Church of Scotland. The authority and jurisdiction of the Pope were abolished in 1567, and since then, except for some intervals of first, Presbytery has been the form of Church Government in Scotland. The Church has independent power to legislate and to adjudicate finally in all matters of doctrine, worship, government, and discipline within itself. Its Supreme Court is the General Assembly, which consists of ministers and elders elected by the Presbyteries, Universities, and the Royal Burghs and by the Church in India. Its sittings are attended by a Lord High Commissioner, representing the King, and it is presided over by a Moderator, who is nominated each year by a selection committee. The tenure of ecclesiastical property and endowments was reorganized by the Church of Scotland (Property and Endowments) Act, 1925 (15 & 16 Geo. 5, c. 33), the general effect of which was to transfer all ecclesiastical property and endowments, as well as the responsibility, for their maintenance and control, from the heriters to the Church itself.
In 1929 union took place between the church of Scotland and the United Free Church of Scotland, the latter Church being itself the amalgamation of the greater part of the free Church, formed in 1843, and of the United Presbyterian Church which represented most of the earlier secession movements.
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