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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'.〔(【引用サイトリンク】title=Who We Are )〕 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 claims to be ''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. ==History== 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,〔http://www.fpchurch.org.uk/magazines/fpm/2001/April/article3.php〕 rather than the Declaratory Act, which had only been rescinded post separation by the Free Church of Scotland (post 1900).The two denominations took a different view of the 1892 Declaratory Act: the Free Church of Scotland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. In 1905 the Free Presbyterian Synod debated proposals for union with the post-1900 Free Church minority. The Synod declared that it would consider union with a church which held ‘the infallibility and inerrancy of the Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments, and the whole doctrine of the Confession of Faith, both in her profession and practice’. The Synod’s assessment of the post-1900 Free Church was that ‘although she made ample profession in words’ nevertheless she ‘came far behind in her practice’. One major issue was the Free Church's employment of Dr WM Alexander, who had written a book which the FPs and some post-1900 Free Church conservatives believed to be ambiguous about the status of the Bible, as a lecturer in its college. A 1917 Free Church Reply to a FPC Statement of Differences stated underlined the fact that Dr Alexander had in 1905 withdrawn the book from circulation, expressed regret 'for any reflections which the book was fitted to cast on the infallibility of the Word of God' and in 1906 publicly reaffirmed his belief in the inerrancy of Scripture in these words: 'I cherish as more precious than life itself the absolute infallibility of the Word of God'. However a motion was carried at the 1918 FPC Synod which characterized the Reply as containing 'evasive statements and suggestions of compromise'. Some of the Free Presbyterian ministers preferred union with the post-1900 Free Church minority to maintaining a separate Free Presbyterian witness. In 1905 Revs John Macleod (Kames), Alexander Stewart (Edinburgh) and George Mackay (Stornoway) were accepted by the Free Church. In 1918, Revs John R Mackay (Inverness), Alexander Macrae (Portree) and Andrew Sutherland followed suit. The two denominations are often confused, though not as often as in the past: they were initially of a predominantly Highland back-ground, continue to share support for the Westminster Confession of Faith, and express a socially conservative outlook. However, the Free Presbyterian Church considers it a sin to use public transport to go to church on the Sabbath, while the Free Church does not. The Free Church permits the use of modern Bible translations, while the Free Presbyterian Church prescribes the exclusive use of the Authorized Version in public worship (by resolution of the Synod in 1961 〔(Synod Resolution on Versions of the Bible )〕), and as the only version recommended for use in family and private devotions.. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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