United Presbyterian Church (Scotland)
| United Presbyterian Church of Scotland | |
|---|---|
| Classification | Protestant |
| Orientation | Calvinist |
| Polity | Presbyterian |
| Associations | merged with the Free Church of Scotland in 1900 to form the United Free Church of Scotland |
| Origin | 1847 |
| Merger of | The Relief Church and the United Secession Church |
The United Presbyterian Church of Scotland (1847–1900) was a Scottish Presbyterian denomination. It was formed in 1847 by the union of the United Secession Church and the Relief Church, and in 1900 merged with the Free Church of Scotland to form the United Free Church of Scotland, which in turn united with the Church of Scotland in 1929. For most of its existence the United Presbyterian Church was the third largest Presbyterian Church in Scotland, and stood on the liberal wing of Scots Presbyterianism. The Church's name was often abbreviated to the initials U.P.
It was founded in 1820 by a union of various churches which had seceded from the established Church of Scotland. The First Secession had been in 1732, and the resultant "Associate Presbytery" grew to include 45 congregations. A series of disputes, in 1747 over the burgesses oath, and in the late 18th century over the Westminster confession, led to further splits, but in 1820 two of the groups united to form the "United Associate Synod of the Secession Church", also known as the United Secession Church.
The Presbytery of Relief was constituted in 1761 by three ministers of the Church of Scotland, one of whom was Thomas Gillespie, who had been deposed by the assembly in 1752 for refusing to take part in the intrusion of unacceptable ministers. The number of congregations under its charge increased with considerable rapidity, and a Relief Synod was formed in 1773, which in 1847 had under its jurisdiction 136 congregations. The Relief Church issued no distinctive testimonies, and a certain breadth of view was shown in the formal declaration of their terms of communion, first made in 1773, which allowed occasional communion with those of the Episcopal and Independent persuasion. A Relief theological hall was instituted in 1824.
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