THE SCHISM

In 1733, Ebenezer Erskine, Minister of Stirling along with Alexander Moncrieff, Minister of Abernethy and James Fisher, Minister of Kinclaven, accompanied by kindred spirits founded the Secessionist Church. This “Holy Trinity” caused much anguish throughout Scotland as congregations of the old Church were wrenched apart with families being divided and different roads being taken. As a small community Comrie was involved in the partition and much soul searching was undertaken by all and, in 1740, a new Church congregation was established.

The “Seceders” were the forerunner of the Free Church of Scotland and were a pretty unforgiving lot frowning at all the “paganism” of the established Church of Scotland. They were steeve (severe), guarded in their speech and took a “holy Willie” approach to foul language which did not cross their lips. In addition they rejected any form of music, with the exception of a Jew’s harp, for tuning purposes only!

One old lady was particularly embittered and when in full cry would quote from her Bible from 2nd Timothy, III.13: “But evil men and seceders (seducers) shall wax worse and worse.” On another occasion she told her neighbours that there was a bird in one of her apple trees and it was singing out, “Seceders, Seceders, root them out, tree and branch, tree and branch.” She thought that this was a call to the established Church to put an end to the dissent.

The miller at the Mill o’ Fortune, who was a seceder, had a relative who was a regular Minister in the established church. Hearing that his cousin was going to be preaching in Comrie he attended the service in the Auld Kirk. As soon as this revelation came to the ears of the powers that were in the Seceder Church, they hauled him on to the carpet and subjected him to severe questioning. He said, in his defense, that when he had read the Bible he had understood that Heaven was a fairly large place and that “there would be more in it than just a wee puckle o’ Seceders.” Being unsure as to how to tackle this answer the Session just gave him a severe warning to be careful in the future!

A split occurred in the Seceder Church over a dispute about the Burgher and the Anti-Burgher question and there was a man in the congregation who wanted to fully understand the disputatious nature of the problem. He approached the miller who was well up on Church matters who confirmed that “it was indeed a knotty point and appeared to be unsolvable.” “Yes”, said the man, “But what is it?” The miller replied, “The Burghers say that Adam’s hair was red, an’ the Anti-Burghers say that it was black, an’ for the life o’ me I dinna see how any livin’ mortal can settle it, for there’s naebody livin’ noo that ever saw him.” The man looked at the miller no doubt a wee bit glaikit and said, “Toof, if that’s whit they’re quarrelling aboot, I’ll nae bother about them ony mair!

The Seceder Church is the building on the right with the metal roof