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Iain R. Torrance was born in Aberdeen, Scotland, and studied at the
University of Edinburgh, where he earned an M.A. in mental philosophy,
at St. Andrews University, where he earned a B.D. in New Testament
languages and literature, and at Oxford University (Oriel College),
where he earned a D.Phil in Syriac patristics. Torrance began his
ministry in a parish church in the Shetland Islands 200 miles north of
Scotland. His pastoral experiences include service as a reservist
chaplain to Britain’s armed forces from 1982 to 2000. He began his
calling to teach as a lecturer at the Queen’s College, Birmingham, and
the University of Birmingham in England, and he went on to join the
faculty of Aberdeen University, where he was professor in patristics and
Christian ethics. In 2001 he became Dean of the Faculty of Arts and
Divinity. In the same year, he was appointed a chaplain to Her Majesty
the Queen, and this is an office that he retains.
His wide-ranging scholarship has focused on early Christian thought, the ethics of war, and bioethics. He has been coeditor of The Scottish Journal of Theology
since 1982. He is interested in ecumenics, and is cochair of the
international dialogue between the World Alliance of Reformed Churches
and the Orthodox Church. In May 2003, Torrance was elected moderator of
the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland; he completed his term in
May 2004. As moderator, he traveled throughout the church, including
visits to Iraq, Eritrea, Sudan, and China. He was elected Princeton
Theological Seminary’s sixth president in April 2004 and took office on
July 1, 2004. He has been granted honorary doctorates by the
universities of St. Andrews, Aberdeen, Debrecen, and King College in
Tennessee. He is a Corresponding Fellow of the Royal Society of
Edinburgh, Scotland’s National Academy of Science and Letters. |