Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland

Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland
Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland, Glendale
Classification	Protestant
Orientation	Calvinist
Polity	Presbyterian polity
Origin	1893
Separated from	Free Church of Scotland (1843-1900)
Separations	Associated Presbyterian Churches (separated 1989)
Congregations	45 world wide (29 in Scotland)
Members	1200 in Scotland(Based on latest census figures)
Official website	http://www.fpchurch.org.uk/

The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: An Eaglais Shaor Chlèireach) was formed in 1893 and claims to be the spiritual descendant of the Scottish Reformation: its web-site states that it is 'the constitutional heir of the historic Church of Scotland'. It is occasionally referred to as the Wee Wee Frees (as distinct from the "Wee Frees", the post-1900 Free Church of Scotland). Although small the church has congregations on five continents.

The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland is Reformed in doctrine, worship and practice, and says that all its actions are based on the Word of God: the Bible. The subordinate standard of the church is the Westminster Confession of Faith.

In 1892 the Free Church of Scotland, following the example of the United Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the Church of Scotland (1889), passed a Declaratory Act relaxing the stringency of subscription to the Westminster Confession of Faith, which was widely perceived as paving the way for unification with the United Presbyterian Church. This was met by a protest from the minister from the island of Raasay, the Rev Donald MacFarlane (1834-1926) who was later joined by one other minister, the Rev Donald MacDonald (1825-1901) of Shieldaig. The result was that a large number of elders and some congregations, mostly in the Highlands, severed their connection with the Free Church of Scotland and formed the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland, along lines they considered to be more orthodox. By 1907 this body had twenty congregations and twelve ministers.

A few years after the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland (FPC Church) was formed, the Free Church of Scotland united with the United Presbyterian Church to form the United Free Church of Scotland, with a somewhat larger minority remaining outside the union and retaining the name Free Church of Scotland. Initially, some wondered if the two churches would merge, but this did not happen, partly because the grounds on which the later separation was based had been the Establishment Principle, rather than the Declaratory Act, which had only been rescinded post separation by the Free Church of Scotland (post 1900).The two denominations took a different view of the 1892 Declaratory Act: the Free Church of Scotland did not regard it as having been a binding measure while the Free Presbyterians did.