Disruption of 1843

Only Robert and Henrietta Muir's daughter, Henrietta Muir, married outside the established Church of Scotland when she married James Williamson in the United Presbyterian Church in 1861. That church was formed in 1847 with the union of the United Secession Church and the Relief Church. Such was not the case for Robert and Henrietta's grandchildren. They married in accordance with the forms of many different religions and organizations. There were two reasons for that change:

• In 1855 civil registration of births, marriages and deaths was introduced
• The great disruption within the Church of Scotland in 1843

The post-1855 civil registration of births did not include information about baptism but marriage registrations did include information about how the couple was married. The schism within the Church of Scotland set the stage for many different religious denominations.

The Disruption Assembly, a painting by David Octavius Hill; image
courtesy of Wikipedia

The Great Disruption

The Acts of Parliament recognized the Church of Scotland as the national church and the church always claimed the right to exercise independent jurisdiction over its own affairs, but the right of patronage continued to be a contentious issue. Patronage was the right of a wealthy patron or landowner to install a minister of his choice.

The Disruption of the 1843 was a schism within the Church of Scotland, also known as the established Church of Scotland, which occurred after ten years of conflict over the issue of the church's independence and relationship with the state. About 450 ministers walked out of a General Assembly meeting and formed the Free Church of Scotland. The conflict was bitter and had a profound effect on civic life.

Those ministers who left forfeited livings, homes and pulpits. Without the aid of any establishment or organization, they had to found and finance their version of a national Church from scratch.  They were generally more conservative of doctrine, for example, organs were not permitted in the church buildings until 1883.

Most of the issues which caused the schism were conceded by Parliament by 1929, which cleared the way for the reunion of the church that same year. However, the Church of Scotland never fully regained its former position after the schism. There are still many Presbyterian denominations practiced in Scotland today.

Established Church of Scotland

At the time of Robert and Henrietta (Brown) Muir's marriage and birth of their older children, there was an established Church of Scotland, which is a branch of reformed Protestantism. When capitalized, "Presbyterian," refers to churches that trace their roots to the Scottish and English churches and political groups formed during the English Civil War in the 1640s.

Presbyterian theology emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures, and the necessity of grace through faith in Christ. The Presbyterian denominations hold to the theology of John Calvin and his successors.  Local congregations being governed by sessions made up of representatives of the congregation. Presbyterians use a "book of order" to regulate common practice and order.

The Burning Bush emblem above the entrance of the Church of
Scotland offices; photograph courtesy of Wikipedia

When the Scottish Church first broke with Rome in 1560, only psalms from the Bible could be sung a cappella; any other type of singing had to be done outside of church. Musical instruments, starting with the organ, made their appearance during the 1800s; and, eventually, the church adopted the singing of hymns in worship services in 1861.

Our ancestors generally believed there were only two sacraments:

• Baptism by Aspersion (sprinkling) or Affusion (pouring) as opposed to Immersion
• Communion, symbolizing Christ's presence in the bread and wine through the Holy Spirit rather than being locally present

In the 1700s controversy still surrounded the recently restored Church of Scotland's independence. There was interference from the civil courts with Church decisions, particularly over patronage, which was the landowner's right to appoint ministers to vacant pulpits. This unrest continued during Robert and Henrietta's family's lives and culminated in the Disruption of 1843. At that time a large portion of the Church broke away to form the Free Church of Scotland. These seceding groups tended to divide and reunite among themselves leading to several different Presbyterian denominations in Scotland.