Author: Purple Brolly

When the Church of Scotland (CofS) was confirmed as that nation’s Established Church in the early 1700s, the other main branch of Scottish Reform Christianity set itself up formally as the Scottish Episcopal Church (SEC). Like the presbyterian CofS, it conducts baptism and communion, but it also offers confirmation, holy matrimony, confession, ordination and healing, in a similar way to the Church of England, Church in Wales and Church of Ireland, .

‘Episcopus’ is Latin for ‘bishop’ and an episcopal church is run by its bishops, who are the authority figures. The SEC has seven of these and each has a region, or diocese, of Scotland. Each diocese has one cathedral, but Argyll & The Isles diocese has two; one for Argyll and one for The Isles. The bishops elect a top bishop, called the Primus (inter pares) ~ first among equals.

Every SEC service has the same timetable in accordance with the Common Book of Prayer. The SEC maintains that it enjoys and benefits from its independence from a national tie and this is seen in the occasional policy difference with its Anglican neighbours. It is also regarded as straddling the divide between Protestantism and Catholicism, a position that encourages “lively debate”.

(Top image: Bill Harrison at geograph.org.uk / CC BY-SA 2.0)

Londoner John Nelson Darby (1800-82) decided he wanted a purer version of Protestantism than was being practised by the Established Church and so joined a small group that had its first meeting in Plymouth in 1831, hence the name ‘Plymouth Brethren’. They saw the world as wicked, necessitating the Second Coming of Christ, at which time true believers would be rushed up to heavenly safety.

By 1848 there were profound disagreements between them and the Brethren split into the Open and Exclusive branches. Exclusive Brethren have gained a negative reputation since they have nothing to do with outsiders, to the extent that they will not eat with them or live next-door to them. They do not own TVs, radios or music-players and do not use the internet. People who leave are barred for life, even from their families. This is justified by their literal interpretation of the Bible.

While there are only a few thousand Exclusives, there are perhaps 50,000 followers of the more progressive Open Brethren in the UK. Unlike the Exclusives, they now allow full-time pastors, although any man (not woman) can preach. The Lord’s Supper is a main focus of Brethren meetings and the family is the focus of Brethren life.

(Image of Brethren meeting unit in Wiltshire: Jaggery at geograph.org.uk / CC BY-SA 2.0)