Thomas M'Crie the Elder

Thomas McCrie
BornNovember 1772
Died5 August 1835 (aged 62)
NationalityScottish
EducationUniversity of Edinburgh
Occupation(s)Pastor, Theologian
Theological work
Tradition or movement(1) Anti-Burgher
(2) Auld Light
(3) United Original Secession Church
Main interestsEcclesiology, Church History

Thomas M'Crie (sometimes known as Thomas McCree or Maccrae) (November 1772 – 5 August 1835) was a Scottish biographer and ecclesiastical historian, writer, and preacher born in the town of Duns, and educated at the University of Edinburgh. He became the leading minister of the Original Secession Church (Auld Licht Anti-Burgher). His work: "Life of Knox" (1813) was a means of vindicating the Scottish reformer John Knox who was a unpopular figure at the time. It was followed by a "Life of Andrew Melville" (1819). Melville was Knox's successor as the leader of the Reformers in Scotland. M'Crie also published histories of the Reformation in Italy and Spain. He received an honorary degree of D.D. in 1813, the first Secession minister to receive such an award.[1]