Church Patronage Act 1874 was an Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....

. It repealed the Church Patronage (Scotland) Act 1711. It was passed on 7th August 1874 and its full title is An Act to alter and amend the laws relating to the Appointment of Ministers to Parishes in Scotland. Its legal designation is 1874 c.82 37 and 38 Vict
[7th August 1874]

The Church of Scotland

Church of Scotland

The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....

 had always opposed the 1711 Act, claiming it was contrary to the Treaty of Union

Treaty of Union

The Treaty of Union is the name given to the agreement that led to the creation of the united kingdom of Great Britain, the political union of the Kingdom of England and the Kingdom of Scotland, which took effect on 1 May 1707...

 between Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 and England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

 and an unlawful interference by the civil power in purely spiritual matters of Church government

Presbyterian polity

Presbyterian polity is a method of church governance typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the session or consistory, though other terms, such as church board, may apply...

, namely the appointment of Ministers. After 163 years of struggle - including annual petitions to Parliament and a series of splits in the Church - the Original Secession

First Secession

The First Secession was an exodus of ministers and members from the Church of Scotland in 1733. Those who took part formed the Associate Presbytery and later the United Secession Church....

 of 1733, and the Great Disruption leading to the setting up of the Free Church of Scotland

Free Church of Scotland (1843-1900)

The Free Church of Scotland is a Scottish denomination which was formed in 1843 by a large withdrawal from the established Church of Scotland in a schism known as the "Disruption of 1843"...

 - along with costly defeats in the Court of Session

Court of Session

The Court of Session is the supreme civil court of Scotland, and constitutes part of the College of Justice. It sits in Parliament House in Edinburgh and is both a court of first instance and a court of appeal....

 - the abolition of Patronage

Patronage

Patronage is the support, encouragement, privilege, or financial aid that an organization or individual bestows to another. In the history of art, arts patronage refers to the support that kings or popes have provided to musicians, painters, and sculptors...

 was very welcome to the Church.

Paragraph 3 of the 1874 Act declared

The right of electing and appointing ministers to vacant churches and parishes in Scotland is hereby declared to be vested in the congregations of such vacant churches and parishes respectively, subject to such regulations in regard to the mode of naming and proposing such ministers by means of a committee chosen by the congregation, and of conducting the election and of making the appointment by the congregation as may from time to time be framed by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, . .

Other paragraphs spelled out definitions, to prevent the Act being subverted by devices or processes used by Patrons in the past, and made it clear that the Church of Scotland would decide on the qualifications required by Ministers, and the bodies and processes which would be involved in any appointment.

The Church of Scotland and a United Free Church of Scotland

United Free Church of Scotland

The United Free Church of Scotland is a Scottish Presbyterian denomination formed in 1900 by the union of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the Free Church of Scotland...

 were reunited in 1929, following other legislation

Church of Scotland Act 1921

The Church of Scotland Act 1921 is an Act of the British Parliament, passed in 1921. The purpose of the Act was to settle centuries of dispute between the British Parliament and the Church of Scotland over the Church's independence in spiritual matters...

, though a small remnant of the latter preferred to remain independent.