The Free Church Of Scotland

The Free Church of Scotland was formed in 1843, and separated from the Church of Scotland that year. Under a system known as Patronage, it was possible for landowners to nominate and present ministers to congregations, whether these ministers were Bible-believing Christians or not. The leaders of the evangelical movement in the Church of Scotland regarded this as an unwarranted interference on the part of the State in the affairs of the Church. They understood the historic position of the Presbyterian Church in Scotland to be that the Church and State were independent in their own spheres, and ought not to interfere in each other's affairs, but help one another for the Christian good of Scotland. The result was that in 1843 the evangelicals in the Church of Scotland formed a new denomination, which they called the Church of Scotland, Free - a name changed soon after to the Free Church of Scotland.

The Free Church Of Scotland In Lewis

A series of spiritual revivals in the Outer Hebrides at the beginning of the nineteenth century meant that the evangelicalism of the Disruption movement was welcomed in Lewis. The Free Church of Scotland's testimony was welcomed and embraced. A former minister of our congregation, Rev Murdo Macaulay, has documented some of these episodes in his book Aspects of the Religious History of Lewis. He has also written of his experiences of revival in the Carloway congregation of Lewis in The Burning Bush in Carloway. A biography of one of his predecessors, Rev Hector Cameron has been published under the title Hector Cameron of Lochs and Back. Click on these titles to read extracts from his writings.

Now find out about the specific history of Back Free Church itself and the ministers who served the congregation in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.