Robert Alexander Fyfe

Robert Alexander Fyfe (October 20, 1816 – September 4, 1878) was a strong church builder, writer, and first Principal of the Canadian Literary Institute (later Woodstock College).

During September 1842, Fyfe began a pastorate at First Baptist Church in Perth, Ontario helping it to be officially organized later that year.

Fyfe did much to help bring cohesion and stability to the many divergent background variations of the immigrants who comprised the membership especially over the issue of close communion.

Shortly thereafter, upon invitation of the Baptist church in Warren, Rhode Island he preached and accepted the pastorate serving until June 1853.

In 1859, with a friend, Fyfe had purchased the Christian Messenger (which had begun in 1854) a denominational paper published in Brantford, and made its place of publication Toronto, renaming it the Canadian Baptist in 1860.

He provided outstanding editorship until 1863 [2] Fyfe also wrote a book The Teaching of the New Testament In Regard To the Soul; And the Nature of Christ's Kingdom in 1859 which espoused the traditional amillennial view.

At some point Fyfe also served on the board of the Upper Canada Religious Tract and Book Society (founded in 1832 in Toronto, Ontario).