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Re: [Bann Valley] Types of Presbyterians



Hi Anne,

Confused? You will be! lol! Well firstly, Covenanters ARE Reformed Presbyterians. Both the Reformed Presbyterinan Church and Presbyterian Church had the same roots.. but these seperated arount 1690 when the two branches formed.
Covenanters 

The Covenanters were those Presbyterians with a concern for a strict faith and its management. They were signatories or adherents to the "National Covenant" of February 1638 which was a response to the King's attempts to change the style of worship of the Church which had not been previously approved (covenanted) by free assemblies and 

parliament. 

In August, 1643, the Covenanters signed the "Solemn League and Covenant" which was a political treaty. Under this covenant the agreement was to impose Presbyterianism on England and Ireland. In return for this, the Covenanters agreed to support the English Parliamentarians against King Charles I in the Civil War that had broken out. 
When Charles' son, King Charles II, returned from exile in 1660 the rule of the bishops (Episcopalianism) was imposed on Scotland. Many people did not conform - especially in Ayrshire, Dumfries and Galloway. These Presbyterians, followers of a strict form of their religion espoused by Richard Cameron, were bloodily persecuted, especially after an armed revolt. Some of the descendants of the Covenanters were called Praying Societies and eventually joined the congregation of Seceders. 

Seceders 

Presbyterianism became the Established Church in Scotland in 1691 but there were still those who would not accept the settlement because it did not acknowledge the supreme sovreignty of Christ the King nor was it a 'covenanted' settlement. These Seceders or dissenters eventually became the Reformed Presbyterian Church. 
In 1712, the Patronage Act reintroduced patronage as the means of appointing ministers thus repealing the earlier agreement of 1689. It also took away from the congregation its cherished right to choose its own minister There was also a trend towards liberalisation as Scotland turned more towards England for its political lead and with it, renewed theological conflict. Opposition to moderate moves were resisted with orthodoxy, subscription of the Confession of Faith and adherence to the National Covenant. 

Burghers and Anti- Burghers 

In 1733, the patronage issue finally caused dissenting congregations to form the Secession Church. The Associate Presbytery into which the Seceders formed themselves grew rapidly but the reintroduction of patronage and the taking of an oath created another split in the already divided Presbyterian church. On this occasion it was over the requirement to take an oath when elected to serve on town councils in Scottish burghs. Those prepared to tolerate this weakening in principle were called the Burghers and those against the change were the Anti- Burghers. Thus, in 1747 another split took place. 

New Light, Old Light 

Drained by the debate over patronage and already divided into dissenting groups such as the Covenanters, Cameronians, Burghers and Anti-Burghers, the Presbyterian church then faced a damaging theological challenge. There arose in the universities a movement towards 'moderatism' in which the gospel was reduced to a series of moral rules. Led by the eloquent Francis Hutcheson, son of the Rev. John Hutcheson of Armagh, he and his followers sapped the foundations of the evangelical Presbyterian church. Some ministers became more concerned with culture than salvation and dismissed their heritage. Out of this came yet another split between the the parties, the Old Light who rejected moderatism and the moderate New Light movement who held a softer line that every man must be allowed to hold only what his conscience was persuaded as right and should not be bound by any rule of faith or conduct. 

A second secession in 1752 saw another group - the Relief Church, come into being. The two groups of New Lights, who accepted the principle of moderate change eventually joined together in 1820 as the United Secession Church. The two groups of Old Lights finally joined together as the United Original Seceders in 1842. 

Legislation by the United Kingdom parliament allowing patronage led to splits in the Church, notably the Disruption of 1843 which led to the formation of the Free Church of Scotland. Further splits took place, especially over theological issues, but most Presbyterians in Scotland were reunited by 1929 union of the established Church of Scotland and the United Free Church of Scotland.

That's a basic overview gleaned from a few online sources that can explain it much better than I can! lol

As far as Reformed Presbyterian Churches go.. currently in County Donegal there are I believe only two RP churches.. 'Milford' (north of Letterkenny)and 'Stranolar and Convoy' (south East of Letterkenny).

Hope that helps!

Denver Boyd









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