Postwar theology was dominated by those theologians and philosophers who had been trying to find a basis for commending the Christian faith in an unbelieving world. Two key figures were the German philosopher Martin Heidegger, who propounded existentialism, and Rudolph Bultmann, who adopted this philosophy as a basis for a new approach to the New Testament, which he called “demy-thologisation”. John Macquarrie was one of the leading teachers to explain and analyse this latter approach.

John Macquarrie was born in Renfrew in 1919 and educated at Paisley Grammar School and the University of Glasgow. He began by studying philosophy and later turned to theology. This led in turn to his ordination in the Church of Scotland, and he then served as an army chaplain for three years.

Much of this time was spent in Germany, where he mastered the language and which contributed to his future work. After a spell as a minister in Brechin he was appointed a lecturer at Glasgow in 1953.

In 1955 he made his mark on the academic scene with his book An Existentialist Theology. This work was quite critical of Bultmann, but in spite of this Bultmann’s foreword praised Macquarrie’s independent mind and clarity of exposition, and added: “I have seldom found so unprejudiced and penetrating an understanding of my intentions and my work.”

It was that clarity of mind and the simplicity with which he expounded his own and other people’s thought that underpinned Macquarrie’s greatness as a teacher.

The next expression of this early interest was his book The Scope of Demythologising (1960) and his cooperation in the English translation of Heidegger’s key work, Being and Time.

In due course his Twentieth Century Religious Thought (1963) became a key textbook for many students, and his Principles of Christian Theology (1966) affirmed his reputation as an international scholar. It was translated into many languages and became a bestseller in China.

In all, Macquarrie wrote more than 30 books as well as a vast number of articles and lectures. He applied his basic theological understanding to the concept of peace, the nature of humanity, the sacraments and Christian spirituality.

After nine years at Glasgow, he moved in 1962 to be Professor of Systematic Theology at Union Theological Seminary, New York. He became known very widely and lectured all around the world. During this period he also changed his ecclesiastical allegiance and became an Anglican priest.

This was a gradual process influenced in two particular ways. In his book on spirituality he described the experience of attending the service of Benediction at the extreme Anglo-Catholic Church of St Andrew’s, Willesden Green, just after the war. From then on an Anglican Catholic spirituality began to imbue his life.

For many years he was a priest associate of the Order of the Holy Cross (an American Anglican Benedictine religious order).

The other influence was his colleague, John Knox, the New Testament theologian. Knox became convinced that episcopacy was an essential element in the continuing expression of “the Christ myth”. Knox became an Anglican, and Macquarrie followed him.

In 1968, when he had been an Anglican for only three years, Macquarrie was invited to be a consultant at the Lambeth Conference, a role he again took ten years later. In 1970 he was appointed Lady Margaret Professor of Divinity at Oxford and Canon of Christ Church. After New York, he found Christ Church quaint and eccentric but attractive. He enjoyed its traditions and lifestyle. His and his wife’s friendship and hospitality were widely appreciated.

Macquarrie delivered the Gifford Lectures in 1979 and turned down the opportunity to become a bishop in the Scottish Episcopal Church. He served on the Church of England Doctrine Commission and was often engaged in ecumenical dialogue. In his Christian Unity and Christian Diversity (1975) he argued that both were needed in the Church. He could see a place for a reformed papacy in a united Church.

He continued to travel and gave the first theological lecture in the University of Beijing since 1948. He was elected a Fellow of the British Academy in 1984.

He retired in 1986 but continued to write and to teach. Just after his 80th birthday he suffered a severe illness from which he recovered and went on to write three more books, including an introduction to Christian mysticism. In 2006 he was honoured by a festschrift of 25 essays in recognition of his having published his books through the SCM Press for 50 years.

A gracious, generous man, he was a traditionalist and opposed to the ordination of women but was never, in any way, a campaigner. A pastoral man, in retirement he helped out at St Andrew’s, Headington, and more than once gave a course of lectures to the congregation, revealing his mastery of his subject in the clarity of his expositions of theology. Always proud of his Celtic origin, he had an open heart, which embraced people of all sorts.

Macquarrie is survived by his wife, Jenny Fallow, whom he married in 1949, and by their two sons and daughter.

The Rev Professor John Macquarrie, theologian, was born on June 27, 1919. He died on May 28, 2007, aged 87