List of moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland

List of moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is a complete list of moderators of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland from the Reformation to the present day. The location of the parish or other post during the moderator's year in office is listed in brackets.

Since 1714 the General Assembly has normally been held annually every May. Moderators-designate are nominated in the October of the previous year; a formal vote is taken at start of the General Assembly in May, then the new moderator takes the chair. They holds office for one year; their final act is to formally open the following year's General Assembly and preside over the formal election of a successor.

The moderator of the current year, while serving their term as moderator, is styled "The Right Reverend", while past moderators are styled "The Very Reverend".[1]

16th century

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17th century

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No General Assembly until 1638

No General Assembly after 1653 until the restoration of Presbyterianism in 1690. From 1662 to 1673 Walter Bruce of Inverkeithing was "Constant Moderator.[5] Patrick Sympson was Constant Moderator from an unknown date to Spring 1690.[6] Gabriel Cunningham acted as Interim Moderator in 1690 (as though there had been no gap) until Kennedie was chosen to succeed him.

18th century

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19th century

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Post Disruption

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The "Disruption" in the Church of Scotland took place in 1843, with approximately one-third of the ministers leaving to form the Free Church of Scotland. The Moderator in this critical year was Duncan Macfarlan (High Church of Glasgow)

20th century

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The union of the Church of Scotland and the United Free Church of Scotland occurred in 1929, the newly reunited church henceforth being known as the Church of Scotland.

21st century

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Moderators who were later moderators of the Free Church

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See also

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References

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  1. ^ www.debretts.com Archived 2015-09-23 at the Wayback Machine
  2. ^ "GARDYNE, Gilbert of Boath, Minister of Fordyce parish, Reverend Mr".
  3. ^ a b c d Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae by Hew Scott
  4. ^ "Fasti ecclesiae scoticanae : The succession of ministers in the Church of Scotland from the reformation". 1915.
  5. ^ Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae
  6. ^ "Acts: 1690 | British History Online".
  7. ^ Scott, Hew (1915). Fasti ecclesiae scoticanae; the succession of ministers in the Church of Scotland from the reformation. Vol. 1. Edinburgh: Oliver and Boyd. p. 370.
  8. ^ Warrick, John (1913). The moderators of the Church of Scotland from 1690 to 1740. Edinburgh, London: Oliphant, Anderson & Ferrier. pp. 213-224.
  9. ^ "MINISTERS – Ayr: St Quivox Parish Church".
  10. ^ Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae; p. 384
  11. ^ "Kirk announces Dr Derek Browning as next Moderator". BBC News. 12 October 2016. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  12. ^ "Madonna minister appointed as Church of Scotland Moderator". BBC News. 9 October 2017. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  13. ^ "Rev Dr Martin Fair is Moderator Designate for 2020–21". Church of Scotland. 21 October 2019.
  14. ^ "Former deputy first minister to be Church of Scotland moderator". BBC News. 27 October 2020. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  15. ^ "Lord Wallace inducted as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland". Grampian Online. 23 May 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  16. ^ "Former deputy first minister Jim Wallace is new Kirk moderator". BBC News. 22 May 2021. Retrieved 27 September 2021.
  17. ^ Church of Scotland news release, 25 October 2021
  18. ^ "Charity chief named as Moderator of the 2023–24 General Assembly". 28 October 2022.
  19. ^ Church of Scotland website, 26 October 2023
  20. ^ Scotland, The Church of (31 October 2024). "Rev Rosemary Frew is Moderator Designate for 2025-26". The Church of Scotland. Retrieved 31 October 2024.

Sources

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  • Church of Scotland Yearbook 1908 edition, 1933 edition, 1966 edition and 2003–04 edition ISBN 0-86153-353-4. The 1908 yearbook entries (1560–1908) were compiled by the late Rev Dr Robert W. Weir.

Note

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