Archibald Main, (17 December 1876 – 14 March 1947) was a Scottish

ecclesiastical historian __NOTOC__ Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritua ...

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 Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...

minister,

military chaplain A military chaplain ministers to military personnel and, in most cases, their families and civilians working for the military. In some cases they will also work with local civilians within a military area of operations. Although the term ''cha ...

, and academic. From 1915 to 1922, he was

Professor Professor (commonly abbreviated as Prof.) is an academic rank at universities and other post-secondary education and research institutions in most countries. Literally, ''professor'' derives from Latin as a "person who professes". Professors ...

of Ecclesiastical History at the

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

. From 1922 to 1942, he was

Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History The Regius Chair of Ecclesiastical History at the University of Oxford was founded by Queen Victoria in 1842. Previous Holders of the chair include John McManners, Peter Hinchliff and Henry Mayr-Harting. The current Regius Professor of Ecclesias ...

at the

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

. He served as Chaplain to the King from 1925 and as Moderator of the

General Assembly of the Church of Scotland The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the sovereign and highest court of the Church of Scotland, and is thus the Church's governing body.''An Introduction to Practice and Procedure in the Church of Scotland'' by A. Gordon McGillivray, ...

from 1939 to 1940.

Early life and education

Main was born on 17 December 1876 in

Partick Partick ( sco, Pairtick, Scottish Gaelic: ''Partaig'') is an area of Glasgow on the north bank of the River Clyde, just across from Govan. To the west lies Whiteinch, to the east Yorkhill and Kelvingrove Park (across the River Kelvin), and ...

, Glasgow, Scotland. He was educated at

Garnethill Garnethill is a predominantly residential area of the city of Glasgow, Scotland with a number of important public buildings. Geography Located in the city centre, the area borders Cowcaddens to its north, Sauchiehall Street to its south, Cambr ...

Public School in Glasgow. He then studied philosophy at the

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

, and graduated with a first-class undergraduate

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Th ...

(MA Hons) degree in 1899. Having won the Snell Exhibition, he studied modern history and economics at Balliol College, Oxford, and graduated from the

University of Oxford , mottoeng = The Lord is my light , established = , endowment = £6.1 billion (including colleges) (2019) , budget = £2.145 billion (2019–20) , chancellor ...

with a Bachelor of Arts (BA) degree in 1903. He won the Stanhope Prize in 1903 for an essay on Sigismund, Holy Roman Emperor. In 1912, he was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Letters Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Docto ...

(DLitt) degree by the University of Glasgow for a thesis titled ''The Life and Times of

Ralph Cudworth Ralph Cudworth ( ; 1617 – 26 June 1688) was an English Anglican clergyman, Christian Hebraist, classicist, theologian and philosopher, and a leading figure among the Cambridge Platonists who became 11th Regius Professor of Hebrew ...

''.

Career

Ordained ministry

Main was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

a minister of the

on 28 April 1904. He then served as Minister of St Madoes Church, Glencarse, in the Presbytery of

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 i ...

until 1912. He was called to a different church in April 1912, and served as Minister of Old Kilpatrick Church,

Dunbartonshire Dunbartonshire ( gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Breatann) or the County of Dumbarton is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Dunbartonshire borders Pe ...

, until 1915. On 20 October 1938, he was nominated as the next Moderator of the

. He officially took up the position of Moderator on 23 May, at that start of 1939 General Assembly. Main was elected Minister of Kirkbean Church in the Presbytery of Dumfries in 1942. He retired from full-time ministry on 13 February 1946 due to ill health. In May 1925, Main was appointed by

King George V George V (George Frederick Ernest Albert; 3 June 1865 – 20 January 1936) was King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions, and Emperor of India, from 6 May 1910 until his death in 1936. Born during the reign of his grandmother Qu ...

as a Chaplain-in-Ordinary to His Majesty in Scotland. He was re-appointed to that position by

King Edward VIII Edward VIII (Edward Albert Christian George Andrew Patrick David; 23 June 1894 – 28 May 1972), later known as the Duke of Windsor, was King of the United Kingdom and the Dominions of the British Empire and Emperor of India from 20 January 19 ...

(in 1936), and by King George VI (in 1937).

Academic career

Main acted as an examiner at the

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

political economy Political economy is the study of how economic systems (e.g. markets and national economies) and political systems (e.g. law, institutions, government) are linked. Widely studied phenomena within the discipline are systems such as labour ...

between 1906 and 1908, and political economy and modern history between 1912 and 1914. On 1 October 1915, he was appointed

Ecclesiastical History __NOTOC__ Church history or ecclesiastical history as an academic discipline studies the history of Christianity and the way the Christian Church has developed since its inception. Henry Melvill Gwatkin defined church history as "the spiritua ...

at the University of St Andrews. He succeeded

John Herkless Sir John Herkless (9 August 1855 – 11 June 1920) was a Scottish biographer and educator who was Principal and Vice Chancellor of the University of St. Andrews and Principal of United College of St Salvator and St Leonard from 1915 to 1920. ...

who had been appointed principal of the university. On 1 October 1922, he was appointed Regius Professor of Ecclesiastical History at the

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

. He was the Baird Lecturer from 1935 to 1936. He stepped down from that Regius Chair in September 1942.

Military service

During

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

, Main served as a

. On 9 July 1917, he was appointed a temporary chaplain and attached to the 2nd Battalion, Fifeshire Volunteer Regiment,

Territorial Force The Territorial Force was a part-time volunteer component of the British Army, created in 1908 to augment British land forces without resorting to conscription. The new organisation consolidated the 19th-century Volunteer Force and yeomanry ...

. He later transferred to the 7th Volunteer Battalion of the

Royal Highlanders The Black Watch, 3rd Battalion, Royal Regiment of Scotland (3 SCOTS) is an infantry battalion of the Royal Regiment of Scotland. The regiment was created as part of the Childers Reforms in 1881, when the 42nd (Royal Highland) Regiment ...

Volunteer Force The Volunteer Force was a citizen army of part-time rifle, artillery and engineer corps, created as a popular movement throughout the British Empire in 1859. Originally highly autonomous, the units of volunteers became increasingly integrated ...

. On 8 July 1918, he was made a temporary Chaplain to the Forces 4th Class (equivalent in rank to captain) in the Army Chaplains' Department. He then served in the 9th Volunteer Battalion Royal Highlanders until the end of the war. In July 1919, Main was made an Honorary Chaplain in recognition of his war service. On 31 March 1922, he was appointed a Chaplain to the Forces 4th Class in the Royal Army Chaplains' Department, Territorial Army Reserve. While a professor at the University of Glasgow, he served as chaplain to the Glasgow University Officers' Training Corps; he stood down in 1942 when he left academia.

Honours

For his service in

, Main was awarded two

campaign medals A campaign medal is a military decoration which is awarded to a member of an armed force who serves in a designated military operation or performs duty in a geographical theater. Campaign medals are very similar to service medals but carry a hig ...

; the

British War Medal The British War Medal is a campaign medal of the United Kingdom which was awarded to officers and men of British and Imperial forces for service in the First World War. Two versions of the medal were produced. About 6.5 million were struck in si ...

and the Victory Medal. On 30 June 1921, Main was awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity (DD) degree by his ''alma mater'' (the

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

). In 1943, he was awarded an honorary

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor ...

(LLD) degree by the University of Glasgow.

Styles

* 1876–1904; Mr Archibald Main * 1904–1915;

The Reverend The Reverend is an honorific style most often placed before the names of Christian clergy and ministers. There are sometimes differences in the way the style is used in different countries and church traditions. ''The Reverend'' is correctly ...

Archibald Main * 1915–1939;

Archibald Main * 1939–1940;

The Right Reverend The Right Reverend (abbreviated The Rt Revd, The Rt Rev'd, The Rt Rev.) is a style applied to certain religious figures. Overview *In the Anglican Communion and the Catholic Church in Great Britain, it applies to bishops, except that '' The ...

Professor Archibald Main * 1940–1947;

The Very Reverend The Very Reverend is a style given to members of the clergy. The definite article "The" should always precede "Reverend" as "Reverend" is a style or fashion and not a title. Catholic In the Catholic Church, the style is given, by custom, to pri ...

Professor Archibald Main

Family

In 1907 he married Mary Jardine Giffen, daughter of Andrew Giffen of Glasgow. They had one daughter.''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae''; vol. 7; by Hew Scott, p. 410

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Main, Archibald 1876 births 1947 deaths Historians of Christianity 20th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland Moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland Academics of the University of Glasgow 20th-century Scottish historians Alumni of the University of Glasgow Alumni of Balliol College, Oxford People from Partick Chaplains-in-Ordinary World War I chaplains Royal Army Chaplains' Department officers British historians of religion