor of 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 ...

. In 1721 he succeeded William Hamilton 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 ...

the highest position in the Scottish church. He died in Perth on 25 October 1739. His position in St John's Church was filled by Henry Lindsay.

Family

He married Jean Drummond (d.1750) daughter of James Drummond of

Comrie Comrie may refer to: Places *Comrie (crater), a lunar crater *Comrie, Fife, a village in Fife, Scotland *Comrie, Perth and Kinross, a village and parish in Strathearn, Scotland People with the surname *Aaron Comrie (born 1997), Scottish footballer ...

. Their children included: *Thomas (b.1716) *Rev David Black (1707-1771), assisted his father (and his successors) from 1737 minister of St John's from 1756 to 1771 *Jean *Katherine Black, married Rev

John Glas John Glas (5 October 1695 – 2 November 1773) was a Scottish clergyman who started the Glasite The Glasites or Glassites were a small Christian church founded in about 1730 in Scotland by John Glas.John Glas preached supremacy of God's wo ...

Tealing Tealing (Scottish Gaelic: Tèalainn) is a village in Angus in eastern Scotland, nestled at the foot of the Sidlaw Hills. It is just north of the city of Dundee and south of Forfar. With a population of just over 500, scattered across of fertil ...

, founder of the

Glasite The Glasites or Glassites were a small Christian church founded in about 1730 in Scotland by John Glas.John Glas preached supremacy of God's word (Bible) over allegiance to Church and state to his congregation in Tealing near Dundee in July 172 ...

Church

Publications

*''A Meditation or Soliloquoy on the Soul'' (1743) * Editor of ''Halyburton's Sermons'' (1722)

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Black, Thomas 1670 births 1739 deaths Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland