ICRC Meeting in Pretoria October 2005

The sixth meeting of the International Conference of Reformed Churches was held in Pretoria from 12th to 19th October 2005.The Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) had applied for membership of the ICRC.

The following appeared on the Free Church web site on 20/10/05 as part of the finding of the ICRC re FCR and FCC:

“The FCC are currently engaged in civil action against the FCS. No Church should be accepted as a member church of the ICRC whilst it is engaged in taking a member church to a civil court on a matter of church discipline for the following reasons.”

Did the ICRC make reference to taking a member church to court on a matter of church discipline?

The following was agreed at Carberry in August 2004:

“We both believe that the Civil Court has no locus in relation to the intrinsic merits of what may be claimed to be the fundamental principles of the FCOS. However in determining questions of temporalities the Civil Court may be asked to determine what are the fundamental principles of the constitution of the FCOS and who adheres to them – the ‘right of continued protest’ is one such issue.”

In other words the Residual Body accepts the authority of the civil magistrate in disputes of this kind. Was this stated at Pretoria?

“a) Taking a member church to court is contrary to the Reformed foundations of the ICRC in that it contradicts the teaching of Scripture to which we are bound. 1 Cor. 66-7 ‘But instead one brother goes to law against another – and this in front of unbelievers! The very fact that you have lawsuits among you means that you have already been completely defeated already. Why not rather be wronged? Why not rather be cheated?’ ”

The Rev. Fergus MacDonald, as spokesman for the Residual Free Church delegation at Pretoria, endorsed this position.Was it made clear at Pretoria that in so doing Mr MacDonald had repudiated the history of the Free Church of Scotland? Was the Conference not reminded that the Free Church of Scotland, many of whose properties and much of its assets were secured by legal action in 1900, was a founder-member of the ICRC?

Bear in mind that two other delegates to Pretoria, the Revs Alex MacDonald and James MacIver, were members of the Free Church (Residual) delegation at Carberry and agreed with the Carberry statement. Did they dissociate themselves from Mr MacDonald’s position?