Origins and History in Scotland

The Assembly Hall, Edinburgh where the 1893 Disruption took place, leading to the formation of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland

The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland traces its spiritual heritage to the Reformation Church of Scotland and to the Free Church formed at the Disruption of 1843. It was established in 1893, after an appeal against the Free Church’s Declaratory Act of 1892 had failed. The Rev. Donald Macfarlane protested against the Act and left the Free Church.

The Reformation Church

The Reformation in Scotland was more thorough than in any other country. This led to thoroughly reformed doctrine, worship, practice and government in the Church of Scotland formed in 1560. Ever after, the Church of Scotland (along Calvinist Geneva) was the most Scriptural of the Reformation churches. Frequently, she had to contend for the purity of her testimony in face of state intrusion into her worship and government. At one period of her history, thousands of Covenanters willingly laid down their lives rather than deny these Scriptural standards which the nation had covenanted to uphold. The Church of Scotland adopted the Westminster Confession of Faith in 1648 as her subordinate standard. When the persecuting period finally ended, the Church of Scotland re-established itself with freedom to worship and govern again according to Scriptural standards.

The Free Church

The Church of Scotland gradually declined in spirituality and gave away some of her freedoms. A worldly and spiritually lifeless, though outwardly orthodox, ministry obtained a majority position in the church for many decades. However, after the rise of an evangelical and faithful party the church resisted state intrusion upon her discipline and the right of the people to choose their own ministers. These Evangelicals who finally broke away from the Church of Scotland in 1843 formed the Free Church. This ‘Great Disruption’ took place to preserve the spiritual independence of the Church from state intrusion.

The Declaratory Act

Although formed with a galaxy of eminent and godly ministers, the Free Church soon began a serious spiritual decline. This led eventually to the acceptance of those who denied the inspiration of Scripture, the divinity of Christ. Finally in 1892 the Free Church passed a Declaratory Act to relax the strictness of subscription to the Westminster Confession of Faith. As a result, in 1893, after attempts to repeal the Act failed, a lone and relatively obscure minister, Rev. Donald Macfarlane, protested, and thereby separated from the Free Church. The Rev. Donald Macdonald of Shieldaig and an elder joined Mr. Macfarlane to form the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland. They took with them the original constitution of the 1843 Free Church.

Deed of Separation

Later they approved the Deed of Separation from the Free Church at the first Presbytery held in August 1893. Many other people, mainly in the Highlands of Scotland, severed their connection with the Free Church of Scotland and joined the new church.

A Continuing Public Testimony (20th-21st Centuries)

The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland retains the strict subscription to the Westminster Confession of Faith that the Free Church had abandoned. Furthermore, it maintains that the separation in 1893 was justified and necessary. Therefore, we should regard the Free Presbyterian Church as the true spiritual heir of the Reformation Church of Scotland of 1560, over 450 years later. She has maintained a faithful witness to the world against declension, Romanism, and Sabbath breaking.

The twentieth century saw immense changes in the professing Christian Church, as liberalism, postmodernism and error overran it. Notwithstanding, the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland has sought to maintain the doctrine, worship, practice, and government she inherited in 1893. Her position is essentially that of John Knox and the Scottish Reformed Church of 1560. This in turn was based on the position of the New Testament church in the days of the Apostles.