The Reformation

The Reformation in Scotland occurred on the 17th August 1560 when the Scottish Parliament enacted legislation that ended the authority of the Pope and established Protestantism as the national religion.

Its beginnings are thought to stem from the greed of the monks in the various abbeys and senior figures within the church also being more interested in income than religion. In many places parish churches were given over to Abbey’s. In Renfrewshire all bar three were under the control of Paisley Abbey. Prior to this happening the Parish priest often shared his stipend with the poor and needy. When a church was made over to an Abbey it immediately demanded a share of the stipend. In some cases the Abbey would place its own monk in the Parish and the entire stipend would make its way to the coffers of the Abbey. Not only did the needy suffer but churches under Abbey control could generally only attract a “lower quality” priest, these churches being shunned by more capable priests.

Calls for change were unheeded.

A changing political environment was happening in parallel with the resentment developing over the behaviour of the church. This started with James IV marrying Mary Tudor (Henry VIII’s sister) in 1503 and Henry’s break with the Pope. Followed by James V's marriages to the French princess Madeleine then to Marie de Guise. When he died his infant daughter Mary (born 1542) was betrothed to Francis, the Dauphin of France (1548) and sent to France for safe keeping. There were others who wanted a marriage between Mary and Henry VIII son Edward which would have led to religious change. Regents ruled Scotland during this time and without a strong Catholic King Protestantism (change) began to take root. Mary I (Bloody Mary) of England stemmed the tide of reformation during her reign (1553-1558). 

Henry VIII encouraged the charismatic preacher George Wishart to preach in Scotland. This he did during 1545 but was arrested and sentenced to death by burning by Cardinal Beaton in 1546. Beaton himself was murdered in 1546 leaving the Church without leadership for almost two years before John Hamilton had sufficient authority to act as Archbishop of St Andrews. This leadership vacuum allowed Protestantism to grow.  In 1557 a group of Scottish nobles united to promote the Protestant faith. They became known as the Lords of Congregation. By 1558 some east coast burghs began to use the English Prayer Book for their services. They were undoubtably emboldened by the protestant Elizabeth I ascending to the throne of England in 1558. During the winter of 1558/59 anonymous notices known as the Beggars Summons were nailed to the doors of many friaries. They demanded the friars leave as they were “rich and ungodly”. Perth and Dundee declared they were protestant towns in 1559.

John Knox arrived in Leith from France on 2nd May 1559. His sermon in St Johns’s Kirk Perth caused a riot whereby religious houses were attacked and their statues and decorations smashed. Protestants took over Stirling and in July seized control of Edinburgh where John Knox was made minister of St Giles. In June 1560 Mary of Guise who had been Regent died. There was no obvious Catholic leader and Mary, Queen of Scots, was still in France. The protestants took control and the celebration of Mass was forbidden in Scotland.

The key acts, the Reformed Confession of Faith  and the Scots Confession were enacted by Parliament on 17 August 1560. The later had been drafted by six ministers: John Winram, John Spottiswood, John Willock, John Douglas, John Row and John Knox. The Church of Scotland was born. The First Book of Discipline (1560) was drawn up. It covered the constitution and financing of the Reformed Church:-

• Superintendents, without specific religious powers, would organise the Church in their areas.

• Congregations were to play a key role in the new Church by appointing their ministers.

• Elders were to be chosen to assist the minister.

• Worship would be regulated by the Book of Common Order.

• Education and poor relief was to be provided by the Church

The Second Book of Discipline (1581) was ratified much later by Parliament in 1592. This definitely settled the Presbyterian form of polity and the Calvinistic doctrine as the recognised Protestant religion in the country. The central tenant is that there is no head of faith other than the Lord God, and no one person or group within the Church has more influence than any other.

By the 1590’s Scotland was organized into about 50 presbyteries with about 20 ministers in each. Above them stood a dozen or so synods and at the apex the general assembly. The system of kirk sessions gave considerable power within the new kirk to local lairds, who were able to take on the dignity and authority of an elder. The Kirk Session dealt with three types of offences, namely, moral offences, offences involving profanation of the Sabbath and non-attendance at church. The records of Lochwinnoch Parish Church show that most monthly meetings of the Kirk Session 200 years ago were called to deal with pre-marital or extra-marital irregularities! Offenders had to appear before the Session or congregation and more serious cases were referred to the Presbytery.

The Reformation had a severe impact on church music. The song schools of the abbeys, cathedrals and collegiate churches were closed down, choirs disbanded, music books and manuscripts destroyed and organs removed from churches. Calvinism, which dominated the Scottish Reformation, was hostile to Catholic musical tradition and popular music, placing an emphasis on what was biblical ie the Psalms.

The crowns of Scotland and England were united under James VI and I in 1603. His aim was Church uniformity, on Episcopalian lines. The Stewart kings were strong believers in their divine right to rule both Church and State, but in Scotland they had to reckon with the Covenanters who believed only Jesus Christ and God could sit at the head of the Church. Matters came to a head in the 1630s when John Knox's Book of Discipline was replaced by The Book of Canons, which excommunicated anyone who denied the King's supremacy in church matters. The following year, a new Book of Common Prayer sparked rioting which, according to legend, began when a woman named Jenny Geddes threw a stool at the minister during a service at St Giles Cathedral in Edinburgh. Following the riots, in 1638 representatives from all sections of Scottish society signed the staunchly Presbyterian National Covenant, pledging resistance to liturgical "innovations".

In 1647, both the Convenanters and the English Parliamentarians agreed to the Westminster Confession of Faith. Although eventually set aside in England, this remains the basis of doctrine in the Church of Scotland. The Rescissory Act 1661 stated that all ministers and preachers in Scotland needed to acquire a patron who would choose which minister would preach in their area. A quarter of the clergy refused to hand over authority to a person outside the church and consequently lost their jobs. In 1688 the Catholic King James II was overthrown and replaced with his Protestant daughter and son-in-law, Mary and William. In November 1690, the General Assembly met and rejected the episcopacy that had been forced on the Church by the Stuart kings. The Settlement of 1690 thus finally settled the reformed Scottish Church as Presbyterian.

Well, finally settled it till the Parliaments of Scotland and England united in 1707 and new legislation was introduced in 1711 restoring the right of patronage (the Patron could choose the minister) which had been abolished in 1690. This removed the “right of call” from the congregation and became a running sore till it was abolished in 1874. It resulted in numerous splits within the church and even the splits would split, eventually there was some coming together and the result of all this is shown below starting from the “settled” position as at 1690.

Although this graphic look formidable it comprises just 3 key breakup events which had their own minor splits followed by various reconciliations.

The first breakup or Secession occurred in 1733 and was triggered by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland giving priority in the appointment of a minister to the parish's patron. Dissenting attendees to the General Assembly stated that church ministers should be chosen by church elders. That led to the creation of the Associate Presbytery commonly called the "Secession Church". They were often referred to as Seceders. It was started by Ebenezer Erskine the Moderator of the Synod of Stirling and he was joined by William Wilson, Alexander Moncrieff and James Fisher. In 1734 they published their first testimony, with a statement of the grounds of their secession, which made prominent reference to the doctrinal laxity of previous General Assemblies. By 1745 seceeding congregations had risen to 45.

The ministers of these secession movements were uncompromising men and so tended to be difficult to work with and it is no surprise that it did not take long for dissension to arise amongst them. The bone of contention was a religious clause in the oaths that burgesses had to take in the royal burghs of Edinburgh, Glasgow and Perth. The more extreme seceders had argued that they could not in all conscience take the oath because this would mean that they approved of the Church of Scotland which they had split from in 1733. The outcome was the establishment of two seceder churches – Burghers (Associate Synod)  and the Anti-Burghers (General Associate Synod).

In 1799, conflict arose among members of the Burgers. This involved the role of secular authorities over matters of religion. This led to the formation of the Original Associate Synod who held that it was the duty of secular authorities to uphold the true religion and became known as the Old Lichts. Those who remained in the Burgher church felt that secular authorities had no power of religion and so became known as the New Lichts.

In 1806, conflict over the same issue broke out in the Antiburgher camp (General Associate Synod).  It too split into two, each group confusingly being known as the Old and New Lichts. The Old Lichts who were the majority formed the Constitutional Associate Presbytery while the New Lichts continued as the Anti-Burgers (General Associate congregation).

In 1820 the burgher and anti-burgher New Lichts were reunited to form the United Seccession, followed, in 1847 by their union with the Relief Church to form the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland.

The Relief Church was the second big breakup of the Church of Scotland and occurred in 1761. The seccession was once again caused by the issue of patronage. There were three pioneers, Thomas Gillespie, minister at Carnock, Thomas Boston, minister of Jedburgh and Thomas Collier, a native of Fife who had been a dissenting minister in the north of England. Gillespie had refused to participate in the induction of a minister to the parish of Inverkeithing as the parishioner’s objected. He was deposed by the General Assembly in 1752. The three pioneers created a church free from Patronage and the church courts and by 1847 it had grown to 136 congregations.

In 1843, the final and largest secession known as the Disruption took place. This was caused by the state’s encroachment upon the spiritual independence of the church, but underneath this lay the old and thorny question of patronage. In 1834, the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland passed the Veto Act which allowed a majority of male heads of families to reject the presentation of the minister by a patron and that Presbyteries were to accept these objections. Almost immediately the Veto Act was used in Auchterarder whereby the parish unanimously rejected the Patrons nominee. There followed 10 years of questioning the legality of this action and in 1838, the Court of Session upheld the right of patrons which was confirmed in the House of Lords in 1839 which declared the Veto Act ultra vires (beyond the powers of the General Assembly to enact such a law). The Court also ruled the Church of Scotland was a creation of the state and derived its legitimacy from an Act of Parliament. Talk about pouring petrol on a fire.

The General Assembly continued to press for the act to be recognised.  In 1842, they sent a petition to Queen Victoria praying for the abolition of patronage, but this too failed.  Then at the meeting of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland 18^th May 1843, one third of the ministers walked out. They were led by Thomas Chalmers, Professor of Divinity at Edinburgh University who was a distinguished social reformer. The outcome was the establishment of the Free Kirk. 474 ministers walked away from their income and homes in pursuit of a Kirk that was free from patronage and state interference. By 1848 the new  Church had built over 750 churches and 500 primary schools. Patronage was finally abolished by Parliament in 1874, after 300 years.

Doctrinally very little distinguished the United Presbyterian Church and the Free Church of Scotland, and between 1863 and 1873 negotiations took place on a union. This failed to happen due to different views on the relationship between state and church. In 1896, the United Presbyterian Church again made advances which were successful and on 31^st  October 1900 the United Free Church of Scotland came into existence and at this time had around half a million members in 1600 congregations.

In 1921, the British Parliament passed The Church of Scotland Act, which recognised the Church's full independence in spiritual matters and established the General Trustees. The Church of Scotland (Property and Endowments) Act, passed by Parliament in 1925, transferred ownership of glebes and buildings used by congregations (such as churches and manses) into the ownership of the General Trustees. These two acts helped pave the way for re-unification of some of Scotland's Protestant denominations.

The United Free Church re-united with the Church of Scotland in 1929. This was based on two vital principles:

1.     The Church's role as a national Church

2.     Its spiritual independence in matters relating to doctrine, worship, government, and discipline

However, a minority did not enter that union and continue today as the United Free Church of Scotland. The minority who didn’t go into the union of 1929 did so because three things were important to them.

Autonomy: Historically the United Free Church of Scotland has consistently been opposed to State Establishment of religion, believing it to be a hindrance to the welfare and witness of the Church of Jesus Christ. Even in situations where there is no actual interference with the Church’s spiritual autonomy, the threat is implicit in the State-Church relationship.

Equality: The special recognition by the State of one denomination, places the Churches on an unequal footing and is not in the interests of the best Inter-Church relations.

Voluntaryism: Material support should come from the freewill offerings of the members. Where the State for specific purposes, regarded as promoting the welfare of the people, offers material or financial aid to all Churches, without distinction and without injustice to other institutions, or interference with the Church’s freedom, acceptance of such aid would not be incompatible with the Church’s position.

They were given the nickname the “continuers”, their story as it relates to Lochwinnoch is continued in the section “Lochwinnoch Calder United Free Church (The Burgher’s Kirk)” to be found in the Calder United Free Church section of the Churches Menu.