Barclay was born at Muthill in Perthshire the son of Ludovic Barclay[1] a farmer and miller.
He studied Theology at St. Andrews University, and was highly influenced by the thoughts of Rev Archibald Campbell.[2] After being licensed to preach by the Church of Scotland through the presbytery of Auchterarder in September 1759, he became assistant to Rev James Jobson, the parish minister of Errol in Perthshire. Owing to differences with the minister, he left in 1763 and was then appointed assistant to Antony Dow of Fettercairn in Kincardineshire. 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. Dow was instead succeeded by Rev Robert Foote.
Barclay then left the established Scottish church and founded his own church in Edinburgh but also with branches London and Sauchieburn (approximately 3 miles south of Fettercairn). His followers were called Barclayans, Barclayites or Bereans, 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. The Berean Church had congregations in Scotland, London and Bristol, but mainly merged with the Congregationalists after Barclay's death.[1]
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).[1]
In 1784 he was living in a house in Calton village on Calton Hill.[3] The houses still exist but it is unclear which house he lived in.
He continued to live on Calton Hill until his death.[4] He died suddenly of apoplexy whilst kneeling in prayer at a friend's house in Edinburgh on 29 July 1798 and is buried in Old Calton Burial Ground.[5]
Publicationsedit
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)
john, barclay, berean, john, barclay, 1734, 1798, scottish, minister, religion, founder, bereans, contents, life, publications, references, sources, further, reading, external, linkslife, edit, nbsp, houses, calton, village, calton, hill, barclay, born, muthil. John Barclay AM 1734 1798 was a Scottish minister of religion and founder of the Bereans Contents 1 Life 2 Publications 3 References 4 Sources 5 Further reading 6 External linksLife edit nbsp The houses of old Calton Village on Calton Hill Barclay was born at Muthill in Perthshire the son of Ludovic Barclay 1 a farmer and miller He studied Theology at St Andrews University and was highly influenced by the thoughts of Rev Archibald Campbell 2 After being licensed to preach by the Church of Scotland through the presbytery of Auchterarder in September 1759 he became assistant to Rev James Jobson the parish minister of Errol in Perthshire Owing to differences with the minister he left in 1763 and was then appointed assistant to Antony Dow of Fettercairn in Kincardineshire 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 Dow was instead succeeded by Rev Robert Foote Barclay then left the established Scottish church and founded his own church in Edinburgh but also with branches London and Sauchieburn approximately 3 miles south of Fettercairn His followers were called Barclayans Barclayites or Bereans 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 The Berean Church had congregations in Scotland London and Bristol but mainly merged with the Congregationalists after Barclay s death 1 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 1 In 1784 he was living in a house in Calton village on Calton Hill 3 The houses still exist but it is unclear which house he lived in He continued to live on Calton Hill until his death 4 He died suddenly of apoplexy whilst kneeling in prayer at a friend s house in Edinburgh on 29 July 1798 and is buried in Old Calton Burial Ground 5 Publications editA 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 edit a b c Chisholm 1911 ODNB John Barclay Williamson s Edinburgh Street Directory 1784 Edinburgh Street Directory 1797 ODNB Rev John Barclay Attribution Chisholm Hugh ed 1911 Barclay John Scottish divine Encyclopaedia Britannica 11th ed Cambridge University Press Sources editThe Concise Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church E A Livingstone Oxford University Press 2000Further reading editChambers Robert Thomson Thomas Napier 1857 Barclay John A M A Biographical Dictionary of Eminent Scotsmen Vol 1 Glasgow Blackie and Son pp 140 147 via Wikisource Barclay John 1734 1798 Dictionary of National Biography London Smith Elder amp Co 1885 1900 External links edit nbsp Wikisource has the text of the 1911 Encyclopaedia Britannica article Barclay John Scottish divine John Barclay The Columbia Encyclopedia Sixth Edition 2001 John Barclay biography at Significant Scots Electric Scotland Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title John Barclay Berean amp oldid 1207252745, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
