Archibald Hamilton Charteris (13 December 1835 – 24 April 1908) was a Scottish theologian, aModerator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, professor ofbiblical criticism at theUniversity of Edinburgh and a leading voice in Church reforms. He is credited as being the father of theWoman's Guild and founder of"Life and Work" magazine.[1]
He was born inWamphray,[2]Dumfriesshire, the eldest son of John Charteris, the parish schoolmaster[3] and his wife, Jean Hamilton, daughter of Archibald Hamilton a farmer at Broomhills.[4]
Charteris studied Divinity at theUniversity of Edinburgh graduating MA in 1854 and then did postgraduate studies in bothTubingen andBonn University in Germany.[3]
In 1858 he was ordained aparish minister ofSt Quivox in Ayrshire in place of Rev Stair Park McQuhae, his patron being Alexander Haldane Oswald ofAuchincruive House.[5][page needed] In 1859 he translated toNew Abbey inGalloway and thenGlasgow. In 1868 he became Professor of Biblical Criticism at theUniversity of Edinburgh, until his retirement due to ill health in 1898. He wasmoderator of the General Assembly in 1892 and founded Edinburgh'sDeaconess Hospital in 1894.[6] Charteris also led the foundation of the St Ninian's Mission next to the Deaconess Hospital on thePleasance in 1891. In 1913, the attached mission church was named Charteris Memorial in his memory. Since 2016, the complex has been known as theGreyfriars Charteris Centre in his memory.[7]
He was appointed aChaplain-in-Ordinary in Scotland toKing Edward VII in October 1901.[8]
Charteris was a conservative Biblical scholar, and a mildCalvinist. In April 1875, he was accused of writing an anonymous review in theEdinburgh Evening Courant ofWilliam Robertson Smith's article on the Bible in theEncyclopædia Britannica. His criticism led indirectly to Robertson Smith's trial for heresy in theFree Church of Scotland.[citation needed]
However, it was perhaps as a churchman that Charteris exercised his greatest influence. He was instrumental in initiating the Church'sCommittee of Christian Life and Work in 1869. He founded the magazineLife and Work in 1879, and began theYoung Men's Guild and the Woman's Guild.[9] He also was a leading proponent of the restoration of the office of Deaconess within the Church. In 1887 he founded the Church of Scotland's Woman's Guild.[10] In 1880 he passed the editorship ofLife and Work toRev John McMurtrie.[11]
In 1900-1901 he is listed as living in Cameron House on Dalkeith Road (now part ofEdinburgh University'sPollock Halls of Residence).[12]
He died on the afternoon of Friday 24 April 1908.[3] He is buried with his parents in his home town ofWamphray.
His brother wasMatthew Charteris, Regius Professor of Materia Medica and Therapeutics atGlasgow University.[2] His wife was the philanthropistCatherine Charteris, daughter ofSir Alexander Anderson (advocate and Lord Provost of Aberdeen). They married on 18 November 1863 in Aberdeen, but had no children.[13]
Dictionary of Scottish Church History and Theology Wright, D.F.et al. (eds) Edinburgh 1993
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