James Beaven

author

James Beaven

1801–1875

An Oxford-educated Anglican clergyman who carried theology and philosophy from England to early Toronto, he became one of the notable scholarly voices in 19th-century Canadian religious life. His work is especially remembered for bringing serious theological debate and early philosophical writing into the young college culture of Canada.

1 Audiobook

An Account of the Life and Writings of S. Irenæus, Bishop of Lyons and Martyr Intended to Illustrate the Doctrine, Discipline, Practices, and History of the Church, and the Tenets and Practices of the Gnostic Heretics During the Second Century

An Account of the Life and Writings of S. Irenæus, Bishop of Lyons and Martyr Intended to Illustrate the Doctrine, Discipline, Practices, and History of the Church, and the Tenets and Practices of the Gnostic Heretics During the Second Century

by James Beaven

About the author

Born in Westbury, Wiltshire, in 1801, James Beaven was educated at St Edmund Hall, Oxford, and was ordained in the Church of England in the 1820s. He served in English parish and academic life before moving to Canada in 1843 to become professor of divinity at King's College, later the University of Toronto.

Beaven wrote on theology, church history, and philosophy, and his books reflected both his Anglican commitments and his scholarly habits. He is often noted for Elements of Natural Theology (1850), described by The Canadian Encyclopedia as the first philosophical work written in English Canada.

His career also placed him in the middle of religious debate. Sources describe him as a learned but controversial churchman whose views and style drew criticism as well as respect, especially during his years in Toronto. He died in Niagara, Ontario, in 1875.