Bringing the churches together - 500 years since the Reformation

Believing that salvation was a gift of God to be accepted in faith, not a commodity which could be bought and sold, Luther's particular target was the sale of letters of indulgence promising remission of sins. His direct challenge that day to Church teaching and papal authority is generally viewed as the start of the Reformation.

In accordance with convention the Moderator had a gift for His Holiness. This was a special edition of Rosalind K Marshall's Columba's Iona: A New History, commissioned by the Iona Cathedral Trust to mark the 1450th anniversary of Columba's arrival on Iona in 563AD. The book, containing a prayer of Columba in English and Spanish, was well-chosen, for in Columba Scottish Catholics and Protestants have a common ancestor, and in Iona a shared cradle. On his way to Wittenberg to celebrate the Reformed tradition the Moderator crossed an historical bridge to Columba and an ecumenical bridge to Rome.

First to navigate this ecumenical bridge was Dr Archie Craig, Moderator of the 1961 General Assembly. Dr Craig was a committed ecumenist, but the proposal that he should meet Pope John XXIII in Rome was a big deal. Three General Assembly committees considered the matter. The outcome was positive and the visit duly went ahead. There was much interest, with Dr Craig expressing the hope that his initiative had helped create a climate for dialogue and set "a pattern of courtesy, sincerity and charity." There was also humour with a wag speculating that the Pope's parting words to the Moderator had been "Arrivederci Erchie!"

The response from Rome was swift with Kirk observers invited to the Second Vatican Council in 1963. In 1975 a further step was taken when Archbishop Tom Winning of Glasgow addressed the General Assembly. Pastor Jack Glass and his supporters were out in force that day! Meanwhile, inside the Assembly Hall the archbishop spoke of "a bridge being built, centuries being spanned, a silence of 415 years being broken and friendships being renewed." He asked, "What do brothers say to one another after years, and in our case, centuries of silence? Surely, they ask for forgiveness".

The Moderator, Dr James Matheson, responded by quoting John Wesley: "I don't say come over to my side, or drive me to thine; but if my heart is as thy heart with the love of Christ, then give me thy hand."

An early outcome of the breaking of silence was the setting up of a Joint Commission on Doctrine. Since 1977 this has facilitated various conferences under the general theme of "healing of memories".

In June 1982 Pope John Paul II visited Scotland and was warmly welcomed by that year's Moderator, Professor John McIntyre. The meeting took place in the quadrangle of Edinburgh's New College by the entrance to the General Assembly Hall. Two weeks previously the Assembly had overwhelmingly rejected a petition urging that the Moderator should not meet the Pope. In 1986 Dr Kenneth Stewart, an elder from Stirling, presented a petition calling for the repudiation of language used by the 17th century Westminster Confession of Faith in referring to the Pope and the Roman Catholic Church. Such expressions, he argued, represented "a continuing offence" and were "beyond modification except by their exclusion." The Assembly readily agreed and formally dissociated the Church from such language.

In 2010 Pope Benedict XVI was accorded a state visit to Britain and was welcomed by the Queen at the Palace of Holyrood House. Before travelling on to Glasgow the Pope and Moderator John Christie had the opportunity of conversing and, later in the visit, the Moderator read the Gospel at an ecumenical service in Westminster Abbey. In 1978 Dr Peter Brodie was a guest of the Scottish hierarchy at the inaugurations of Popes John Paul I and John Paul II. In 2004 Dr Alison Elliot attended the funeral of John Paul II and the following year Professor Iain Torrance represented the Church of Scotland and the World Alliance of Reformed Churches at the inauguration of Pope Benedict XVI. Moderators Andrew McLellan (2000) and John Chalmers (2014) also included ecumenical visits to the Vatican during their periods of office.

In 1578 the post-Reformation Kirk produced a policy document known as The Second Book of Discipline. In a section dealing with church assemblies – local, regional and national – there is reference to "an assemblie qhilk is of all nationis" which represents "the hail kirk of God." It is truly striking to find this vision articulated at a time of such ecclesiastical upheaval. It remains a relevant aspiration today in Rome, Wittenberg, Scotland and across the world.

Finlay Macdonald is the author of From Reform to Renewal: Scotland's Kirk Century by Century recently published by Saint Andrew Press

1517

Luther's 95 Theses. His teaching reaches Scotland where it is outlawed but gradually takes root. Under John Knox, a disciple of Calvin, the Reformation gathers pace. In 1560 Parliament rejects the authority of the Pope and outlaws the Mass. Clergy adapt but small Catholic communities continue at Terregles, Traquair, in Banffshire and Strathbogie. In 1561 Queen Mary returns from France but in 1567 abdicates in favour of her infant son, James VI. Brought up Protestant James favours church government by bishops but in 1592 accepts a Presbyterian settlement.

1617

James makes his only visit back to Scotland after the 1603 union of crowns. That year (1603) the last pre-Reformation bishop had died in exile and the Pope formally discontinued the Scottish hierarchy. By 1610 the Kirk was episcopalian but in 1638 the National Covenant signals a return to Presbyterianism. In 1661 episcopalians regain control until 1690 when the Kirk is established as Presbyterian. In 1694 the Pope ratifies the appointment of Thomas Nicolson as bishop and Vicar-Apostolic, an early step towards Catholic recovery.

1717

Ten years on from the Union of Parliaments two church measures have been enacted. One recognises a separate Scottish Episcopal Church; the other restores patronage, transferring the right to choose Kirk ministers from congregations to local landowners – a potent source of grievance. In 1716 a discreet Catholic seminary opens at Scalan in Banffshire. Jacobite risings in 1715 and 1745 threaten the Hanoverian succession. Enlightenment thinking is welcomed by some ministers while others are more cautious. The 1793 Catholic Relief Act allows for freedom of worship.

1817

Thomas Chalmers, minister of Glasgow's Tron Church, draws attention to dire levels of social deprivation. In 1824 the Kirk commits to foreign missions. In 1829 Parliament passes the Catholic Emancipation Act. The vetoing by the courts of major Church policies leads to the Disruption of 1843 when over a third of ministers withdraw to constitute the Free Church. In 1878 the Catholic hierarchy is reinstated.

1917

The world war has a year to run, bringing continuing suffering regardless of religious affiliation. In 1910 an ecumenical World Missionary Conference was held in Edinburgh. In 1918 Catholic schools are brought within the national education system. In 1929 post-Disruption divisions are largely healed by Kirk reunion. In the 1960s ministry and eldership are opened to women.

2017

Coming full circle, the General Assembly notes the forthcoming Reformation anniversary and recalls words of Pope Francis spoken on 31 October 2016 at the Lutheran Cathedral in Lund, Sweden: "We have the opportunity to mend a critical moment in our history by moving beyond the controversies and disagreements that have often prevented us from understanding one another." Amen to that.