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

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

and

missionary A missionary is a member of a Religious denomination, religious group who 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.Thoma ...

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

, ordained in the

Irish Presbyterian Church The Presbyterian Church in Ireland (PCI; ; Ulster-Scots: ''Prisbytairin Kirk in Airlann'') is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the Republic of Ireland, and the largest Protestant denomination in Northern Ireland. Like most Christian c ...

. 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 Christian antiquity understood ''presbyteros'' to refer to the bishop functioning as overseer ...

in the

Church of North India The Church of North India (CNI) is the dominant united and uniting churches, united Protestant church in northern India. It was established on 29 November 1970 by bringing together most of the Protestant churches working in northern India. It i ...

Biography

Boyd was born in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

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

Trinity College Dublin Trinity College Dublin (), officially titled The College of the Holy and Undivided Trinity of Queen Elizabeth near Dublin, and legally incorporated as Trinity College, the University of Dublin (TCD), is the sole constituent college of the Unive ...

, 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 The University of Edinburgh, 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, R ...

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

Karl Barth Karl Barth (; ; – ) was a Swiss Reformed theologian. Barth is best known for his commentary '' The Epistle to the Romans'', his involvement in the Confessing Church, including his authorship (except for a single phrase) of the Barmen Decl ...

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 Luthe ...

, before marrying his first wife and SCM colleague Frances Paton (granddaughter of John Gibson Paton) 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 Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

in 1961 and witnessed the formation of the

in 1970. In 1974, after twenty years as a missionary in India, Boyd took up the parish ministry in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

and witnessed the formation of another church union, the

Uniting Church in Australia The Uniting Church in Australia (UCA) is a united church in Australia. The church was founded on 22 June 1977 when most Wiktionary:congregation, congregations of the Methodist Church of Australasia, about two-thirds of the Presbyterian Church o ...

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 eigh ...

(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 Scholars and academics from Belfast Alumni of the University of Edinburgh School of Divinity Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Church of North India clergy