A KIRK DISRUPTED:
Charles Cowan MP and the Free Church of Scotland
By A. Donald Macleod
Christian Focus. 363 pages. £12.99
ISBN 978 1 781 912 690
Even those with a cursory knowledge of Scottish church history may remember that at the Disruption of 1843, when 450 ministers and elders left the established Church of Scotland over the abuse of patronage (and the government’s failure to address it), one of the wonders was that within a year nearly £233,000 had been raised for the support of the new Free Church.
Within a decade, 730 new church buildings, 400 manses, 500 schools and a new theological college had been built. (By contrast, the total annual income of the Church of Scotland was estimated at £20,000.) It was an inspiring story.
