Robert Balmer (1787–1844), was successively a minister of theBurgher Seceder,New LichtBurgher Seceder andUnited Associate Synod of the Secession Churches in Scotland.

Balmer was born at Ormiston Mains, in the parish ofEckford,Roxburghshire on 22 November 1787.^[1] He evinced considerable abilities and a disposition towards theChristian ministry. He entered theUniversity of Edinburgh in 1802, and in 1806 the Theological Hall atSelkirk, underGeorge Lawson of the Secession Church. In 1812 he received licence as a preacher from thePresbytery of Edinburgh, and in 1814 was ordained minister inBerwick-upon-Tweed, where he remained till his death. In 1834 he became a professor of pastoral theology at the United Secession church, and later a professor of systematic theology. In 1840 he received aD.D. from theUniversity of Glasgow.^[1]

Balmer had great influence in the denomination to which he belonged. When certain discussions arose among his brethren on someCalvinistic doctrines, he supported the less stringent views. At a meeting held inEdinburgh in 1843, to commemorate the bicentennial of theWestminster Assembly, he delivered a speech in favour of Christian union, which attracted the attention ofThomas Chalmers and others, and led to important measures being taken byJohn Henderson of Park for promoting that cause. Balmer did not publish much during his life but two volumes ofLectures and Discourses were posthumously published in 1845, a year after he died on 1 July 1844.^[1]

Attribution

 This article incorporates text from a publication now in thepublic domain: Blaikie, William Garden (1885). "Balmer, Robert".Dictionary of National Biography. Vol. 03. p. 89.

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• 1787 births
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• Ministers of Secession Churches in Scotland

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