Matthew Gardiner

Matthew Gardiner (1776–1865) was a Scottish minister who rose to be head of the Church of Scotland in 1837 and died as Father of the Church.

Life

He was born in Glasgow on 18 August 1776 the eldest son of James Gardiner. He was educated at Glasgow Grammar School. He then studied at Glasgow University where he graduated MA in 1793 aged 17. In May 1798 he was licensed to preach as a Church of Scotland minister by the Presbytery of Hamilton.

In April 1802 he was ordained as minister of Bothwell under the patronage of Archibald, Duke of Hamilton. In 1831 Glasgow University awarded him a Doctor of Divinity.

He died on 4 June 1865 at Bothwell and with the status of Father of the Church.

Publications

The Folly and Danger of Departing from the Living God (1820) Statistical Account of the Parish of Bothwell 1845

Artistic recognition

A poem "On the Death of Matthew Gardiner DD" was composed by Janet Hamilton