The Free Church of Scotland (; ) is a

conservative evangelical Evangelicalism (), also called evangelical Christianity or evangelical Protestantism, is a worldwide, interdenominational movement within Protestant Christianity that emphasizes evangelism, or the preaching and spreading of the Christian go ...

Calvinist Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Protestantism, Continenta ...

denomination in

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It is the continuation of the original

Free Church of Scotland In contemporary usage, the Free Church of Scotland usually refers to: * Free Church of Scotland (since 1900), that portion of the original Free Church which remained outside the 1900 merger; extant It may also refer to: * Free Church of Scotland (1 ...

that remained outside the union with the

United Presbyterian Church of Scotland The United Presbyterian Church (1847–1900) 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 U ...

in 1900, and remains a distinct

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

denomination in

. From 1900, when the majority of the Free Church joined the United Presbyterians to form the United Free Church, The Free Church became known, pejoratively, as " The Wee Frees", even though, in 21st century Scotland, it is the largest Presbyterian denomination after the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

. As this term was originally used in comparing the Free Church unfavourably with the

United Free Church The United Free Church of Scotland (UF Church; , ) is a Scottish Presbyterian denomination formed in 1900 by the union of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland (or UP) and the majority of the 19th-century Free Church of Scotland. The maj ...

, the Free Church of Scotland now deprecates its use.

Theology and doctrine

The church maintains its commitment to

Calvinist theology Reformed Christianity, also called Calvinism, is a major branch of Protestantism that began during the 16th-century Protestant Reformation. In the modern day, it is largely represented by the Continental Reformed Christian, Presbyterian, ...

(as espoused by the

Westminster Confession The Westminster Confession of Faith, or simply the Westminster Confession, is a Reformed confession of faith. Drawn up by the 1646 Westminster Assembly as part of the Westminster Standards to be a confession of the Church of England, it beca ...

). Its

polity A polity is a group of people with a collective identity, who are organized by some form of political Institutionalisation, institutionalized social relations, and have a capacity to mobilize resources. A polity can be any group of people org ...

. A complete

psalter A psalter is a volume containing the Book of Psalms, often with other devotional material bound in as well, such as a liturgical calendar and litany of the Saints. Until the emergence of the book of hours in the Late Middle Ages, psalters were ...

in modern English was published in 2003. Its offices and

theological college A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and Christian theology, theology, generally to prepare them for ordinatio ...

remain on

The Mound The Mound is an artificial slope and road in central Edinburgh, Scotland, which connects Edinburgh's New and Old Towns. It was formed by dumping around 1,501,000 cartloads of earth excavated from the foundations of the New Town into Nor Loc ...

, Edinburgh, although the denomination no longer holds the original Free Church College

buildings A building or edifice is an enclosed structure with a roof, walls and windows, usually standing permanently in one place, such as a house or factory. Buildings come in a variety of sizes, shapes, and functions, and have been adapted throughout ...

. The Free Church continues to be

Reformed Reform is beneficial change. Reform, reformed or reforming may also refer to: Media * ''Reform'' (album), a 2011 album by Jane Zhang * Reform (band), a Swedish jazz fusion group * ''Reform'' (magazine), a Christian magazine Places * Reform, Al ...

and

in character, presenting its understanding of the Christian message, namely that

Jesus Christ Jesus (AD 30 or 33), also referred to as Jesus Christ, Jesus of Nazareth, and many Names and titles of Jesus in the New Testament, other names and titles, was a 1st-century Jewish preacher and religious leader. He is the Jesus in Chris ...

is sole Lord and

Saviour Savior or saviour may refer to: *A person who helps people achieve salvation, or saves them from something Religion * Mahdi, the prophesied redeemer of Islam who will rule for seven, nine or nineteen years * Maitreya * Messiah, a saviour or li ...

. The Free Church of Scotland opposes both

abortion Abortion is the early termination of a pregnancy by removal or expulsion of an embryo or fetus. Abortions that occur without intervention are known as miscarriages or "spontaneous abortions", and occur in roughly 30–40% of all pregnan ...

and

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same legal Legal sex and gender, sex. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 38 countries, with a total population of 1.5 ...

. It has also stated its opposition to banning

conversion therapy Conversion therapy is the pseudoscientific practice of attempting to change an individual's sexual orientation, romantic orientation, gender identity, or gender expression to align with heterosexual and cisgender norms. Methods that have ...

History

Aftermath of the union of 1900

In 1900 the

united with the

to form the

United Free Church of Scotland The United Free Church of Scotland (UF Church; , ) is a Scottish Presbyterian denomination formed in 1900 by the union of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland (or UP) and the Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900), majority of the 19th-cen ...

. However, a minority of the original Free Church remained outside this new union. The protesting and dissenting minority at once claimed to be the legitimate Free Church. They met outside the Free Assembly Hall on 31 October and, failing to gain admission, withdrew to another hall, where they elected Rev

Colin Bannatyne Colin Archibald Bannatyne (1849–1920) was a Scottish minister who twice served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland (since 1900), Free Church of Scotland both in 1900/1901 and 1906/1907. He is the "Bannatyne" ...

as Moderator and held the remaining sittings of their Assembly. It was reported that between 16,000 and 17,000 names had been received of persons adhering to the anti-unionist principle. It has been estimated that the number of Free Church communicants dropped from a little under 300,000 in 1899 to just over 4,000 in 1900. At the Assembly of 1901 it was stated that the Free Church had twenty-five ministers and at least sixty-three congregations, with most being found in the

Gaelic Gaelic (pronounced for Irish Gaelic and for Scots Gaelic) is an adjective that means "pertaining to the Gaels". It may refer to: Languages * Gaelic languages or Goidelic languages, a linguistic group that is one of the two branches of the Insul ...

-speaking districts of

. The initial problems were obvious: the congregations soon grew in number, but were far apart; there were not nearly enough ministers; the church was treated in a hostile manner by the United Free Church; work was conducted under considerable hardship; and there was little success in appealing to the general popular sentiment of

. However, the revenue of the church gradually increased; in 1901, the sustentation fund was able to support only 75 ministers, but by 1903 it maintained 167.

The Free Church case

After the union of 1900, the United Presbyterian Church and the continuing Free Church not only contested the legacy of the Free Church of 1843–1900, but also claimed its assets. After attempts at agreement failed, the matter ended in the Scottish courts. The litigation was initially decided in favour of the Free Church by the House of Lords in 1904, on the basis that in the absence of a power to change fundamental doctrines in the trust deed, a dissenting minority retains the property. As it was not possible for the Free Church to use all the property, Parliament intervened, generally securing for the church the congregational property she could effectively use plus a significant share of central assets.

The Church in the 20th century

In 1906, a

Free Church College Edinburgh Theological Seminary, formerly known as the Free Church College, is a theological seminary in Edinburgh connected to the Free Church of Scotland. It traces its origins back to the foundation of New College, Edinburgh at the time of ...

was re-established in

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

and by 1925 there were 91 ministers and 170 congregations in 12 presbyteries. The general magazine of the Free Church is ''The Monthly Record'' and there are magazines for young people. Two of the professors in the Free Church College began a theological journal the ''

Evangelical Quarterly ''Evangelical Quarterly'' is an academic journal covering theology and biblical studies. It was established in 1929 by Donald Maclean and J. R. Mackay. The current editors Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visu ...

'' in 1929, but in 1942 control passed outside the church, initially to Inter Varsity Fellowship. Today the College offers degrees in conjunction with the

University of Glasgow The University of Glasgow (abbreviated as ''Glas.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals; ) is a Public university, public research university in Glasgow, Scotland. Founded by papal bull in , it is the List of oldest universities in continuous ...

. Post-1945, the Free Church engaged with the wider evangelical cause, but after its growth in the early decades, it began a statistical decline that, except for a short period in the 1980s, continued throughout the 20th century.

2000 events

Poolewe Free Church of Scotland - geograph

In the 1980s and 1990s there were allegations of sexual misconduct against Donald Macleod, principal of the Free Church College. No misconduct was ever proven against Macleod; he was tried and acquitted in 1996 in the civil courts. A to Macleod pursued the charges in church courts, to no avail. There was considerable dissatisfaction with the handling of the charges, and claims of a cover-up. When Rev Maurice Roberts of the Free Church Defence Association (FCDA) publicly reiterated accusations against Macleod, and denounced the General Assembly for its "wickedness and hypocrisy", he was suspended ''sine die'' for

contumacy Contumacy is a stubborn refusal to obey authority or, particularly in law, the willful contempt of the order or summons of a court (see contempt of court). The term is derived by etymologists from the Latin word ''contumacia'', meaning "firmness" ...

. Robert's supporters demanded his reinstatement and the FCDA. In January 2000, 22 FCDA ministers were removed from their pulpits. These and other ministers formed the

Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) The Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) (abbreviation: FC(C), Scottish Gaelic: An Eaglais Shaor Leantainneach) is a Scottish Presbyterian denomination which was formed in January 2000. It claims to be the true continuation of the Free Church of ...

(FCC); they are approximately 20% of the ministerial strength of the pre-2000 Free Church of Scotland. From 2005 to 2010, the Free Church of Scotland saw an 18% drop in its membership. Following the split, the Free Church Continuing sought a declarator from the

Court of Session The Court of Session is the highest national court of Scotland in relation to Civil law (common law), civil cases. The court was established in 1532 to take on the judicial functions of the royal council. Its jurisdiction overlapped with othe ...

as to ownership of the central funds and properties of the church. In a landmark decision,

Lady Paton Ann Paton, Lady Paton, (born 1952) is a Scottish advocate and judge. She is a Senator of the College of Justice, sitting in the High Court of Justiciary and the Inner House of the Court of Session. In 2019 she became the Chairman of the Scottis ...

dismissed their action without granting '' absolvitor''. The Continuing Church then said they would appeal Lady Paton's decision, but ultimately chose not to proceed. In March 2007, the Free Church filed suit to reclaim the church

manse A manse () is a clergy house inhabited by, or formerly inhabited by, a minister, usually used in the context of Presbyterian, Methodist, Baptist and other Christian traditions. Ultimately derived from the Latin ''mansus'', "dwelling", from '' ...

at Broadford, Isle of Skye.

Lord Uist Roderick Francis Macdonald, Lord Uist (born 1 February 1951) is a Scottish retired judge. As a Senator of the College of Justice, he was a member of the Court of Session, Scotland's highest court. Early life Macdonald was educated at St Mungo ...

ruled that the property belonged to the Free Church. The Continuing Church had to pay the expenses of the Free Church. The Continuing Church appealed to the

Inner House The Inner House is the senior part of the Court of Session, the supreme civil court in Scotland; the Outer House forms the junior part of the Court of Session. It is a court of appeal and a court of first instance. The chief justice is th ...

of the

, which upheld Lord Uist.

List of moderators

* 1900: Colin Archibald Bannatyne, Coulter, South Lanarkshire * 1901:

James Duff MacCulloch James Duff McCulloch or MacCulloch (1836–1926) was a minister of the Free Church of Scotland who served as Moderator of the General Assembly in 1901/02. Life He was born on 28 April 1836 at Logie Easter in Ross and Cromarty, the son of And ...

, Hope Street, Glasgow * 1902: Donald MacKinnon Macalister,

* 1903: Angus Galbraith,

Lochalsh Lochalsh is a district of mainland Scotland that is currently part of the Highland (council area), Highland council area. The Lochalsh district covers all of the mainland either side of Loch Alsh - and of Loch Duich - between Loch Carron and Lo ...

* 1904:

Murdoch MacQueen Murdoch MacQueen (1848–1912) was a minister of the Free Church of Scotland who served as Moderator of the General Assembly at the end of his career in 1904/05. Life He was born on 3 May 1848 in Kilfinichen on the Isle of Mull the son of ...

Kiltearn Kiltearn (Gaelic: ''Cill Tighearna'') is a parish in Ross and Cromarty, Scotland. It is in the Presbytery of Ross. The local landowners since the 11th century reign of Malcolm II have been the Clan Munro. The principal settlement is the villag ...

* 1905:

Ewan Macleod Ewan Macleod (1847–1928) was a minister of the Free Church of Scotland who served as Moderator of the General Assembly in 1905/06. Life He was born in Harris in 1847, the son of Donald Macleod, a farmer, and his wife, Catherine MacDonald. ...

Oban Oban ( ; meaning ''The Little Bay'') is a resort town within the Argyll and Bute council area of Scotland. Despite its small size, it is the largest town between Helensburgh and Fort William, Highland, Fort William. During the tourist seaso ...

* 1906: Colin Archibald Bannatyne,

* 1907:

Murdo Mackenzie Murdo MacKenzie (April 24, 1850 – May 30, 1939) was twice (1891–1901 and 1922–1937) manager of the Scots-owned Matador Land and Cattle Company, and founding president of the American Stock Growers Association, for whom he testified before c ...

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

; Interim Moderator J. C. Robertson (resigned) * 1908: William MacKinnon,

Gairloch Gairloch ( ; , meaning "Short Loch") is a village, civil parish and community on the shores of Loch Gairloch in Wester Ross, in the North-West Highlands of Scotland. A tourist destination in the summer months, Gairloch has a golf course, a ...

* 1909: James Hendry,

Forres Forres (; ) is a town and former royal burgh in the north of Scotland on the County of Moray, Moray coast, approximately northeast of Inverness and west of Elgin, Moray, Elgin. Forres has been a winner of the Scotland in Bloom award on several ...

Burghead Burghead ( or ''The Broch'', ) is a small town in Moray, Scotland, about north-west of Elgin, Moray, Elgin. The town is mainly built on a peninsula that projects north-westward into the Moray Firth, surrounding it by water on three sides. Peopl ...

* 1910:

John Kennedy Cameron John Kennedy Cameron (11 May 1860–5 October 1944) was a minister of the Free Church of Scotland who served as Moderator of the General Assembly in 1910/11. Life He was born on 11 May 1860 at Rosskeen in Ross and Cromarty the son of Janet Mc ...

* 1911:

William Menzies Alexander William Menzies Alexander (Shettleston, then in Lanarkshire, 12 May 1858 – Edinburgh 30 August 1929) was a Scotland, Scottish medical and theological writer. He was Moderator of the General Assembly for the Free Church of Scotland (since 1900 ...

* 1912:

William Fraser William Fraser may refer to: Military people *William W. Fraser (1844–1915), American Civil War soldier and Medal of Honor recipient *William Archibald Kenneth Fraser (1886–1969), British army officer *William Fraser (British Army officer) ( ...

, Strathpeffer, Dingwall * 1913:

Samuel Lyle Orr Samuel Lyle Orr (c. 1850–1930) was an Irish-born minister of the Free Church of Scotland who served as Moderator of the General Assembly in 1913/14. The Lyle Orr Awards have been granted by the Free Church of Scotland annually since 1914 to ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

* 1914:

Finlay MacRae Finlay Macrae (born 13 March 2002) is an Australian rules footballer who plays with the Collingwood Football Club in the Australian Football League. Finlay is the younger brother of player Jack Macrae, who formerly played for the Western Bulld ...

Plockton Plockton () is a village in the Lochalsh, Wester Ross area of the Scottish Highlands with a 2020 population of 468. Plockton settlement is on the shores of Loch Carron. It faces east, away from the prevailing winds; this, together with the North ...

* 1915: John MacDonald,

Rosskeen Rosskeen is a parish in Ross and Cromarty on the Cromarty Firth in northern Scotland, containing the settlements of Invergordon, Bridgend and Saltburn, Ross and Cromarty, Saltburn. It lies on the A9 between Inverness and Thurso. Notable Buildi ...

* 1916: Angus Mackie,

Kingussie Kingussie ( ; ) is a small town in the Badenoch and Strathspey ward of the Highland council area of Scotland. Counties of Scotland, Historically in Inverness-shire, it lies beside the A9 road (Great Britain), A9 road, although the old route of ...

* 1917: John Macleod,

Urray Urray () is a scattered village and coastal parish, consisting of Easter, Old and Wester Urray and is located in the county of Ross-shire, Ross in the Scotland, Scottish council area of Highland Council area, the Highland. Urray is also a paris ...

* 1918: Donald Munro,

Ferintosh, Black Isle Ferintosh is the name of an estate in the Black Isle, Ross and Cromarty, Scotland. Urquhart is the name of the parish. The parish of Urquhart is virtually the original Ferintosh barony and was an exclave of Nairnshire until transferred to Ross a ...

* 1919: Donald Maclean,

* 1920: John Macleod,

* 1921: Roderick Macleod, Knock, Isle of Lewis * 1922: Norman Campbell,

Dingwall Dingwall (, ) is a town and a royal burgh in the Highland (council area), Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of 5,491. It was an east-coast harbour that now lies inland. Dingwall Castle was once the biggest castle north ...

* 1923: George Mackay, Fearn * 1924: Kenneth Cameron,

Stornoway Stornoway (; ) is the main town, and by far the largest, of the Outer Hebrides (or Western Isles), and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland. The town's population is around 6,953, making it the third-largest island town in Scotlan ...

* 1925: Robert Moore,

* 1926: Alexander Stewart,

* 1927: Alexander Dewar,

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

* 1928: Archibald Donald Cameron, Creich * 1929: John R. Mackay,

* 1930: Robert M. Knox,

* 1931: Alexander Macdonald Renwick,

* 1932: Peter Clarkson * 1933: A. M. Ross * 1934: Duncan MacDonald * 1935: Alexander Ross * 1936: Peter W. Miller * 1937: Donald MacLean * 1938:

John MacKay MacLennan John MacKay MacLennan (1885–1977) was a Scottish minister, who served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland (since 1900), Free Church of Scotland in 1938. Life He graduated with an MA from the University of E ...

Lairg Lairg (, meaning "the shank/shin") is a village and parish in Sutherland, Scotland. It has a population of 891 and is at the south-eastern end of Loch Shin. Lairg is unusual in the northern Highlands in being a large settlement that is not on ...

* 1939:

Farquhar Matheson Farquhar Matheson was a Scottish minister, who served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland in 1939.''Annals of the Free Church of Scotland, 1930 to 1939'' Life In 1920 he became minister of the Free Church in Assyn ...

Stoer Stoer () is a crofting township in the parish of Assynt, Sutherland, in the Highlands of Scotland and in the council area of Highland. It is located about five miles north of the village of Lochinver. Norman McLeod, a presbyterian ministe ...

* 1940: William MacLeod * 1941: John Shaw * 1942: John Calvin MacKay, Kincardine & Croick,

Sutherland Sutherland () is a Counties of Scotland, historic county, registration county and lieutenancy areas of Scotland, lieutenancy area in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. The name dates from the Scandinavian Scotland, Viking era when t ...

* 1943:

D. MacKenzie D. or d. may refer to, usually as an abbreviation: * Don (honorific), a form of address in Spain, Portugal, Italy, and their former overseas empires, usually given to nobles or other individuals of high social rank. * Date of death, as an abbreviati ...

* 1944:

Ewen MacRury Ewen MacRury (1891–1986) was a Free Church of Scotland minister who served as Moderator of the General Assembly in 1944. Life He was born in 1891 one of eight children to John Little (Ewan Beag) MacRury (b.1843) and his wife, Betsy MacDona ...

Glen Urquhart Glenurquhart or Glen Urquhart () is a glen running to the west of the village of Drumnadrochit in the Highland (council area), Highland Council areas of Scotland, council area of Scotland. Location Glenurquhart runs from Loch Ness at Urqu ...

* 1945: Roderick Alick Finlayson,

* 1946:

* 1947: William Campbell * 1948:

Alexander MacDonald Alexander or Alex MacDonald may refer to: Politics * Alasdair Óg of Islay (died 1299), Lord of Islay and chief of Clann Domhnaill * Alexander of Islay, Earl of Ross, or Alexander MacDonald (died 1449), Scottish nobleman * Alexander MacDonald, 5th ...

* 1949: G.N.M. Collins * 1950: A. MacLeod * 1951: Murdoch MacRae Kinloch, Isle of Lewis * 1952: John A Macdonald,

* 1953: Alex R Fraser,

Dumbarton Dumbarton (; , or ; or , meaning 'fort of the Britons (historical), Britons') is a town in West Dunbartonshire, Scotland, on the north bank of the River Clyde where the River Leven, Dunbartonshire, River Leven flows into the Clyde estuary. ...

* 1954: Duncan Leitch,

* 1955:

John Morrison John (or Jack) Morrison or Morison may refer to: In politics * John Morison (Banffshire MP) (c. 1757–1835), British MP for Banffshire * John Morrison (blacksmith) (1726–1816), farmer, blacksmith and politician in Nova Scotia * John Morison ( ...

Ness Ness or NESS may refer to: Places Australia * Ness, Wapengo, a heritage-listed natural coastal area in New South Wales United Kingdom * Ness, Cheshire, England, a village * Ness, Lewis, the most northerly area on Lewis, Scotland, UK * Cuspate ...

* 1956: Murdoch Campbell,

Resolis Resolis (from the Scottish Gaelic Ruigh Sholais meaning ''Bright Slope'') is a village and parish on the B9163 road, in the Black Isle in Scotland. It is part of the Presbytery of Ross. In 2011 it had a population of 362. At the 2011 census, the ...

* 1957: Murdoch Macphail, Croy * 1958: William R MacKay,

* 1959: Hugh G MacKay,

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

* 1960: Alexander Macdonald Renwick,

* 1961: R J Murray, Killearnan and Fortrose, Black Isle * 1962:

William John Cameron William John Cameron (1907–1990) was a Scottish minister. He twice served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland: in 1962 and 1977.Annals of the Free Church of Scotland 1956 Life He was born in Brora, Sutherland ...

; son of Rev Kenneth Cameron * 1963: R C Christie,

Saltcoats Saltcoats (; Scots: ''Saulcuts'') is a town on the west coast of North Ayrshire, Scotland. The name is derived from the town's earliest industry when salt was harvested from the sea water of the Firth of Clyde, carried out in small cottages ...

* 1964: Angus Finlayson,

North Tolsta North Tolsta () is a village in the Scottish Outer Hebrides, on the east side of the Isle of Lewis. North Tolsta is within the parish of Stornoway. Tolsta is notable for its long sandy beach Traigh Mhor At the end of Tolsta's long sandy beach ...

* 1965: James W Fraser, Buccleuch & Greyfriars, Edinburgh * 1966:

James Mackintosh Sir James Mackintosh FRS FRSE (24 October 1765 – 30 May 1832) was a Scottish jurist, Whig politician and Whig historian. His studies and sympathies embraced many interests. He was trained as a doctor and barrister, and worked also as a jo ...

, Colegio San Andres,

Peru Peru, officially the Republic of Peru, is a country in western South America. It is bordered in the north by Ecuador and Colombia, in the east by Brazil, in the southeast by Bolivia, in the south by Chile, and in the south and west by the Pac ...

* 1967:

Murdo MacLeod {{Infobox football biography , name = Murdo MacLeod , image = , fullname = Murdo Davidson MacLeod , height = 1.78 m , birth_date = {{Birth date and age, 1958, 9, 24, df=y , birth_place = Glasgow, Sc ...

Tarbat Tarbat (, meaning 'a crossing or isthmus'Place-names of Ross and Cromarty, by W J Watson, publ. The Northern Counties Printing and Publishing Co. Ltd., Inverness 1904; p.45) is a civil parish in Highland, Scotland, in the north-east corner of Ros ...

* 1968: John R Aitken,

Rogart Rogart ( , , meaning "great enclosed field") is a parish in Sutherland, Highland, Scotland. The parish was the home of Major Andrew MacDonald, who fought in the French and Indian War. It was originally a scattered crofting parish centred on th ...

* 1969: Clement Graham,

Tain Tain ( ) is a royal burgh and parish in the County of Ross, in the Scottish Highlands, Highlands of Scotland. Etymology The name derives from the nearby River Tain, the name of which comes from an Indo-European root meaning 'flow'. The Gaelic n ...

* 1970: Murdo K Murray, Knock, Isle of Lewis * 1971: G N M Collins,

* 1972: Donald MacDonald, Greyfriars, Inverness * 1973: George C Dunnett, Knockbain * 1974: A.G. Ross,

* 1975: Duncan MacLeay, Snizort * 1976: Kenneth J Nicolson,

Barvas Barvas (Scottish Gaelic: ''Barabhas'' or ''Barbhas'', ) is a settlement, community and civil parish on the Isle of Lewis in Scotland. It developed around a road junction. The A857 and A858 meet at the southern end of Barvas. North is the road ...

* 1977:

* 1978: Hugh Ferrier, Free North, Inverness * 1979: Murdo MacRitchie,

* 1980: Hector Cameron, Bon Accord,

* 1981: Donald Gillies,

Lochs ''Loch'' ( ) is a word meaning "lake" or " sea inlet" in Scottish and Irish Gaelic, subsequently borrowed into English. In Irish contexts, it often appears in the anglicized form "lough". A small loch is sometimes called a lochan. Lochs which ...

* 1982:

Donald Lamont Donald Alexander Lamont (born 13 January 1947LAMONT, Donald Alexander
''Who's ...

, St. Columba's, Edinburgh * 1983: John MacLeod,

Point, Lewis Point (), also known as the Eye Peninsula, is a peninsula some 11 km long in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. The majority of Point is connected to the rest of the Isle of Lewis by a narrow isthmus, one mile in length and at one point barely 1 ...

* 1984: Murdo A Macleod, Christian Witness to Israel * 1985: Archibald C Boyd,

* 1986: Angus Smith,

Cross A cross is a religious symbol consisting of two Intersection (set theory), intersecting Line (geometry), lines, usually perpendicular to each other. The lines usually run vertically and horizontally. A cross of oblique lines, in the shape of t ...

* 1987: Fergus A J Macdonald,

United Bible Societies The United Bible Societies (UBS) is a global fellowship of around 150 Bible societies operating in more than 240 countries and territories. It has working hubs in England, Singapore and Nairobi. The headquarters are located in Swindon, England. ...

* 1988: John A Gillies, Partick Highland, Glasgow * 1989: Kenneth W R Cameron, Thurso & Reay * 1990: A Gollan,

Lochcarron Lochcarron () is a village, community and civil parish in the Wester Ross area of Highland, Scotland. It has a population of 923. Locality The name Lochcarron is also applied to the collection of small settlements strung out along Loch Carron, ...

* 1991: W D Graham,

Southern Africa Southern Africa is the southernmost region of Africa. No definition is agreed upon, but some groupings include the United Nations geoscheme for Africa, United Nations geoscheme, the intergovernmental Southern African Development Community, and ...

* 1992: Donald MacDonald,

Carloway Carloway ( ) is a crofting township and a district on the west coast of the Isle of Lewis, in the Outer Hebrides, Scotland. The district has a population of around 500. Carloway township is within the parish of Uig, and is situated on the A858. ...

* 1993: Clement Graham,

* 1994: Alex Murdo Macleod, Kinloch, Lewis * 1995: Murdo A MacLeod,

* 1996:

Neil Macdonald Neil Macdonald (born 1957) is a Canadian journalist with the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation, and a former senior correspondent for CBC News ''The National (CBC), The National''. He is married to former CTV News bureau Chief Joyce Napier. Earl ...

, Fearn * 1997: Donald M MacDonald,

Bishopbriggs Bishopbriggs (; ) is a town in East Dunbartonshire, Scotland. It lies on the northern fringe of Greater Glasgow, approximately from the Glasgow city centre, city centre. Shires of Scotland, Historically in Lanarkshire, the area was once part of ...

* 1998: D K Macleod, Kingussie & Alvie * 1999: K Macleod,

Isle of Lewis The Isle of Lewis () or simply Lewis () is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides archipelago in Scotland. The two parts are frequently referred to as if they were separate islands. The t ...

* 2000: John M MacPherson,

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

* 2001: W M MacKay,

* 2002: J H MacLean, Kilmuir, Stenscholl & Snizort, Isle of Skye * 2003: R G MacKay, Free North, Inverness * 2004: Fergus A J Macdonald,

* 2005: Alex J MacDonald, Buccleuch & Greyfriars, Edinburgh * 2006: D Smith,

* 2007: J S Ross, Greyfriars & Stratherrick, Inverness * 2010: David Meredith, Smithton-Culloden * 2011: Rev James Maciver, Knock, Isle of Lewis * 2012:

Iain D. Campbell Iain Donald Campbell (20 September 1963 – 28 January 2017) was a minister and former Moderator in the Free Church of Scotland. He was a prolific author on a range of Biblical topics and church history. Campbell died in January 2017, and it ...

* 2013: Angus J. Howat * 2014: David Miller,

Cobham, Kent Cobham () is a village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the borough of Gravesham in Kent, England. The village is located south-east of Gravesend, and just south of Watling Street, the Roman road from Dover to London. The parish ...

* 2015: David Robertson,

Dundee Dundee (; ; or , ) is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, fourth-largest city in Scotland. The mid-year population estimate for the locality was . It lies within the eastern central Lowlands on the north bank of the Firt ...

* 2016: John Nicholls, Smithon, Inverness * 2017: Derek Lamont, St. Columba's, Edinburgh * 2018: Angus MacRae, Dingwall & Strathpeffer * 2019: Donnie G. MacDonald,

Portree Portree (; , ) is the capital and largest town of the Isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland.W.H. Murray, Murray, W.H. (1966) ''The Hebrides''. London. Heinemann. Pages 154-155. It is a civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish and lies ...

* 2021: Neil MacMillan, Cornerstone,

Morningside, Edinburgh Morningside is a district and former village in the south of Edinburgh, Scotland. It lies alongside the main arterial Morningside Road, part of an ancient route from Edinburgh to the south west of Scotland. The original village served several ...

* 2022:

Iver Martin Iver is a civil parish in Buckinghamshire, England. In addition to the central clustered village, the parish includes the residential neighbourhoods of Iver Heath and Richings Park and the hamlets of Shreding Green and Thorney. Geography, tra ...

Edinburgh Theological Seminary Edinburgh Theological Seminary, formerly known as the Free Church College, is a theological seminary in Edinburgh connected to the Free Church of Scotland. It traces its origins back to the foundation of New College, Edinburgh at the time of ...

* 2023:

Bob Akroyd Bob, BOB, or B.O.B. may refer to: People, fictional characters, and named animals *Bob (given name), a list of people and fictional characters *Bob (surname) *Bob (dog), a dog that received the Dickin Medal for bravery in World War II *Bob the ...

* 2024:

Callum Macleod Callum MacLeod (born 20 January 1988) is a professional British race car driver who drives in the British G.T. Championship. He also won the 2007 British Formula Ford Championship and the 2009 European F3 Open Championship. He was born in Nor ...

Shawbost Shawbost () is a large village in the West Side of the Isle of Lewis. The village of Shawbost has a population of around 500 and lies around west of Lewis's capital Stornoway. Shawbost is within the parish of Barvas. A recent development in the ...

Recent history

At the 2011 census, 10,896 people identified as being "Free Church of Scotland". The Free Church has about 100 congregations in Scotland and circa 80 ministers and 8,000 attenders. About 50 dissenting or former

congregations had been talking about joining the Free Kirk because of the Church of Scotland's ordination of openly gay ministers.

Growth

As of 2021, the Free Church had an average attendance at Sunday services of 8,000 including 5,400 communicants. As of May 2013 the Free Church worship attendance was 12,639, up from 12,431 in 2007. The number of people under 30 increased by 30% since 2007. The church is growing outwith the Western Islands, especially in the bigger cities. Sunday school attendance has grown by 25% in recent years, from 575 to 709 in 2013. In 2013, Murdo Murchison, an elder from Dunblane Free Church gathered a core group to plant a church in Stirling. With some growth it was recognised as a church plant in 2014 by the Glasgow Presbytery, and in 2016 appointed Iain MacAskill as its minister. There had previously been no Free Church in Stirling since 1948. In 2014 two congregations, the North Harris Free Church, and the Stornoway group of the High Free Church Stornoway and two former Kirk ministers have recently joined the Free Church, makes it total about ten former Kirk pastors who have joined the Free Church. North Harris held its first service with around 100 people in attendance. Kirkmuirhill congregation and New Restalrig have also joined. The High Free Church has regularly attracted around 300 people in Stornoway Primary School since leaving the Church of Scotland earlier this year. Stornoway High was previously the Church of Scotland's biggest congregation on the Western Isles. In early 2015 an

Church of Scotland pastor quit, and took some of his flock with him to set up a new Free Church congregation in the west of Inverness. Rev McMillan was unhappy about the Presbytery of Inverness, which had recently voted against controversial plans to give congregations the freedom to appoint a person in a gay relationship if they wished. Rev. McMillan was not in disagreement to the voting decision, but with the Church of Scotland's decision to debate on the issue. Other new churches welcomed into the Free Church included a new church in Leith planted originally in association with the Associate Reformed Presbyterian Church in the USA. and Christ Church, Craigintinney, a new church plant led by David Court. David led most of the congregation of New Restalrig out of the Church of Scotland. In 2015 the Covenant Church in

Newmilns Newmilns is a village in the burgh of Newmilns and Greenholm, in East Ayrshire, Scotland. It has a population of 3,057 people (2001 census) and lies on the A71 road, A71, around seven miles east of Kilmarnock and twenty-five miles southwest of G ...

East Ayrshire East Ayrshire (; ) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland. It shares borders with Dumfries and Galloway, East Renfrewshire, North Ayrshire, South Ayrshire and South Lanarkshire. The headquarters of the council are located on London Roa ...

joined the Free Church. Covenant Church had split from the Church of Scotland in 2013. Other former Church of Scotland congregations include:

Abbeygreen Church Abbeygreen Church is a congregation of the Free Church of Scotland (since 1900), Free Church of Scotland in the small town of Lesmahagow, South Lanarkshire, Lanarkshire. As a Christian congregation, it is presbyterian and reformed; holding the ...

in Lesmahagow, Broughty Ferry Church, Gardenstown Church, and Blackwood and Kirkmuirhill Church. The Free Church of Scotland websites lists 111 congregations, as of 2024. New churches continue to be planted, such as in

Dunfermline Dunfermline (; , ) is a city, parish, and former royal burgh in Fife, Scotland, from the northern shore of the Firth of Forth. Dunfermline was the de facto capital of the Kingdom of Scotland between the 11th and 15th centuries. The earliest ...

St Andrews St Andrews (; ; , pronounced ʰʲɪʎˈrˠiː.ɪɲ is a town on the east coast of Fife in Scotland, southeast of Dundee and northeast of Edinburgh. St Andrews had a recorded population of 16,800 , making it Fife's fourth-largest settleme ...

and Montrose in November 2015. There has been an increase in the numbers applying to the Free Church ministry, and studying in its Saturday course (provided by the

). The Free Church of Scotland holds services in several languages, including English, Gaelic, Slovak and Spanish.

Worship

Church services

Typically, Free Church services are at 11 am and 6 pm on

Sunday Sabbath Many Christians observe a weekly day set apart for rest and worship called a Sabbath in obedience to God's commandment to remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Early Christians, at first mainly Jewish, observed the seventh-day (Saturday) Sab ...

, or the

Lord's Day In Christianity, the Lord's Day refers to Sunday, the traditional day of communal worship. It is the first day of the week in the Hebrew calendar and traditional Christian calendars. It is observed by most Christians as the weekly memorial of the ...

. A typical order of service is: * A singing of praise * A prayer * A second singing of praise * A reading from the Bible * A third singing of praise * The sermon * A second prayer * A fourth singing of praise * The

benediction A benediction (, 'well' + , 'to speak') is a short invocation for divine help, blessing and guidance, usually at the end of worship service. It can also refer to a specific Christian religious service including the exposition of the eucharisti ...

Intimations may be read out before the first singing (in effect, before the actual service begins) or immediately after the reading, or before the benediction. A 'first' reading may appear between the first singing and the first prayer. This reading will be of relevance to the 'main' reading. A message to the children may appear after the first prayer, and children may depart for Sunday school or Bible class after the second singing. Lay preachers will replace the benediction with a short prayer.

Church music

Since just after the union of 1900 until the events of 2010, only the

psalms The Book of Psalms ( , ; ; ; ; , in Islam also called Zabur, ), also known as the Psalter, is the first book of the third section of the Tanakh (Hebrew Bible) called ('Writings'), and a book of the Old Testament. The book is an anthology of B ...

of the

Old Testament The Old Testament (OT) is the first division of the Christian biblical canon, which is based primarily upon the 24 books of the Hebrew Bible, or Tanakh, a collection of ancient religious Hebrew and occasionally Aramaic writings by the Isr ...

(and in a very few instances, paraphrases of other parts of the Bible) were sung during the services. Musical instruments were never used. However, in November 2010, a special

plenary Plenary is an adjective related to the noun plenum carrying a general connotation of fullness. Plenary may also refer to: *Plenary session or meeting, the part of a conference when all members of all parties are in attendance **Plenary speaker, ...

assembly took place to debate and vote on allowing the singing of

hymn A hymn is a type of song, and partially synonymous with devotional song, specifically written for the purpose of adoration or prayer, and typically addressed to a deity or deities, or to a prominent figure or personification. The word ''hymn'' d ...

s and use of musical instruments in Free Church services. The motion was passed by a narrow margin. A number of ministers insisted on recording their dissent over the decision. One congregation and four ministers resigned over the decision. The November 2010 motion allowed that instruments can be used as an

accompaniment Accompaniment is the musical part which provides the rhythmic and/or harmonic support for the melody or main themes of a song or instrumental piece. There are many different styles and types of accompaniment in different genres and styles of m ...

and hymns may be sung, though at least two of the items of sung praise must be psalms; some congregations continue to exclusively sing unaccompanied psalms. In 2003 the church's Psalmody and Praise Committee produced a new

Psalter A psalter is a volume containing the Book of Psalms, often with other devotional material bound in as well, such as a liturgical calendar and litany of the Saints. Until the emergence of the book of hours in the Late Middle Ages, psalters were ...

called ''Sing Psalms''. Although of a similar format to the

Scottish Psalter Decisions concerning the conduct of public worship in the Church of Scotland are entirely at the discretion of the parish minister. As a result, a wide variety of musical resources are used. However, at various times in its history, the General ...

it contains metrical versions of the

with 21st century vocabulary and grammar.

Congregations and affiliations

There are over 100 congregations throughout Scotland, one in London and three pastoral charges in North America. The Church has maintained an extensive missionary commitment for its size, with missions in

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

and South Africa, which now have self-governing status. Along with the

Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales The Evangelical Presbyterian Church in England and Wales (EPCEW) is a Reformed Church, reformed and Conservative Evangelicalism in Britain, conservative evangelical Presbyterianism, Presbyterian denomination based in England and Wales with churc ...

and the

, the denomination is one of the three members of the

International Conference of Reformed Churches The International Conference of Reformed Churches (ICRC) is a federation of Reformed or Calvinist churches around the world. The ICRC convenes international meetings every four years. The ICRC was founded in 1981 at Groningen in the Netherlands ...

from Great Britain, and one of seven European Christian denominations who founded the European Conference of Reformed Churches. There is a close relationship with the

Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia The Presbyterian Church of Eastern Australia (PCEA) is a small Presbyterian denomination which was formed in Sydney on 10 October 1846 by three ministers and a ruling elder. As of December 2024 it consists of 11 pastoral charges with a total of ...

References

Bibliography

* Cameron, N., et al. (eds.) (1993). ''Dictionary of Scottish Church History and Theology''. Edinburgh: T. & T. Clark. . .

External links

*
Free Church of Scotland CollegeCongregational Websites
{{Authority control Calvinist organizations Evangelical churches in the United Kingdom Presbyterianism in Scotland Religious organisations based in Scotland Christian organizations established in 1900 1900 establishments in Scotland Anti-abortion organisations in the United Kingdom Opposition to same-sex marriage in Europe Reformed denominations in the United Kingdom Presbyterian denominations in Canada Presbyterian denominations in Scotland Organisations that oppose LGBTQ rights in the United Kingdom Anti-LGBTQ Christian organizations