Church and State

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 782, 1 October 1929, Page 8

Church and State

Influence of New Scottish Union (Written for THE SUN by the Rev. D. C. Herron.) SOME churchmen whose judgment we respect have stated that the union of the two principal sections of the great Presbyterian Church which takes place in Edinburgh tomorrow is the most important event in Scottish Church history since the Reformation. It is the consummation of twenty years’ unremitting effort.

Some of the biggest men in. both sections of the Church have given the strength of their best years to the task of finding a satisfactory basis on which to build a united Church. At least two Acts of Parliament have been passed in order to clear the ground from obstacles. The fact that there is a mere handful holding out indicates with what care and patience the work has been done. (At the General Assemblies in May of the Established Church, out of 700 delegates, only three voted against union; of the United Free Church, out Of 800 delegates, only 39 opposed union.) The new Church will hold a unique position in its relationship to the State. It will be recognised as the Church of Scotland. The King’s representative will continue to attend the General Assembly but will not have'; any authoritative function. Until a few years back, although it may have been merely a formal procedure, the Lord High Commissioner actually dissolved the Assembly of the Church of Scotland. But in 1927, in view of the approaching union with the United Free Church, the procedure was altered. The Moderator dissolved the Assembly and the Lord High Commissioner, the Earl of Stair, said: “I shall inform his Majesty that, having concluded the business for which you assembled, you have passed an Act appointing the next meeting of the General Assembly to be held upon May 22, 1928, and now in the King’s name I bid you farewell.” In this way was removed the last vestige of State interference with the spiritual independence of the Church. But the Church will continue to receive the teinds, which is virtually a land-tax, the history of which runs back about a thousand years. DARK DAYS OF STRIFE A relationship between State and Church so favourable to the Church is the harvest of seed sown in bitterness and blood during the dark days of persecution, when the Scottish Churchmen clearly indicated that they would be f*ee or they would die that their children’s children might he free. The Scottish nation today owes much to the courage and determination of those who in days gone by resisted the attempt of the State to control the spiritual things of the kingdom. One cannot help feeling that the relationship of the Church to the State in Scotland should help those who are endeavouring to remove anomalies in England, where a Parliament consisting of members from almost every branch of the Christian Church, and some who have no religious interest whatever, can veto a Prayer Book desired by the Church of England, and where Baptist and Presbyterian Prime Ministers appoint

bishops for the Anglican Church. Perhaps a short paragraph summarising the position would help those who want to know what the Union means. After the titanic struggle of the Church against the Stuart Kings •to take away the spiritual independence of the people came the Revolution and the settlement under William the Third. Unfortunately in the reestablishment of Presbyterianism in Scotland in William’s reign the relationship between Church and State was not made clear. Had it not been for the good offices of Carstares, a very wise Scotsman whom William had as one of his advisers, there almost certainly would have been a new conflict between King and Church. Probably because the Church was so wearied out by the previous long bitter struggle—so costly In the finest blood of the nation—its leaders were loath to precipitate another crisis and an old Act passed in Queen Anne’s time recognising patronage was allowed to remain on the Statute Book. In 1874 when Disraeli was Prime Minister a Bill to repeal the Act of Queen Anne and thus abolish patronage was introduced and passed into law. What is taking place today might have taken place any time since 1874. But it is easier to quarrel than to effect a reconciliation. INFLUENCE OF NEW CHURCH The United Church will have a membership of very considerably over a million members and will be able to make influential pronouncements on -the relationship of Christianity to social and industrial questions. It will be one of the most powerful missionary churches in the world. Already the Scottish Churches have succeeded in solving the relationship between religion and education and every State school teaches Christianity as a regular part of its curriculum. This is possible because while there have been a good many divisions in the Church these divisions have remained Presbyterian. Largely as a result of doctrinal teaching which has always been characteristic of the Scottish ministry, other denominations have gained very little footing in their country. This has made the relation between education and religion much easier to adjust than in countries where a great many different denominations exist. It will be years before the full benefit of the union will be felt, for in no instance will two congregations be compelled to unite against their own wishes. However, gradually the evil of overlapping in country districts will disappear. The general trend of . Christian thinking in our age is in the direction of Church Union. The influence of the Union in Scotland will start similar movements in other countries. St. David’s Manse.