Presbyterianism is one of the great families of Reformed Protestantism. Its name comes from the Greek presbyteros, "elder", because Presbyterian churches are not led by bishops but by assemblies of elders, lay people and ministers, elected by their congregations. In the United Kingdom it is the traditional form of Christianity in Scotland and a key presence in Northern Ireland.
Origins: Calvin and John Knox
Presbyterianism grew out of the theology of John Calvin, the Geneva reformer, who insisted on the absolute authority of the Bible, the sovereignty of God and predestination, and who organised the Geneva church without an episcopal hierarchy. His most famous pupil was the Scot John Knox, who after exile in Geneva returned home in 1559 and led the Scottish Reformation. In 1560 the Scottish parliament abolished papal authority and the Mass and adopted a Protestant confession of faith. Thus was born the Church of Scotland, the Kirk, which in the following decades developed its Presbyterian structure, entering long conflicts with the Stuart kings, who wanted to impose bishops and a liturgy similar to the Anglican one (see the history of Scotland).
In 1638 thousands of Scots signed the National Covenant in defence of their church, and the Covenanters were persecuted for decades, especially in the 1680s, remembered as the Killing Time. In 1646 the Westminster Assembly of divines drew up the Westminster Confession, still the reference doctrinal document of English-speaking Presbyterianism. After the Glorious Revolution, in 1690 the Presbyterian structure was definitively recognised, and the Act of Union of 1707 guaranteed its independence.
How a Presbyterian church works
The structure is democratic and multi-layered. Each parish is led by the Kirk Session, made up of the minister and elected elders. The parishes of an area form the presbytery, and at the top is the General Assembly, which meets every May in Edinburgh and elects a Moderator, who presides for just one year and is regarded only as first among equals. Ministers and elders have equal standing. Worship is simple, centred on Bible reading, preaching and psalm singing, in churches often bare of images.
The Church of Scotland today
The Church of Scotland is the country's national church, but unlike the Church of England it is not a state church: it governs itself and the sovereign is not its head. The King is simply a member when in Scotland, and at the General Assembly is represented by a Lord High Commissioner. The church has known painful divisions: in the Disruption of 1843 about a third of the ministers walked out to found the Free Church of Scotland, in protest at landowners' interference in the appointment of ministers; most of them returned in 1929. The Church of Scotland has ordained women ministers since 1968 and since 2022 has allowed its ministers to conduct same-sex marriages. Like other European churches, however, it is losing members fast, and at the 2022 census, for the first time, more than half of Scots said they had no religion.
In Northern Ireland, Wales and the world
In Northern Ireland Presbyterians largely descend from the Scottish settlers who arrived with the Plantation of Ulster in the 17th century (see the Irish question). The Presbyterian Church in Ireland is the region's largest Protestant church. In the 18th century many Ulster Presbyterians, the Scots-Irish, emigrated to America, where they played an important role in the history of the United States. In Wales the Presbyterian Church of Wales, born of the Calvinistic Methodist revival of the 18th century, was long the country's largest church and a pillar of the Welsh language. Thanks to missionaries and emigrants, Presbyterianism has spread worldwide: today Reformed and Presbyterian churches count tens of millions of members, with very large communities in South Korea, the United States and Africa.
See also the Anglican Church, Scotland and Edinburgh.