The Rev. John Bayne DD

The Rev. John Bayne, minister of St. Andrew’s Presbyterian Church, Galt, was responsible for the establishment of the (Free) Presbyterian Church of Canada as apart from the Church of Scotland.

A native of Greenock, Scotland, Bayne was a graduate of Glasgow University and the University of Edinburgh. He was a powerful preacher and attracted Presbyterians who were settling within fifteen miles of Galt. When the split in the Presbyterian Church occurred, the majority in his congregation followed Bayne to his new church. A civil court ruled that the buildings, glebe and monies of St. Andrew’s were for the use of the minority group, and the dissidents, who were in the majority, built a church on the corner of Dickson and Ainslie Streets, and called it Knox’s Presbyterian Church.

Union College in Schenectady, New York, recognized the accomplishments of Bayne by conferring on him the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity.