1. Introduction
Rev D W B Somerset
The Scottish Reformers’ view of Romanism is well known: they regarded it as unbiblical, evil and highly dangerous, both for individual souls and for the nation. It was a false religion that had to be opposed and rooted out, and it is remarkable how successful they were in this. Romanism completely collapsed in 1560, and this was accomplished without the death of a single Roman Catholic, other than soldiers killed in battle. There were no martyrs for Romanism (indeed the only Roman Catholic “martyr” in the whole history of Scotland was John Ogilvie who was executed in 1615 under Episcopalianism).
In this series of articles we consider how the Church of Rome appeared to Scottish Reformers between 1494 and 1560, and how they came to separate themselves from it. We begin with some general remarks and then go on to an historical survey of their views and of the steps that they took towards complete separation.
1. General remarks.
(1.) The Reformers saw the Church of Rome in an undisguised state. The Scottish Reformers saw Romanism in a position of dominance in Scotland. The Church of Rome was the established Church, with immense power and nothing to fear, and therefore no need to hide. Rome was so strong that she
1The first part of a paper presented at the 2010 Theological Conference.
could display her vices openly. Ambitious people often went into the Church because this was where power and money were to be obtained. The leading Bishop, the Archbishop of St Andrews, was one of the richest and most powerful men in the country. Rome felt herself to be in no danger from a few disgruntled merchants and lairds because so many powerful people had an interest in supporting her. In Aberdeen, for instance, the Bishop from 1547 was William Gordon, uncle of the fourth Earl of Huntly, who was one of the leading noblemen in the country. Huntly had secured the position for him, and in turn the Bishop installed his nephew as hereditary Baillie of the Diocese. A few years later, Huntly’s illegitimate brother Alexander became the Bishop of Galloway. With strength like this, Rome could be herself and this was what the Reformers saw. Since the Reformation we have always seen the Church of Rome in disguise in Scotland.
(2.) For the Reformers, Rome was the great enemy of true religion. The Church of Rome had a prominence in their thinking which she has not had since. Anyone considering the state of Scotland could see, first and foremost, the corruptions of the Church. The false doctrines of Rome were everywhere – in the mass and in idols. Anyone who attempted anything in the way of reformation soon found that Rome was the main obstacle to propagating the truth. Rome had the sort of power that communism has in China. When people criticise Knox’s denunciations of Romanism, they generally do not understand the nature of the struggle in which he was engaged. It was a life-and-death struggle against a system that was quite prepared to burn men and to sentence them to the galleys. It was not some academic debate but a war to the death, and therefore strong language was appropriate. Nowadays there are many other spiritual enemies, and Rome is not as immediately threatening in Scotland as it was. But it was otherwise in the days of the Reformation.
(3.) Their view of Rome depended on the light that they had. Generally, with Reformers such as Wycliffe and Luther, there was first of all an attempt to reform – to draw attention to matters where reformation was needed – and then, when this met with rebuff and persecution, a realisation that reform was impossible and that the only thing to do was to separate from the Church of Rome. Some people were quick to realise this, and some rather slow. The issue of separation from Rome is connected with the doctrine of the Church: what ought the Church to be like, and when is the time to separate from a corrupt Church? This is an important and continually relevant question. In the twenty-first century, we are used to tiny denominations and the freedom to separate, but formal separation from the Church of Rome was a novel and dangerous matter before the Reformation.
What is one’s duty when one realises that one is in a corrupt Church; and
what is the most effective thing to do in terms of influence and leaven? These are difficult questions to answer, and the conclusions that people come to may well depend on the degree of light that they have. The situation in Scotland before the Reformation was similar to parts of France today, where one hears of Bible studies among little Roman Catholic groups, and these people may have nowhere else to go. There is no evangelical Church nearby, and they do not have enough light to take the bold step of separating, but they have enough light to see that things are deeply wrong and that what they need is the Bible rather than the priest. Probably this was how it was for many small groups of “crypto-Protestants” in Scotland before the Reformation.