William Dool Killen facts for kids

William Dool Killen (born April 16, 1806, died January 10, 1902) was an important person in the Presbyterian Church in Ireland. He was a minister, which is like a pastor, and also a church historian. This means he studied and wrote about the history of the church.

William Dool Killen

Early Life and Education

William Dool Killen was born in Ballymena, County Antrim, which is in Northern Ireland. He was born on April 16, 1806. He was one of nine children. His father, John Killen, was a grocer and seedsman in Ballymena.

William went to local primary schools first. Around 1816, he attended Ballymena Academy. In November 1821, he started studying at the Royal Academical Institution in Belfast.

Becoming a Minister

In 1827, William was given permission to preach by the Presbytery of Ballymena. A presbytery is a group of ministers and elders who oversee churches in an area. On November 11, 1829, he officially became a minister in Raphoe, County Donegal.

Teaching and Leadership

In July 1841, William Killen was chosen by the General Assembly of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland to be a professor. He taught church history, how the church is run, and pastoral theology. He really focused on teaching history.

When a new college called Assembly's College, Belfast, was created in 1853, he became one of the professors there. In 1869, he was made president of the college. As president, he helped raise money for professors' salaries and new buildings.

Later Life and Legacy

William Killen stopped teaching in 1889, but he stayed on as president of the college. He passed away on January 10, 1902. He was buried in Balmoral Cemetery, Belfast.

He received special degrees from the University of Glasgow. These included a D.D. degree in 1845 and an LL.D. degree in 1901. A painting of him hangs in the Gamble Library at Assembly's College.

Books and Writings

William Killen wrote many books about history. Here are some of his main works:

• Continuation of James Seaton Reid's History of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland to 1841 (1853)
• The Ancient Church. Its History, Doctrine, Worship, and Constitution traced for the First Three Hundred Years (1859)
• Memoir of John Edgar, D.D., LL.D. (1867)
• The Old Catholic Church. The History, Doctrine, Worship, and Polity of the Christians traced from the Apostolic Age to the Establishment of the Pope as a Temporal Sovereign, A.D. 755 (1871)
• The Ecclesiastical History of Ireland from the Earliest Period to the Present Times (2 volumes, 1875)
• The Ignatian Epistles entirely Spurious. A Reply to Bishop Lightfoot (1886)
• The Framework of the Church. A Treatise on Church Government (1890)
• Reminiscences of a Long Life (1901)

He also helped edit and add notes to other historical books, such as:

• The Siege of Derry by John Mackenzie (1861)
• The Rise and Progress of the Presbyterian Government in the North of Ireland by Patrick Adair
• History of the Church of Ireland by Andrew Stewart (1866)
• History of Congregations of the Presbyterian Church in Ireland by James Seaton Reid (1886)

William Killen was also part of a big discussion about different ways churches are organized. This debate was about whether prelacy (churches led by bishops) or presbyterianism (churches led by elders) was better. He and three other Presbyterian ministers wrote a book called Presbyterianism Defended... in 1839 to share their views.

Family

In 1830, William Killen married Anne Young. They had three sons and five daughters together. Anne passed away in 1886.