The Very Revd JAMES A. WHYTE MA LLD
THE MODERATOR 1988

By The Reverend George D. Wilkie OBE BD
James Aitken Whyte grew up in the years between the wars in the Trinity district of Edinburgh. Along with his brothers (on elder and one younger) he was educated at Daniel Stewart’s College where he was Dux in 1937. During his school years a major influence on his life was the Scottish Schoolboys Club, which sought through Easter Camps and Sunday Discussion Groups to help boys ‘to discover for themselves and for the world the full meaning of the Christian Faith’.

By the time he went to Edinburgh University the idea of entering the ministry of the Church of Scotland was very much in his mind. He studied Philosophy under the twin giants of their day, Professor Kemp Smith and A.E. Taylor, obtaining in 1942 a First Class Honours degree. He was a keen member of the Student Christian Movement, and much of his understanding of the faith was hammered out in S.C.M. conferences, meetings and study groups. Indeed his contact with S.C.M. has been maintained throughout the years, in particular through the Presidency of the Christian Education Movement – the schools offshoot of the S.C.M.

After three years’ study in New College, where he was President of the Theological Society, Professor Whyte became a chaplain in the Scots Guards and was stationed with the 1st Battalion in Italy. In 1948 he was called to Christ Church Dunollie in Oban, moving in 1952 to Mayfield (then Mayfield North) Church in Edinburgh. In 1958 he was appointed to the chair of Christian Ethics and Practical Theology in St Mary’s College, St. Andrews. He was principal of the College from 1978 to 1982, and in 1981 received the honorary degree of LL.D from the University of Dundee.

James Whyte is no cloistered academic. He sees theology as essentially practical and, while properly to be studied within the discipline of a university course, it must at the same time be firmly related to the needs of ordinary Christians and of the Christian Church. As well as fulfilling his pastoral responsibilities within the student community in St Andrews Professor Whyte has always found time to address elders’ meetings, lead Bible study, and speak to numerous conferences where lay people are to be found struggling with the issues of life and faith. He has also served on numerous Church committees and was Convener of the Inter-Church Relations Committee from 1974 to 1978.

The Moderatorial Year has been overshadowed by the tragic death of Mrs Whyte a few short weeks after the close of the Assembly. Although she had undergone major surgery in the months leading up to the Assembly, Mrs Whyte carried out all her duties – including the generous hospitality of the Moderator’s flat – with characteristic courage, cheerfulness and goodwill. In this she was surrounded and supported by her daughter and two sons and their young families. Mrs Whyte also played her part in the visit to the Irish Assembly immediately following our own, and indeed was actively supporting her husband a few days before her death.

In spite of this very great loss Professor Whyte has continued to fulfil all his major engagements with the graciousness, wisdom and friendliness which are the hallmark of the man. The Church expects a great deal from its Moderators nowadays and James Whyte has a quiet determination to fulfil all the duties of the office to which the Church has called him.