THE people of Scotland were made aware of the latest success of Episcopacy over Presbyterianism when the now annual Report of conversations between the Church of Scotland, Church of England, the Episcopal Church of Scotland, and the Presbyterian Church of England, was made public on 30th April, 1957.
Many were shocked at the new proposals, which envisage “unity through mutual adaptation” in the relations between Anglican and Presbyterian Churches. These proposals will be debated by the governing Courts of the Churches involved, as in Scotland, the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. Our observations for this issue of the Magazine must of necessity go to the printers before the debate by the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which will have taken place in Edinburgh about the 22nd day of May.
The outstanding part of the proposals include the adoption of a form of Episcopacy by the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, with bishops chosen by each presbytery and initially consecrated by bishops from one of the Episcopal churches and by the presbytery acting through appointed representatives. Now, this bishop to be appointed over a presbytery is to be a permanent “Bishop-in-Presbytery,” taking the place of the present Moderator of Presbytery who is appointed annually from among the ministers of the Presbytery. It is also stated that these permanent bishops will, of course, be members of the General Assembly, and that decisions on doctrinal and constitutional matters might have to require their consent.
The “peaceful penetration” method is being adopted to secure the gradual undermining of Presbyterianism in Scotland with a view to its ultimate elimination. As in the said Report, “No immediate action or decision is being asked from the governing bodies, beyond commending it to careful study and examination by the Churches according to their constitutional procedure.” These terms delude no one, with an informed mind and open eyes on the spirit and character of Episcopacy, in its determination to reimpose upon Scotland, the pre-Reformation state of affairs in the ecclesiastical realm. The present betrayal of Scotland by Church of Scotland dignitaries taking part in these disastrous conversations, have given the Anglicans the opportunity of inserting the bold proposal of bishops underneath the Presbyterian edifice; and this is only the commencement of the real, positive and active work of undermining and destroying the Presbyterian form of government still operating in the Church of Scotland.
The Anglicans are conceding practically nothing. This is what we expected and stated in so many words in our Notes and Comments in this Magazine a year or more ago, and so we find to-day that, “On the Episcopalian side, the development is proposed of a form of order in which the ministry and the laity would be closely linked together in decisions concerned with Church government and doctrine.” This is very mild and ambiguous talk, when we think of the struggle and frustration evangelicals in the Church of England are meeting with at this very moment over proposed new Canons in their Church, which contain the very elements of popery. The Church of England laity are being brow-beaten and ignored, where their witness is voiced on the side of the retention of Reformation doctrine and practice as far as these are embodied legally in their Thirty-nine Articles. The Church of England laity have the greatest difficulty in even protesting, within the courts of their Church, against the celebration of the Mass, by Anglo-Catholic clergy in some of their parish churches. And on this point we said the other day to a Church of Scotland minister, who expressed his willingness to examine the question of the introduction of bishops into his Church, that the day may dawn, not so very far in the future, when the Mass might be celebrated in St. Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh if things proceed the way they are doing. This may seem an extreme anticipation of things to come to some people. But it is happening under Episcopacy elsewhere in Britain, and why not in Scotland if the powerful Church of England and its High Anglican bishops get their way here.
Another serious revelation from these ill-conceived conversations is this: “From the Anglican side, it was clear to the conference that full inter-communion and unity could not be realised apart from Episcopacy.” And so the unity of the Christian Church so much “cried up” by this Report, is to be a unity which cannot be realised unless the Anglicans obtain their own way and foist upon the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, Apostolic Succession and ordination of clergy by bishops, etc. The great theme and objective of unity is the one main plank of propaganda to the people of Scotland; and we have met this plea already in argument for allowing the proposal to introduce bishops to proceed unhindered. Let those interested in these matters remember that the noise and clamour about Christian unity is about, not spiritual and gospel unity, but unity tied to Episcopacy.
Even at this time of writing, a few days after the publication of the said deplorable proposals, the unity envisaged, is even now in jeopardy, inasmuch as it already appears that the people of Scotland are sharply divided on the bishop question. At this present time, as far as we can gather, lay people in the Church of Scotland are shocked at the very thought of bishops; and it takes something quite unusual in ecclesiastical affairs to shock and rouse the indignation of the average Church of Scotland member or office-bearer. Such have expressed the view to us that the proposals about bishops will never be agreed to in their Church, but we have disagreed with their optimism. The fact is, that the mass of the lay people of the Church of Scotland are in darkness and ignorance about these conversations and undertakings with the Anglicans entered into on their behalf. And it seems that Free Presbyterians are more informed and aware of what has been going on, because of an interest in conserving the Witness for Truth and Reformation principles bound up with the Cause of Christ in the Scotland of John Knox, Andrew Melville and Alexander Henderson.
And a pertinent question arises to mind when we feel grieved and properly indignant at the betrayal of the Scottish Reformation today, and the question is—Will the General Assembly of the Free Church of Scotland revise its views on the inter-change of pulpits with Church of Scotland ministers?
In thinking of the legal aspect of the introduction of any Anglican office, form or procedure into the Presbyterian Church of Scotland, we were most agreeably interested in the action by Mr. J. H. Mackie, Conservative M.P. for Galloway, in his tabling in the House of Commons, on 30th April, 1957, the following motion: “That this House views with concern the proposals for the introduction of a modified form of Episcopacy into the Church of Scotland to be discussed by the forthcoming General Assembly, conflicting as they do with the Act of Security for the Presbyterian form of government of that Church, as laid down in the Revolution Settlement of 1690, the oath to maintain which inviolate has been the first act of every sovereign on accession to the throne since the Act of Union of 1707.”
Mr Mackie acted with alacrity and knowledge when he tabled the above motion, and in such terms. One reputable newspaper stated that its appearance is significant as an indication of the feeling prevalent in some quarters. And surely the fundamental question of Her Majesty’s oath on accession to the Throne has either been conveniently forgotten by those concerned in these conversations, or that they have further proposals to produce later on to alter the terminology of this particular Royal Oath. Suspicion is an obnoxious state of mind when ill-founded, but we feel justified in entertaining suspicions regarding future activities of the Church leaders involved in these inter-Church conversations.
Much may be written, and much will be written on the many aspects of this matter, “Bishops for the Church of Scotland,” and these are just two final observations we would make at this stage, and the first is, that Episcopacy will certainly get its way in the Church of Scotland, unless a majority of ministers and elders in the Assembly of that Church, speak and vote solidly against a continuance of the conversations concerned. Of course, a real leader is needed to unify and give power to an anti-Episcopalian movement. And the second is, that the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland has a legitimate interest in what happens relative to high ecclesiastical policy in the Church of Scotland. We are deeply concerned at every and any departure from Scriptural doctrine, government and practice, by the Church which holds and influences more people of Scotland than any other Presbyterian denomination, and more than all the other denominations together. We, as a small Presbyterian denomination, hold that we are in the direct line of the Scottish Church of the Reformation, and of the Disruption fathers, whose Bible, Confession of Faith, doctrine worship and Church government, we had, under God, conserved for us by the stand, Protest and Witness of the late Rev. Donald Macfarlane, in the Free Church Assembly of May, 1893. The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland, thus holds in Scotland the faith of our godly fathers of the Reformation, who exposed and expelled from Christ’s Church in Scotland in their day, the remnants of popery, and the system of Episcopacy with its attendant evils, and established Christ’s Church in our land under the Scriptural and apostolic Presbyterian form of Church government. We therefore, and for other reasons also, feel it obligatory upon us to expose what is being imposed upon the people of Scotland in the name of Christian unity and which may well be a yoke and burden and a trouble to the people of Scotland, beyond the borders of the Church of Scotland itself.
May God arise and by His power through His Word, revive the Cause which is His own, in our beloved Scotland, the land of Reformers and Covenanters.