Statement on “Relations between Anglican and Presbyterian Churches.” The Synod of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland convened at Glasgow on 22nd May, 1957, view with grave concern and alarm the proposals contained in the Report of the Inter-Church Committee on relations between Anglican and Presbyterian Churches.
It is clear from the Report that the aim of the proposals is to secure ultimate unity between the Churches for its thesis is that “Unity is not a contingent feature of the Church’s life, but is of the essence of it” (page 12). While it is true that unity is a feature of the true Christian Church, such unity is not to be sought but by scriptural means. In particular it is not to be obtained by attempting to gather within the pale of the Church such as hold unscriptural views of doctrine, worship and government by making concessions to their unscriptural tenets. “If there come any unto you, and bring not this doctrine, receive him not into your house, neither bid him God’s speed: for he that biddeth him God’s speed is partaker of his evil deeds” (II. John x. 11).
The main concession which the Report proposes the Presbyterian Churches should make is the introduction of Bishops-in-Presbytery. This is based on the view that “Episcopal ordination is stressed because of the representative character of the Bishop, who both is chief pastor of the local Church in the diocese and also is linked, in virtue of his consecration by Bishops of other sees, with the wider ministry of the Church universal through the ages” (page 24). For this view there is no scriptural warrant and indeed it is contrary to the express words of scripture that ordination is by the laying on of the hands of the Presbytery and that no special virtue is attached to any particular officer in the Presbytery (I. Timothy iv. 14).
This Address was drawn up by a special committee of the Synod last May, and approved by Synod. We publish it here to show the attitude of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland to the serious matters dealt with in the Address.—Editor.
While these considerations apply to all Presbyterian Churches the world over, the Church in Scotland has a particular duty in view of its history to guard against innovations of this character. Scotland should not forget the arduous struggle she had to secure the continuance of Presbyterian Church Government within her borders. The blood of her Martyrs testifies to the virulence of the attempt to foist prelacy on her national Church and also to the value which our forefathers placed on the preservation of a Scriptural form of Church Government. They were content only with a victory which secured unto this very hour that our Sovereign is bound on accession to maintain the Presbyterian Government of the Church of Scotland and to this victory the words of Alexander Henderson in 1638 might well be applied, “We have now cast down the walls of Jericho; let him that rebuildeth them beware of the curse of Hiel the Bethelite.”
While there are many other objections to the Report, these reasons alone warrant us to appeal to the people of Scotland to reject out and out this Report and these proposals, which are fraught with such dangers to our civil and religious liberties, and to urge that negotiations for Church Union along these unscriptural lines should cease forthwith.