SCOTLAND, CHURCH OF, the origi nal Scotch Church seems to have been that of the Culdees, then in medimval times the Roman Catholic Church was, to a certain extent, the national church in Scotland, not merely as having within its pale at least by profession all the peo ple, but as maintaining its independence of its powerful S. neighbor. The church resisted the claims of supremacy over it put forth at one time by the Archbishop of York, at another by the Archbishop of Canterbury; and in 1176 in self-defense cast itself into the arms of the Roman pontiff. When the Reformation struggle began, the crown remained adherent to the old faith, while the nobility tended to adopt the new. From the war of inde pendence Scotland had considered it good policy to guard against any aggression on the part of England by a close alli ance with France, and when the Refor mation began there were actually French troops in Scotland. On these the crown rested to resist the religious movement which had been begun, but the Protestant "Lords of the Congregation," who had taken up arms to defend their cause, ap plied for aid to Queen Elizabeth, who sent troops to aid them in expelling the French. By a treaty signed on July 7, 1560, it was stipulated that both the French and the English troops should withdraw from Scotland. On Aug. 24 of the same year the Scotch Parliament abolished the papal jurisdiction, prohib ited the celebration of the mass, and re scinded all the laws made in favor of Roman Catholicism. The reformers adopt ed what is now called PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH (q. v.) government, though cer tain superintendents were appointed, with the sanction of John Knox, the great Scotch reformer, whose offices after a time were swept away. The first General Assembly was held on Dec. 20, 1560. When the victory over the Church of Rome was complete, the alliance between the nobility and the Protestant preachers which had effected the triumph showed symptoms of dissolving, and a large sec tion of the former viewed with distrust, and even active hostility, what they re garded as the too democratic measures which Knox aimed at carrying out. But
one inestimable boon was gained before they parted, the universal establishment of parish schools.
The semi-republican constitution of the Church, which became more marked after the office of superintendent had been swept away, and the second book of dis• cipline published (the latter event in 1578), created jealousy in the minds of regents and of sovereigns, and four or five generations of Stuart kings put forth long and determined efforts to transform Presbyterian into Episcopal government. The project cost the lives and liberties of far more people than the short, sharp Reformation struggle had done, and ended at last in failure. The Revolution settlement of 1690, re-established Presby terianism, and the General Assembly, which had been interrupted for nearly 40 years, began again to sit and has done so annually from that time till now. Prior to the union with England in 1707, an Act of Security was passed, designed to preserve the Scotch national Church from being overthrown by S. votes.
In 1712 an Act of Parliament reintro duced patronage which had been swept away. The operation of this enactment was one main cause of these secessions; that of the Secession, pre-eminently so called, in 1733; the Relief in 1752; and, the greatest of all, that which created the Free Church in 1843.
The Church of Scotland leads the Pres byterian denomination with a member ship of over 700,000. It has missions in India, Africa, and elsewhere. In 1784 the Patronage Act of 1712 was repealed, and each congregation now elects its own pastor. Its chief rivals, the United Pres byterian and the Free Church of Scot land, were amalgamated as the United Free Church of Scotland. A small num ber of the old Free Church members de clined to join the union and remain an independent body. The United Free Church membership (1919) was 522,028.