News & Events

College Marks Retirement of Prof. Donald Macleod

Last Friday (coincidentally Friday the 13th), a large audience packed into the Presbytery Hall on the Mound in Edinburgh for the closing service of the Free Church College. The larger than usual crowd was due to the fact that a presentation was to be made to Professor Donald Macleod on the occasion of his retirement from the Chair of Systematic Theology, which he had held since 1978.

Rev. Dr Iain D. Campbell, representing the College Board, presented Professor Macleod with a cheque on behalf of the whole Church, and paid tribute to the debt he and other former students, and indeed the wider church, owed to Donald Macleod. He then went on to introduce and present Prof. Macleod with a festschrift: “The People’s Theologian” - a collection of writings in his honour, edited by Dr Campbell and Dr Malcolm Maclean. Contributors to the volume include friends, past students and fellow theologians, and the subjects range from the life and writings of Donald Macleod to various areas of theology to more personal recollections and appreciations. The book is available from the Free Church Bookshop.

Thereafter, William Mackenzie, Managing Director of Christian Focus Publications, made a surprise appearance to present Donald with a Japanese version of Donald’s book, ‘Priorities for the Church’.
Whilst Prof. Macleod is expected to continue lecturing in his subject for an additional year, last Friday’s event officially marked the end of a significant and unique era in the history of the Free Church College. 

From Left: William Mackenzie (Christian Focus), Prof. Donald Macleod, Dr Malcolm Maclean (Editor, “The People’s Theologian”) and Dr Iain D. Campbell (Chair, College Board)