William Paton (1886–1943) was a British

ecumenist Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

. Active in the Student Christian Movement, Paton was the first general secretary of the National Christian Council of India and helped to establish the

World Council of Churches The World Council of Churches (WCC) is a worldwide Christian inter-church organization founded in 1948 to work for the cause of ecumenism. Its full members today include the Assyrian Church of the East, the Oriental Orthodox Churches, most juri ...

Biography

Born in London to Scottish parents, Paton converted to Christianity in spring 1905 in his first year studying at

Pembroke College, Oxford Pembroke College, a constituent college of the University of Oxford, is located at Pembroke Square, Oxford. The college was founded in 1624 by King James I of England, using in part the endowment of merchant Thomas Tesdale, and was named after ...

and joined the

Presbyterian Church of England The Presbyterian Church of England was a late-19th century and 20th century Presbyterian denomination in England. The church's origins lay in the 1876 merger of the English congregations of the chiefly Scottish United Presbyterian Church with vario ...

. He quickly became involved in itinerant preaching in country churches around Oxford and the activities of the

Student Christian Movement of Great Britain Student Christian Movement of Great Britain (or SCM) is a British religious charity led by students, past and present. The movement is an ecumenical and inclusive community that recognises unity in diversity and explores faith through worship, dis ...

, and pursued theological studies at

Westminster College, Cambridge Westminster College in Cambridge, England is a theological college of the United Reformed Church. Its principal purpose is training for the ordination of ministers, but is also used more widely for training within the denomination. History T ...

. Paton worked as a Presbyterian missionary in India, first from 1916 until 1919, then returning in 1921 and becoming the first general secretary National Christian Council of India (1922–1926). He became part of the

International Missionary Council The International Missionary Council (IMC) was an ecumenical Protestant missionary organization established in 1921, which in 1961, merged with the World Council of Churches (WCC), becoming the WCC's Division of World Mission and Evangelism.Arthur P ...

, succeeding

J. H. Oldham Joseph Houldsworth Oldham (1874–1969), known as J. H. or Joe, was a Scottish missionary in India, who became a significant figure in Christian ecumenism, though never ordained in the United Free Church as he had wished. Life J.H. Oldham was the ...

as general secretary, then helped to establish the

with

Willem Visser 't Hooft Willem Adolph Visser 't Hooft (20 September 1900 – 4 July 1985) was a Dutch theologian who became the first secretary general of the World Council of Churches in 1948 and held this position until his retirement in 1966. Biography Visser 't Ho ...

. In 1911, Paton married Grace Mackenzie MacDonald. She was the daughter of a minister of a Presbyterian Church in London where Paton had been invited to preach at. Grace would later leave the Presbyterian Church, then the Church of England because they did not care for the poor. She converted to Roman Catholicism in 1936.

Works

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Paton, William 1886 births 1943 deaths People of the World Council of Churches Presbyterian missionaries in India

Biography

See also

Works

References