John Barclay AM (1734–1798) was a Scottish

minister of religion In Christianity, a minister is a person authorised by a church or other religious organization to perform functions such as teaching of beliefs; leading services such as weddings, baptisms or funerals; or otherwise providing spiritual guidanc ...

, and founder of the

Bereans In ancient times, the Bereans were the inhabitants of the city of Berea, also referred to as Beroea in the Bible. Today, the city is known as Veria in what is today northern Greece. The name has been taken up by certain groups within Protestantism ...

Life

The houses of old Calton Village on Calton Hill

Barclay was born at Muthill in

Perthshire Perthshire ( locally: ; gd, Siorrachd Pheairt), officially the County of Perth, is a historic county and registration county in central Scotland. Geographically it extends from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the nort ...

the son of Ludovic Barclay a farmer and miller. He studied Theology 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 ...

, and was highly influenced by the thoughts of Rev Archibald Campbell. After being licensed to preach by the

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 ...

through the presbytery of

Auchterarder Auchterarder (; gd, Uachdar Àrdair, meaning Upper Highland) is a small town located north of the Ochil Hills The Ochil Hills (; gd, Monadh Ochail is a range of hills in Scotland north of the Forth valley bordered by the towns of Stirlin ...

in September 1759, he became assistant to Rev James Jobson, the parish minister of Errol in

. Owing to differences with the minister, he left in 1763 and was then appointed assistant to Antony Dow of

Fettercairn Fettercairn (, gd, Fothair Chàrdain) is a small village in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, northwest of Laurencekirk in Aberdeenshire on the B966 from Edzell. Fettercairn is also reached via the Cairn O' Mount road (B974) from Deeside. The name co ...

Kincardineshire Kincardineshire, also known as the Mearns (from the Scottish Gaelic meaning "the Stewartry"), is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area on the coast of northeast Scotland. It is bounded by Aberdeenshire on the north and ...

. During his period here he made several publications, and gained the reputation as a trouble-maker, distancing himself from the established church. In 1772, lacking a patron as then required by the church, he was rejected as successor to Dow, and was also refused by the presbytery the testimonials required in order to obtain another living. The refusal of the presbytery was sustained by 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 pres ...

. Dow was instead succeeded by Rev Robert Foote. Barclay then left the established Scottish church and founded his own church 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 ...

but also with branches

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

and

Sauchieburn The Battle of Sauchieburn was fought on 11 June 1488, at the side of Sauchie Burn, a stream about south of Stirling, Scotland. The battle was fought between the followers of King James III of Scotland and a large group of rebellious Scottish n ...

near

Stirling Stirling (; sco, Stirlin; gd, Sruighlea ) is a city in central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the royal citadel, the medieval old town with its me ...

. His followers were called Barclayans, Barclayites or

, the latter because they regulated their conduct by study of the Scriptures after the biblical Bereans of Acts xvii. 11. They held to a modified form of

Calvinism Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John C ...

. The Berean Church had congregations in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

and

Bristol Bristol () is a City status in the United Kingdom, city, Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county and unitary authority in England. Situated on the River Avon, Bristol, River Avon, it is bordered by the ceremonial counties of Glouces ...

, but mainly merged with the

Congregationalists Congregational churches (also Congregationalist churches or Congregationalism) are Protestant churches in the Calvinist tradition practising congregationalist church governance, in which each congregation independently and autonomously runs i ...

after Barclay's death. His works, which included many hymns and paraphrases of the psalms, and a book called ''Without Faith, without God'', were edited by J. Thomson and D. Macmillan, with a memoir (1852). In 1784 he was living in a house in Calton village on

Calton Hill Calton Hill () is a hill in central Edinburgh, Scotland, situated beyond the east end of Princes Street and included in the city's UNESCO World Heritage Site. Views of, and from, the hill are often used in photographs and paintings of the cit ...

. The houses still exist but it is unclear which house he lived in. He continued to live on Calton Hill until his death. He died suddenly of

apoplexy Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleedi ...

whilst kneeling in prayer at a friend's house in Edinburgh on 29 July 1798 and is buried in Old Calton Burial Ground.ODNB: Rev John Barclay

Publications

*''A Paraphrase of the Book of Psalms'' (1766) - this was part of Scottish hymnals until the late 20th century which were split into Psalms, Paraphrases and Hymns. *''Rejoice Evermore'' or ''Christ All in All'' (1767) *''Without Faith, Without God; or An Appeal to God Concerning His Own Existence'' (1769) *''Eternal Generation of the Son of God'' (1769) *''Assurance of Faith'' (1771) *''The Epistle to the Hebrews Paraphrased'' (1783)

References

;Attribution *

Sources

*''The Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church.'' E. A. Livingstone. Oxford University Press, 2000

External links

John Barclay
The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001.

biography at ''Significant Scots''
Electric Scotland
{{DEFAULTSORT:Barclay, John 1734 births 1798 deaths 18th-century Ministers of the Church of Scotland Alumni of the University of St Andrews Scottish Protestant hymnwriters Scottish religious writers

Life

Publications

References

Sources

Further reading

External links