Quote by David Taylor

“For years the Church of Scotland, the Established Church, had been tearing itself apart. Two key issues dominated: patronage - the right of landowners to appoint and even force ministers on an unwilling congregation - and the interference of the state in church affairs. On one side were the Moderates, supporters of patronage, friends of the lairds, and, according to an earlier General Assembly report, often 'inattentive to the interests of religion'... The rival faction, the Evangelicals, opposed patronage, wanted complete church independence, and insisted on a far stricter interpretation of religious doctrine. So entrenched were the divisions that it brought the Disruption of 1843 - perhaps 'the most momentous single event of the nineteenth century' - with 470 ministers out of 1,200, plus their elders, congregations and 400 schoolteachers breaking away to create the Free Church.”

Quote by David Taylor