Background
Barclay was born in Perthshire and died in Edinburgh.
Barclay was born in Perthshire and died in Edinburgh.
He graduated at Saint Andrews, and after being licensed became assistant to the parish minister of Errol in Perthshire.
Owing to differences with the minister, he left in 1763 and was appointed assistant to Antony Dow of Fettercairn, Kincardine. In 1772 he was rejected as successor to Dow, and was even refused by the presbytery the testimonials required in order to obtain another living. The refusal of the presbytery was sustained by the General Assembly, and Barclay then left the Scottish church and founded congregations at Sauchiyburn, Edinburgh and London.
His followers were called Barclayans, Barclayites or Bereans, the latter because they regulated their conduct by study of the Scriptures after the biblical Bereans of Acts xvii.
11. The Berean Church had congregations in Scotland, London and Bristol, but mainly merged with the Congregationalists after Barclay"s death.
