A native of Edinburgh, Scotland, the Rev. Dr. Andrew Purves received degrees in philosophy and divinity from the University of Edinburgh, and a Th. M. degree from Duke Divinity School. Purves completed his doctorate at the University of Edinburgh.

Licensed by the Church of Scotland, Purves came to the U.S. in 1978. He was ordained by the Presbytery of Philadelphia in 1979. He served as minister of the Hebron Presbyterian Church in Clinton, Pa. until 1983, when he was called to the faculty of Pittsburgh Theological Seminary. Currently he holds the Hugh Thomson Kerr* Chair in Pastoral Theology.

Purves has a deep concern for the renewal of the church, and speaks regularly around the country on matters of theological and spiritual renewal. Recent publications include Reconstructing Pastoral Theology: A Christological Foundation (WJK 2004), A Passion for the Gospel: Confessing Jesus Christ for the 21st Century (with Mark Achtemeier, Geneva 2000), Encountering God: Christian Faith in Turbulent Times (with Charles Partee, WJK 2000), Union in Christ: A Declaration for the Church (with Mark Achtemeier, Witherspoon 1999), The Search for Compassion: Spirituality and Ministry (WJK 1989), and "The Trinitarian Basis of a Christian Practical Theology" in The International Journal of Practical Theology.

Purves is married to the Rev. Catherine Purves. They have three children, Brendan, Gordon, and Laura. His interests include watching soccer, mystery novels, dinner parties with friends, and sitting on the beach.  

*Hugh Thompson Kerr was a 1897 alum of Western Theological Seminary. Preaching, teaching, and writing were his life. He served churches in Pennsylvania, Kansas, and Illinois. He returned to Pittsburgh to become the pastor of Shadyside Presbyterian Church, where he served for more than 30 years. Kerr became the first minister to preach over the radio. Many of those sermons are bound and catalogued in the Barbour Library at PTS. An anonymous donor endowed this chair in 1958, eight years after Kerr's death.