10 June 1642
A.D. Persecution Leads to Presbytery Being Formed in Carrisckfergus,
Ireland
Archivist. “June
10: Persecution Produces a Presbytery.” This Day in Presbyterian History. 10 Jun 2014. http://www.thisday.pcahistory.org/2014/06/june-10-2/. Accessed 10 Jun 2014.
June 10: Persecution
Produces a Presbytery
Some
of our past posts published here on This
Day in Presbyterian History have given us portions on the life and
ministry of Francis McKemie, in the context of the beginnings of the
Presbyterian church in America. What informed Presbyterians know is that
this founder of American Presbyterianism was ordained in Ireland as a
Presbyterian minister, which itself was formed in 1642. But we are
getting ahead of ourselves.
Under
King James I, large numbers—literally tens of thousands—of Scottish
Presbyterians emigrated in 1610 to the region now known as Northern Ireland.
What they found was a barren land, laid waste by the Irish wars in the late
1500′s. These Scottish immigrants must have taken a deep breadth as they viewed
their new surroundings, and wondered what they had gotten themselves into when
they decided to leave Scotland. But James Hamilton and Hugh Montgomery,
the two founding fathers of the Ulster Scot movement, knew that these Scot
immigrants were just what was necessary to populate and transform the land.
With courage and determination, they plowed, planted, and eventually built the
region into an agricultural and industrial nation. They also rebuilt some 15 churches
which had been destroyed in previous decades. These were a people who lived out
their biblical faith; they were a people whose convictions equipped them to
meet great challenges.
The
first Presbyterian minister to Ulster was the Rev. Edward Brice who came
over in 1613. Others would join him, even as the early church in Ireland
would be more Prescopalian, to coin a word, than Presbyterian.
Presbyterian ministers labored within the confines of Episcopal churches at
first. Such a combination could not continue forever however, which was
made clear on August 4, 1621, when the Five Articles of Perth were passed in
the old country, and applied there and in Ulster. It was simply an
attempt to conform Scottish worship to the Anglican pattern of worship. The
attempt did not go well!
God’s
Spirit was also at work during these times. There were three religious
revivals which renewed the graces of Christ in believers, thus bringing God’s
elect into the kingdom. These three revivals were known as the Stewarton
Revival, the Six Mile Water Revival, and the Kirk O’Shotts Revival. Each in
turn served to prepare Church members for some hard trials in later decades.
The
first time of trial took place in 1639. The Black Oath was introduced in
Ulster on May 21. It specifically rejected the National Covenant of
Scotland, which had been signed in 1638. Those who were asked to sign the Black
Oath were to reject the National Covenant, and swear loyalty to King Charles
I. Some of the Ulster Scots signed the Black Oath, but most refused.
That
trial continued on until October 23, 1641 when there was literally an “open
season” for the persecution of Irish Protestants and Presbyterians carried out
by Roman Catholics. This author chose not to amplify the gross details of
the massacre, but it is horrible to the extreme. Estimates of those
murdered were from 40,000 to 300,000. Finally, someone thought it best to
call for military help from Scotland. Major General Robert Monro came
with a Scottish army of 2500 soldiers to defend the harried residents of the
Kirk.
But
our post ends on a positive note, for from this Scottish army came the
beginnings of the Presbyterian Church. Each Scottish regiment had a
Presbyterian chaplain. Further, in each regiment, could be found what we would
today call ruling elders. Then on Friday, June 10, 1642, in Carrisckfergus, Ireland,
a meeting was held to constitute this Presbytery. Present were
Presbyterian chaplains Hugh Cunningham, Thomas Peeples, John Baird, John Scott,
and John Aird. Four other elders joined them to establish Sessions
of Elders.
Rev.
John Baird preached the first Presbytery sermon from Psalm
51:18, “By your favor do good to Zion, Build the walls of
Jerusalem.” Rev. Thomas Peeples was elected as Stated Clerk, a position
he held for the next 30 years. A flood of applications came from
all of Ulster to join the Presbytery. By 1660, there would be 80
congregations, 70 ministers, 5 Presbyteries, and 100,000 members. And
from them would come countless people immigrating to the land in which you and
I live today.
Words to Live By: What stands out to this author is how the Lord prepared
His people by not only heaven-sent revivals of the church, but also
through His preserving and sustaining care, in raising up His church despite
terrible persecution of it. How we can be thankful that this same God is
still the God of providence, who guides and guards His people today.
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