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A new collection of essays has been published this week in honour of respected Presbyterian minister and historian Very Rev Dr Finlay Holmes. Entitled 'Ebb and Flow' the collection of nine different works was assembled and produced by the Presbyterian Historical Society. It was launched at a special reception in Union Theological College, Belfast, attended by Dr Holmes along with friends, fellow academics and former students.
Described as a 'festschrift' German for celebratory writing, the nine essays cover a wide range of subjects from evangelicalism, revival, the World Council of Churches debate, and an overview of the Christian Faith, by former Cambridge Professor Dr Buick Knox. Many of the contributors are close colleagues of Dr Holmes, including Professor Laurence Kirkpatrick, his successor at Union College.
Raised in Ballymena, Dr Holmes was closely associated with West church in the County Antrim town. His academic background involved study at Queens, Trinity and Cambridge University, after which he served as Chaplain in the RAF. Dr Holmes was most famously associated with Magee College, Londonderry, where he taught generations of young men entering into the ministry. His prolific life service to the Presbyterian Church in Ireland culminated not only in his election as Moderator in 1990 but by the publication of "Our Irish Presbyterian Heritage" the standard church history.
Giving thanks at the publication of Ebb and Flow, Dr Holmes wryly remarked on the amazing course his life had taken, never thinking that he would turn out to be a 'dry as dust' historian. Chairman of the Historical Society, Dr Desmond Baillie, paid tribute to Dr Holmes, describing him as the 'doyenne' of Presbyterian history.
Ebb and Flow costs £9.95 and is available from the Presbyterian Historical Society in Church House, Belfast.
Left to right: Rev Dr Donald Patton,Editor of Ebb and Flow, Rev Dr Finlay Holmes and Desmond Bailey, Chairman of Presbyterian Historical Society of Ireland, at the launch of 'Ebb and Flow', a collection of nine essays in Dr Holmes honour, at Union Theological College, Belfast.
Issued by Stephen Lynas, Presbyterian Information Services. Info@PresbyterianIreland.org
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