The Very Rev Dr Finlay Macdonald offers readers a sneak preview of a personal selection of extracts from his new overview of the history of the Church of Scotland, From Reform to Renewal.

From the Sixteenth Century

In the summer of 1558 John Knox published what is probably his most infamous tract, The First Blast of the Trumpet against the Monstrous Regiment of Women. This was published anonymously, though the identity of the writer soon emerged. Possible misgivings on Knox’s part might be inferred from the fact that, though drafting the document in Geneva, he did not consult Calvin on the matter. Was he concerned that Calvin might persuade him to think again? Did he think it was just another pamphlet and hardly worth troubling his chief with? The most common misunderstanding of the First Blast is to think that the word ‘regiment’ refers to a large and overbearing female crowd and assume that the pamphlet is simply a misogynist rant. In fact the word refers to the rule of women and in the sixteenth century the word ‘monstrous’ indicated what we would describe today as ‘unnatural’. The pamphlet was aimed principally at Mary Tudor, Queen of England and, to a lesser extent, Mary of Guise, Regent of Scotland. Both were Catholic and no friends of the Reformation.

Many today would agree that Mary Tudor’s reign was monstrous (in the modern sense), justifying the title ‘Bloody Mary’. But in the sense of ‘unnatural’ it should be recalled that in those days there was a natural presumption in favour of male rulers. This was why Henry VIII had successive wives and why Edward VI, the youngest of his children, succeeded ahead of his older half-sisters. To this extent The First Blast might just have been another diatribe. The real problem, however, was that Knox didn’t simply express opinions, albeit very colourfully; he actually went on to call for action, in particular for Mary Tudor, ‘that cursed Jezebel of England’, to be overthrown. To Knox this would have seemed the perfectly logical consequence of his argument. However, it was one thing to publish a polemical tract; quite another to urge regicide. Many Protestants thought he had gone too far, including Calvin who disassociated himself from the document and banned its sale in Geneva.

From the Seventeenth Century.

Burntisland was a significant seaport, second only to Leith. Such, indeed, was the town’s importance that a new church, dedicated to St Columba, was built there in 1592 – the first following the Reformation. The General Assembly of 1601 had been appointed to meet in Edinburgh in the presence of the king. However, due to an outbreak of plague, the venue was changed to St Andrews. At the last minute it was altered again. James had injured his shoulder in a hunting accident while staying at Rossend Castle, so summoned the Assembly to meet in nearby Burntisland. A significant outcome of that Assembly was a decision to commission a new translation of the Bible. Two years later James succeeded to the English throne and moved south. There work on the project got underway and in 1611 the ‘Authorised’ or ‘King James’ version duly appeared.

The General Assembly of 1601 had been appointed to meet in Edinburgh in the presence of the king. However, due to an outbreak of plague, the venue was changed to St Andrews. At the last minute it was altered again. James had injured his shoulder in a hunting accident while staying at Rossend Castle, so summoned the Assembly to meet in nearby Burntisland. A significant outcome of that Assembly was a decision to commission a new translation of the Bible. Two years later James succeeded to the English throne and moved south. There work on the project got underway and in 1611 the ‘Authorised’ or ‘King James’ version duly appeared.

In passing it is interesting to note that the General Assembly of 1946 received an Overture from the Presbytery of Stirling and Dunblane in the same vein. This had been introduced by the Reverend G.S Hendry and it recommended ‘that a translation of the Bible be made in the language of the present day…’ The Assembly approved the proposal and resolved to approach other Churches with a view to taking it forward. The outcome was the New English Bible.

From the Nineteenth Century

We begin this section on the reform of worship with a mildly amusing account from the year 1822. Reference has been made to the non-recitation of the Lord’s Prayer in Presbyterian worship, though it was used in Episcopalian services. On 25 August 1822 King George IV, in the course of a visit to Edinburgh, worshipped in St Giles’ at a service led by Dr David Lamont, Moderator of the General Assembly. On his way to St Giles’ the Moderator fell in with his colleague, Dr Inglis, minister of Greyfriars Kirk. The two conversed and Dr Inglis remarked that, as Supreme Governor of the Church of England, the King would be accustomed to the congregation reciting the Lord’s Prayer. This rather alarmed Dr Lamont who wasn’t at all sure that he had the prayer off by heart. The fortuitous encounter concluded with the two divines withdrawing to an adjacent close where, under Dr Inglis’ supervision, the Moderator repeated the prayer, line by line, until he was word perfect.

From the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries

In 1989 there emerged a body called the Scottish Constitutional Convention. This developed from an earlier Campaign for a Scottish Assembly which had been set up following the failure of a 1979 referendum to deliver a devolved Scottish Assembly. The Convention first met in the General Assembly Hall on 30 March 1989. There was Church representation, including the Church of Scotland and the Roman Catholic Church. Some, but not all political parties participated, along with the Scottish Trades Union Congress, the Council for Development and Industry and other groups from civic society. Canon Kenyon Wright of the Scottish Episcopal Church served as executive chairman and on St Andrew’s Day, 1990,the Convention published its proposals for a legislature, elected by proportional representation and with powers to raise taxes in Scotland. Throughout this process the General Assembly expressed its support for the principle of home rule.

While prepared to express its support for devolution the Assembly declined to express a view on the 2014 independence referendum. Some thought this was wise; others were disappointed. The Church, though, was active in a non-partisan way through the publication of a report entitled ‘Imagining Scotland’s Future’. In the run-up to the referendum a range of church hosted events took place across the country. These focussed on the values people considered most important for the future and how they might be harnessed to make Scotland a better place. On the Sunday after the referendum the Moderator, John Chalmers, preached at a ‘Service Reflecting Shared Values and Common Purpose’ in St Giles’ Cathedral. This was attended by politicians, ecumenical representatives and civic leaders and broadcast world-wide. In a powerful symbolic act leaders from the five parties represented in Parliament came forward, each holding a lighted taper, and together lit a single candle. In June 2016 another referendum was held throughout the United Kingdom. The question this time was whether to remain in or leave the European Union. In the 1980s the General Assembly had expressed its support for Scottish devolution; in 2014 it declined to take sides in the independence debate. How would it respond to the European referendum? Well, on this occasion the Assembly did nail its colours to the mast by affirming the work of the European Union in promoting peace, security and reconciliation, expressing its belief that the UK should remain a member and calling for institutions which support the rights and well-being of the Union’s poorest citizens.

This article appears in the April 2017 Issue of Life and Work

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