James Petigru Boyce (1827–1888) was a Southern Baptist pastor, theologian, author, and seminary professor.
Boyce was educated at Brown University under Francis Wayland, whose evangelical sermons contributed to his conversion. At Princeton Theological Seminary under Charles Hodge, Boyce learned to appreciate Calvinistic theology.
Boyce became a pastor, and university professor, becoming the founder and first president of the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He taught theology from 1859 until his death in 1888. Throughout his ministry Boyce stressed the importance of a theological education for all ministers. He described his Abstract of Systematic Theology, published the year before his death, as follows: "This volume is published the rather as a practical text book, for the study of the system of doctrine taught in the Word of God, than as a contribution to theological science."
