Free Church of Scotland
| Free Church of Scotland | |
|---|---|
|
|
| General | |
| Belief | Calvinism |
| organization | Presbyterianism |
| distribution | Scotland and North America |
| membership | World Reformed Fellowship , International Conference of Reformed Churches |
| Communities | approx. 105 |
| Others | |
| Website | freechurch.org |
The Free Church of Scotland is a Reformed Free Church in Scotland . It existed in its first form from 1843 to 1900 and has existed in its current form in Scotland since 1900. She is a member of the International Conference of Reformed Churches .
history
1843 to 1900
The Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900) was created through a split from the Church of Scotland in 1843, the so-called "Disruption" . The split was preceded by disputes between the majority wing of the Moderates and the minority wing of the Evangelicals around Thomas Chalmers , the main point of contention being the position on the issue of patronage rights . The majority took the position here that z. For example, when filling parish posts, the patron would have a privilege, while the minority saw patronage as an impermissible interference by the patron or state in the affairs of the church and (especially against the background of urbanization) as an obstacle to the establishment of new churches. In 1843 451 of 1203 pastors and almost a quarter of the population left the Church of Scotland for this reason and constituted itself as a free church independent of the state, which soon numbered more than 500 parishes.
The Free Church , which was originally more strongly influenced in its theology than the Church of Scotland by a Calvinist orthodoxy , turned in the last decades of the 19th century after a debate initiated by the theologian William Robertson Smith to a less traditionalist approach.
In 1900, the Free Church of Scotland largely united with the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland to form the United Free Church of Scotland , which in turn reunited in its large majority in 1929 with the Church of Scotland .
1900 until today
A small minority of the original Free Church of Scotland , which advocated conservative Calvinism and has (te) its geographical focus in the Highlands and the Hebrides , did not follow unification in 1900 and still exists today. This direction, mockingly called Wee Frees (“ The small / tiny Free Church ”) in Scotland, gained attention far beyond Scotland in 1904 when it succeeded in legal proceedings to become the legal successor to the “old” Free Church and thus all of its assets as well to get all properties awarded. The conflict was finally resolved by the British Parliament , which divided up the disputed property and awarded the new Free Church a share of it beyond its importance.
In January 2000 a group split off from this church under the name Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) .
Picture gallery of individual churches
Free Church in South Dell
Free Church in Coll
Free Church in Kilmaluag op Skye
Free Church in Lonmore
Free Church in Waternish
Free Church in Bennecarrigan
Free Church in Brora
Free Church in Arnisdale
Free Church in Glenelg
Free Church in Applecross
literature
- The church turmoil in England. III. The Free Scottish Church . In: Illustrirte Zeitung . No. 29 . J. J. Weber, Leipzig January 13, 1844, p. 41–43 ( books.google.de ).
Web links
- www.freechurch.org Official website
Individual evidence
- ^ Gerhard Lindemann : For piety in freedom. The history of the Evangelical Alliance in the Age of Liberalism (1846–1879). Lit, Berlin 2011, ISBN 978-3-8258-8920-3 , p. 36f.