Alexander Penrose Forbes (June 16, 1817 – October 8, 1875),
ScottishScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
divine, was born at
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland. It is the second largest Scottish city, after Glasgow, and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas....
.
He was the second son of John Henry Forbes, Lord Medwyn, a judge of the court of session, and grandson of Sir William Forbes of Pitsligo. He studied first at the
Edinburgh AcademyThe Edinburgh Academy is an independent school. It is self-governed and financed, though it remains subject to inspection by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education most recently in 2006....
, then for two years under the
Rev. Thomas DaleSir Thomas Dale was a British naval commander and deputy-governor of the Virginia Colony in 1611 and from 1614 to 1616. Governor Dale is best remembered for the energy and the extreme rigour of his administration in Virginia, which established order and in various ways seems to have benefited the...
. the poet, in
KentKent , originally Cantia, is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the River Thames estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent...
, passed one session at Glasgow University in 1831 and, having chosen the career of the Indian civil service, completed his studies with distinction at Haileybury College.
Alexander Penrose Forbes (June 16, 1817 – October 8, 1875),
ScottishScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
divine, was born at
EdinburghEdinburgh is the capital city of Scotland. It is the second largest Scottish city, after Glasgow, and the seventh-most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council is one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas....
.
He was the second son of John Henry Forbes, Lord Medwyn, a judge of the court of session, and grandson of Sir William Forbes of Pitsligo. He studied first at the
Edinburgh AcademyThe Edinburgh Academy is an independent school. It is self-governed and financed, though it remains subject to inspection by Her Majesty's Inspectorate of Education most recently in 2006....
, then for two years under the
Rev. Thomas DaleSir Thomas Dale was a British naval commander and deputy-governor of the Virginia Colony in 1611 and from 1614 to 1616. Governor Dale is best remembered for the energy and the extreme rigour of his administration in Virginia, which established order and in various ways seems to have benefited the...
. the poet, in
KentKent , originally Cantia, is a county in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the River Thames estuary. The ceremonial county boundaries of Kent include the shire county of Kent...
, passed one session at Glasgow University in 1831 and, having chosen the career of the Indian civil service, completed his studies with distinction at Haileybury College. In 1836 he went to Madras and secured early promotion, but in consequence of ill-health he was obliged to return to
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the North Sea to the east, with the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. He then entered
Brasenose College, OxfordBrasenose College, originally Brazen Nose College , is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom...
, where in 1841 he, obtained the Boden
SanskritSanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language, one of the liturgical languages of Hinduism and Buddhism, and one of the 22 official languages of India. It is also declared as a classical language by the government of India....
scholarship, and graduated in 1844.
He was at Oxford during the early years of the movement known as Tractarianism, and was powerfully influenced by association with Newman,
PuseyEdward Bouverie Pusey , was an English churchman and Regius Professor of Hebrew at Christ Church, Oxford. He was one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement.-Early years:...
and
KebleJohn Keble was an English churchman and poet, one of the leaders of the Oxford Movement, and gave his name to Keble College, Oxford.-Early life:...
. This led him to resign his Indian appointment. In 1844 he was ordained
deaconDeacon is a role in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
and priest in the Church of England, and held curacies at Aston, Rowant and
St Thomas's, OxfordSt Thomas the Martyr's is a Church of England church of the Anglo-Catholic tradition, in Oxford, England, near Oxford railway station in Osney. The church was founded in the 12th century, dedicated to St Thomas Becket...
; but being naturally attracted to the
Episcopal Church of his native landThe Scottish Episcopal Church is a Christian denomination in Scotland and a member of the Anglican Communion, although it itself has pre-Anglican origins. It consists of seven dioceses in Scotland. Like all Anglican churches, it recognises the primacy of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who does not...
, then recovering from long depression, he removed in 1846 to
StonehavenStonehaven is a town in Aberdeenshire, Scotland...
, the chief town of
KincardineshireThe County of Kincardine, also known as Kincardineshire or The Mearns was a local government county on the coast of northeast Scotland...
. The same year, however, he was appointed to the vicarage of St Saviours, Leeds, a church founded to preach and illustrate Tractarian principles.
On October 28, 1847 Forbes was consecrated to succeed Bishop Moir in the see of Brechin; He removed the episcopal residence to
DundeeDundee is the fourth-largest city in Scotland and, fully named as Dundee City, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. It lies on the north bank of the Firth of Tay, which feeds into the North Sea....
, where he resided till his death, combining the pastoral charge of the congregation with the duties of the see. When he came to Dundee the churchmen were accustomed owing to their small numbers to worship in a room over a bank. Through his energy several churches were built, and among them the pro-cathedral of
St Paul'sSt Paul's Cathedral is an Anglican cathedral in the city of Dundee, Scotland. It is the Cathedral and administrative centre of the Diocese of Brechin in the Scottish Episcopal Church.-Castle:...
.
He was prosecuted in the church courts for
heresyHeresy is proposing some unorthodox change to an established system of belief, especially a religion, that conflicts with the previously established opinion of scholars of that belief such as canon. It is sometimes confused with apostasy which is disaffiliation from orthodoxy and blasphemy which is...
, the accusation being founded on his primary charge, delivered and published in 1857, fit which he set forth his views on the
EucharistThe Eucharist, also called Holy Communion, Sacrament of the Table, the Blessed Sacrament, or The Lord's Supper and other names, is a Christian sacrament or ordinance, generally considered to be a commemoration of the Last Supper, the final meal that Jesus Christ shared with his disciples before his...
. He made a powerful defence of the charge, and was acquitted with a censure and an admonition. Keble wrote in his defence, and was present at his trial at Edinburgh. Forbes was a good scholar, a scientific theologian and a devoted worker, and was much beloved. He died at Dundee on the 8th of October 1875.
Principal works:
- A Short Explanation of the Nicene Creed
The Nicene Creed is the creed or profession of faith that is most widely used in Christian liturgy. It is called Nicene because, in its original form, it was adopted in the city of Nicaea by the first ecumenical council, which met there in 325...
(1852)
- An Explanation of the Thirty-nine Articles
The Thirty-Nine Articles of Religion were established in 1563 and are the historic defining statements of Anglican doctrine in relation to the controversies of the English Reformation; especially in the relation of Calvinist doctrine and Roman Catholic practices to the nascent Anglican doctrine of...
(2 vols, 1867 and 1868)
- Commentary on the Seven Penitential Psalms (1847)
- Commentary on the Canticles (1853)
See Mackey's
Bishop Forbes, a Memoir.
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