United Free Church of Scotland
Encyclopedia
The United Free Church of Scotland (U.F. Church; Scottish Gaelic: An Eaglais Shaor Aonaichte) is a Scottish Presbyterian denomination formed in 1900 by the union of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland
(or U.P.) and the Free Church of Scotland. It in turn united with the Church of Scotland
in 1929.
. The United Presbyterian Church was formed in 1847 by a union of the United Secession and Relief Churches, both of which had split from the Church of Scotland. The two denominations united in 1900 to form the United Free Church (except for a small section of the Free Church who rejected the union and continued independently under the name of the Free Church
).
, where Lord Low (upheld by the second division) held that the Assembly of original Free Church had a right, within limits, to change its position.
An appeal to House of Lords
, (not delivered until August 1, 1904 due to a judicial death), reversed the Court of Session’s decision (by a majority of 5–2), and found the minority entitled to the assets of the Free Church. It was held that, by adopting new standards of doctrine (and particularly by abandoning its commitment to ‘the establishment principle’ – which was held to be fundamental to the Free Church), the majority had violated the conditions on which the property of the Free Church was held.
The judgement had huge implications; seemingly it deprived the Free Church element of the U.F. Church of all assets—churches, manses, colleges, missions, and even provision for elderly clergy. It handed large amounts of property to the remnant; more than it could make effective use of. A conference, held in September 1904, between representatives of the U. F. and the (now distinct) Free Church, to come to some working arrangement, found that no basis for agreement could be found. A convocation of the U. F. Church, held on December 15, decided that the union should proceed, and resolved to pursue every lawful means to restore their assets. As a result, the intervention of Parliament
was sought.
A parliamentary commission was appointed, consisting of Lord Elgin, Lord Kinnear and Sir Ralph Anstruther. The question of interim possession was referred to Sir John Cheyne. The commission sat in public, and after hearing both sides, issued their report in April 1905. They stated that the feelings of both parties towards the other had made their work difficult. They concluded, however, that the Free Church was in many respects unable to carry out the purposes of the trusts, which, under the ruling of the House of Lords, was a condition of their holding the property. They recommended that an executive commission should be set up by act of parliament, in which the whole property of the Free Church, as at the date of the union, should be vested, and which should allocate it to the United Free Church, where the Free Church was unable to carry out the trust purposes.
The Churches (Scotland) Act 1905, which gave effect to these recommendations, was passed in August. The commissioners appointed were those on whose report the act was formed, plus two others. The allocation of churches and manse
s was a slow business, but by 1908 over 100 churches had been assigned to the Free Church. Some of the dispossessed U. F. Church congregations, most of them in the Highlands, found shelter for a time in the parish churches; but it was early decided that in spite of the objection against the erection of more church buildings in districts where many were now standing empty, 60 new churches and manses should at once be built at a cost of about £150,000. In October 1906 the commission intimated that the Assembly Hall, and the New College
Buildings, were to belong to the U.F Church, while the Free Church received the offices in Edinburgh, and a tenement to be converted into a college, while the library was to be vested in the U. F. Church, but open to members of both. After having held its Assembly in university class-rooms for two years, and in another hall in 1905, in 1906 the U. F. Church again occupied the historic buildings of the Free Church. All the foreign missions and all the continental stations were also adjudged to the United Free Church. (Incidentally, the same act also contained provided for the relaxation of subscription in the Church of Scotland, thus Parliament had involved itself in the affairs of all Presbyterian churches.)
. The Free Church brought into the union 1068 congregations, the United Presbyterians 593. Combined they had a membership of some half a million Scots. The revenue of the former amounted to £706,546, of the latter to £361,743. The missionaries of both churches joined the union, and the united Church was then equipped with missions in various parts of India
, in Manchuria
, in Africa
(Lovedale, Livingstonia, etc.),in Palestine, in Melanesia
and in the West Indies.
The U.F.C was broadly liberal Evangelical in its approach to theology and practical issues. It combined an acceptance of the findings of contemporary science, and the more moderate results of higher criticism with commitment to evangelism and missions. The U.F.C. an approach to doctrinal conformity, which was fairly liberal for a Presbyterian denomination at the time. In its 1906 Act Anent Spiritual Independence of the Church, its General Assembly asserted the power to modify or define its Subordinate Standard (the Westminster Confession) and its laws. Although its subordinate standard remained, ministers and elders were asked to state their belief in ‘the doctrine of this Church, set forth in the Confession of Faith’. Thus the Church’s interpretation of doctrine was prioritised over the confession.
The united church had three divinity halls, at Glasgow
, Edinburgh
and Aberdeen
, served by seventeen professors and five lecturers. The first moderator was Robert Rainy
. It was gifted with a number of theologians and scholars, including James Denny H.R. Mackintosh, James Moffat
as well as John and Donald Baillie (although the Baillies came to prominence after 1929).
. The problem was the CofS's position as an established church conflicted with the Voluntaryism
of the UFC. Discussions began in 1909, but were complex.
The main hurdles were overcome by two parliamentary statutes, firstly the Church of Scotland Act 1921
, which recognised the CofS's independence in spiritual matters (a right asserted by its Articles Declaratory
of 1919). The second was the Church of Scotland (Properties and Endowments) Act 1925, which transferred the secular endowment of the church to a new body called the General Trustees. These measures satisfied the majority of the UFC that the Church-state entanglement of the CofS, which had been the cause of the Disruption of 1843
had at last ended.
In 1929, the merger with the Church of Scotland
largely reversed the Disruption of 1843
and reunited much of Scottish Presbyterianism. However, once more a relatively small minority stayed out of the union, and retained the name of U.F. Church.
- minister of Govan
and Labour MP for Motherwell). When it came, 14,000 UFC members remained outside, calling themselves the United Free Church (Continuing). The phrase 'continuing' was used for 5 years to avoid confusion between the remaining United Free Church and the pre union Church. It was dropped from the title in 1934. An agreement between the parties avoided the property disputes of the 1900 union.
The ongoing UFC continues in the 'broad evangelical' tradition. It was the first Scottish Presbyterian church to ordain a female minister (1935), and elected the same Elizabeth Barr moderator in 1960. The modern UFC is involved in the ecumenical movement in Scotland, and has, at present around 75 congregations in three Presbyteries.
The three Presbyteries are: the East which meets in Bo'ness and covers central Scotland, South Fife and the Lothians; the West which meets in Glasgow and covers Strathclyde ; and the North meeting in Aberdeen and Perth covering Tayside, The Highlands, Grampian and the Northern Isles.
The General Assembly meets annually the first week in June in Perth.
United Presbyterian Church of Scotland
The United Presbyterian Church of Scotland was a Scottish Presbyterian denomination. It was formed in 1847 by the union of the United Secession Church and the Relief Church, and in 1900 merged with the Free Church of Scotland to form the United Free Church of Scotland, which in turn united with...
(or U.P.) and the Free Church of Scotland. It in turn united with 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....
in 1929.
Origins
The Free Church of Scotland seceded from the Church of Scotland in the Disruption of 1843Disruption of 1843
The Disruption of 1843 was a schism within the established Church of Scotland, in which 450 ministers of the Church broke away, over the issue of the Church's relationship with the State, to form the Free Church of Scotland...
. The United Presbyterian Church was formed in 1847 by a union of the United Secession and Relief Churches, both of which had split from the Church of Scotland. The two denominations united in 1900 to form the United Free Church (except for a small section of the Free Church who rejected the union and continued independently under the name of the Free Church
Free Church of Scotland (post 1900)
Free Church of Scotland is that part of the original Free Church of Scotland that remained outside of the union with the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland in 1900...
).
Legal dispute: 'The Free Church Case'
The minority of the Free Church, which had refused to join the union, quickly tested its legality. They issued a summons, claiming that in altering the principles of the Free Church, the majority had ceased to be the Free Church of Scotland and therefore forfeited the right to its assets – which should belong to the remaining minority, who were the true ‘Free Church’. However, the case was lost in the Court of SessionCourt 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....
, where Lord Low (upheld by the second division) held that the Assembly of original Free Church had a right, within limits, to change its position.
An appeal to House of Lords
House of Lords
The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster....
, (not delivered until August 1, 1904 due to a judicial death), reversed the Court of Session’s decision (by a majority of 5–2), and found the minority entitled to the assets of the Free Church. It was held that, by adopting new standards of doctrine (and particularly by abandoning its commitment to ‘the establishment principle’ – which was held to be fundamental to the Free Church), the majority had violated the conditions on which the property of the Free Church was held.
The judgement had huge implications; seemingly it deprived the Free Church element of the U.F. Church of all assets—churches, manses, colleges, missions, and even provision for elderly clergy. It handed large amounts of property to the remnant; more than it could make effective use of. A conference, held in September 1904, between representatives of the U. F. and the (now distinct) Free Church, to come to some working arrangement, found that no basis for agreement could be found. A convocation of the U. F. Church, held on December 15, decided that the union should proceed, and resolved to pursue every lawful means to restore their assets. As a result, the intervention of Parliament
Parliament of the United Kingdom
The Parliament of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the supreme legislative body in the United Kingdom, British Crown dependencies and British overseas territories, located in London...
was sought.
A parliamentary commission was appointed, consisting of Lord Elgin, Lord Kinnear and Sir Ralph Anstruther. The question of interim possession was referred to Sir John Cheyne. The commission sat in public, and after hearing both sides, issued their report in April 1905. They stated that the feelings of both parties towards the other had made their work difficult. They concluded, however, that the Free Church was in many respects unable to carry out the purposes of the trusts, which, under the ruling of the House of Lords, was a condition of their holding the property. They recommended that an executive commission should be set up by act of parliament, in which the whole property of the Free Church, as at the date of the union, should be vested, and which should allocate it to the United Free Church, where the Free Church was unable to carry out the trust purposes.
The Churches (Scotland) Act 1905, which gave effect to these recommendations, was passed in August. The commissioners appointed were those on whose report the act was formed, plus two others. The allocation of churches and manse
Manse
A manse is a house inhabited by, or formerly inhabited by, a minister, usually used in the context of a Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist or United Church...
s was a slow business, but by 1908 over 100 churches had been assigned to the Free Church. Some of the dispossessed U. F. Church congregations, most of them in the Highlands, found shelter for a time in the parish churches; but it was early decided that in spite of the objection against the erection of more church buildings in districts where many were now standing empty, 60 new churches and manses should at once be built at a cost of about £150,000. In October 1906 the commission intimated that the Assembly Hall, and the New College
New College, Edinburgh
New College was opened in 1846 as a college of the Free Church of Scotland, later of the United Free Church of Scotland, and from the 1930s has been the home of the School of Divinity of the University of Edinburgh...
Buildings, were to belong to the U.F Church, while the Free Church received the offices in Edinburgh, and a tenement to be converted into a college, while the library was to be vested in the U. F. Church, but open to members of both. After having held its Assembly in university class-rooms for two years, and in another hall in 1905, in 1906 the U. F. Church again occupied the historic buildings of the Free Church. All the foreign missions and all the continental stations were also adjudged to the United Free Church. (Incidentally, the same act also contained provided for the relaxation of subscription in the Church of Scotland, thus Parliament had involved itself in the affairs of all Presbyterian churches.)
Existence 1900–1929
The U.F. Church was during its relatively short existence the second largest Presbyterian church in ScotlandScotland
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...
. The Free Church brought into the union 1068 congregations, the United Presbyterians 593. Combined they had a membership of some half a million Scots. The revenue of the former amounted to £706,546, of the latter to £361,743. The missionaries of both churches joined the union, and the united Church was then equipped with missions in various parts of India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
, in Manchuria
Manchuria
Manchuria is a historical name given to a large geographic region in northeast Asia. Depending on the definition of its extent, Manchuria usually falls entirely within the People's Republic of China, or is sometimes divided between China and Russia. The region is commonly referred to as Northeast...
, in Africa
Africa
Africa is the world's second largest and second most populous continent, after Asia. At about 30.2 million km² including adjacent islands, it covers 6% of the Earth's total surface area and 20.4% of the total land area...
(Lovedale, Livingstonia, etc.),in Palestine, in Melanesia
Melanesia
Melanesia is a subregion of Oceania extending from the western end of the Pacific Ocean to the Arafura Sea, and eastward to Fiji. The region comprises most of the islands immediately north and northeast of Australia...
and in the West Indies.
The U.F.C was broadly liberal Evangelical in its approach to theology and practical issues. It combined an acceptance of the findings of contemporary science, and the more moderate results of higher criticism with commitment to evangelism and missions. The U.F.C. an approach to doctrinal conformity, which was fairly liberal for a Presbyterian denomination at the time. In its 1906 Act Anent Spiritual Independence of the Church, its General Assembly asserted the power to modify or define its Subordinate Standard (the Westminster Confession) and its laws. Although its subordinate standard remained, ministers and elders were asked to state their belief in ‘the doctrine of this Church, set forth in the Confession of Faith’. Thus the Church’s interpretation of doctrine was prioritised over the confession.
The united church had three divinity halls, at Glasgow
Glasgow
Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...
, Edinburgh
Edinburgh
Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...
and Aberdeen
Aberdeen
Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....
, served by seventeen professors and five lecturers. The first moderator was Robert Rainy
Robert Rainy
Robert Rainy , was a Scottish Presbyterian divine; his father, Dr Harry Rainy, Professor of Forensic Medicine in the University of Glasgow, was the son of a Sutherland minister....
. It was gifted with a number of theologians and scholars, including James Denny H.R. Mackintosh, James Moffat
James Moffat
James Moffat , was an author who wrote under several pen names.He produced many pulp novels for the United Kingdom publishing house New English Library during the 1970s. Moffat's pen names included Richard Allen, Etienne Aubin and Trudi Maxwell...
as well as John and Donald Baillie (although the Baillies came to prominence after 1929).
Union with the Church of Scotland
As its early days were preoccupied with the aftermath of union, so its later days were with the coming union with the Church of ScotlandChurch 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....
. The problem was the CofS's position as an established church conflicted with the Voluntaryism
Voluntaryism
Voluntarism, or voluntaryism, is a philosophy according to which all forms of human association should be voluntary. This moral principle is called the non-aggression principle, which prohibits the initiation of aggressive force or coercion...
of the UFC. Discussions began in 1909, but were complex.
The main hurdles were overcome by two parliamentary statutes, firstly the Church of Scotland Act 1921
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...
, which recognised the CofS's independence in spiritual matters (a right asserted by its Articles Declaratory
Articles Declaratory of the Constitution of the Church of Scotland
The Articles Declaratory of the Constitution of the Church of Scotland – often known as the Declaratory Articles - were drawn up early in the 20th century to facilitate the union of the Church of Scotland and the United Free Church of Scotland...
of 1919). The second was the Church of Scotland (Properties and Endowments) Act 1925, which transferred the secular endowment of the church to a new body called the General Trustees. These measures satisfied the majority of the UFC that the Church-state entanglement of the CofS, which had been the cause of the Disruption of 1843
Disruption of 1843
The Disruption of 1843 was a schism within the established Church of Scotland, in which 450 ministers of the Church broke away, over the issue of the Church's relationship with the State, to form the Free Church of Scotland...
had at last ended.
In 1929, the merger with 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....
largely reversed the Disruption of 1843
Disruption of 1843
The Disruption of 1843 was a schism within the established Church of Scotland, in which 450 ministers of the Church broke away, over the issue of the Church's relationship with the State, to form the Free Church of Scotland...
and reunited much of Scottish Presbyterianism. However, once more a relatively small minority stayed out of the union, and retained the name of U.F. Church.
The continuing UFC, 1929–
Voluntaryism led some to oppose the union (the United Free Church Association, led by James BarrJames Barr (politician)
Rev James Barr was a British Liberal then Labour politician and a noted pacifist and socialist. He was also a strong supporter of home rule for Scotland, a minimum wage and the Temperance movement....
- minister of Govan
Govan
Govan is a district and former burgh now part of southwest City of Glasgow, Scotland. It is situated west of Glasgow city centre, on the south bank of the River Clyde, opposite the mouth of the River Kelvin and the district of Partick....
and Labour MP for Motherwell). When it came, 14,000 UFC members remained outside, calling themselves the United Free Church (Continuing). The phrase 'continuing' was used for 5 years to avoid confusion between the remaining United Free Church and the pre union Church. It was dropped from the title in 1934. An agreement between the parties avoided the property disputes of the 1900 union.
The ongoing UFC continues in the 'broad evangelical' tradition. It was the first Scottish Presbyterian church to ordain a female minister (1935), and elected the same Elizabeth Barr moderator in 1960. The modern UFC is involved in the ecumenical movement in Scotland, and has, at present around 75 congregations in three Presbyteries.
The three Presbyteries are: the East which meets in Bo'ness and covers central Scotland, South Fife and the Lothians; the West which meets in Glasgow and covers Strathclyde ; and the North meeting in Aberdeen and Perth covering Tayside, The Highlands, Grampian and the Northern Isles.
The General Assembly meets annually the first week in June in Perth.
See also
- Religion in the United KingdomReligion in the United KingdomReligion in the United Kingdom and the states that pre-dated the UK, was dominated by forms of Christianity for over 1,400 years. Although a majority of citizens still identify with Christianity in many surveys, regular church attendance has fallen dramatically since the middle of the 20th century,...
- Church of ScotlandChurch of ScotlandThe Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
- History of ScotlandHistory of ScotlandThe history of Scotland begins around 10,000 years ago, when humans first began to inhabit what is now Scotland after the end of the Devensian glaciation, the last ice age...
- United and uniting churchesUnited and uniting churchesUnited and uniting churches are churches formed from the merger or other form of union of two or more different Protestant denominations.Perhaps the oldest example of a united church is found in Germany, where the Evangelical Church in Germany is a federation of Lutheran, United and Reformed...