History of the Irish (Presbyterian) Church from the Death of Charles to the Accession of James II.

From Scotch and Irish Seeds in American Soil by Rev. J. G. Craighead

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CHAPTER VIII. … continued

FROM THE DEATH OF CHARLES TO THE ACCESSION OF JAMES II.

One of the first measures adopted by Parliament after the death of Charles was the ENGAGEMENT OATH, requiring all persons to swear to be “faithful to the Commonwealth of England as now established, without a king or House of Lords.” To taking this oath many of the Presbyterian clergy were opposed, and so great was their popularity among the people, and so fully did they justify their refusal, that the attempt to enforce it proved a failure at the time. But the opportunity was seized by the sectaries, who in their councils urged the government to summon the recusant ministers and compel them either to take the oath or withdraw from the country. The crowning of Charles II. at Scone by the Scottish nobles, January 1, 1651, only increased the jealousy felt toward the Presbyterians and subjected their ministers to still severer treatment. The engagement was pressed with much greater rigor. As a result, many Presbyterian clergy were violently excluded from their pulpits, and their means of subsistence withdrawn; and, by a council of war held in March, 1651, some of them were formally banished from the kingdom. Those who ventured to remain, being deprived of their stipends and the houses of worship in which they were accustomed regularly to officiate, were forced to preach in the fields or in barns and glens.

An event took place at this time which deserves mention, for it shows the religious state of the country. While these faithful men were enduring great privations, the Independent ministers invited them to a conference at Antrim with the professed purpose to arrange some plan of agreement or accommodation between them. This invitation was accepted; but when the Presbyterians arrived at the place of conference, they found, to their surprise, that the Independent clergy designed to use the occasion to hold a public discussion before a large assembly respecting the merits of the two systems of church government. With very great reluctance the Presbyterian ministers engaged in the debate; and though wholly unprepared for the discussion, the result proved favorable to them. They were adjudged by the public to have had the best of the argument, and on returning to their people were left for a period unmolested.

An unfavorable change for Presbyterians had recently taken place in the Board of Commissioners for Ireland, the majority of whom were now strong adherents of the Baptists. Already a number of Baptist preachers had come over from England, and, propagating their peculiar tenets with great zeal, had gathered several churches. Among the most active of these propagandists were Thomas Patient, a former chaplain in Cromwell’s army, now residing at Waterford; Christopher Black-wood, who accompanied Fleetwood when he came to Ireland in 1652, and who settled in Dublin; and Claudius Gilbert, another of Fleetwood’s favorites, who was pastor of the church at Limerick. At their instigation, and influenced by political interest, the new deputy and commissioners resolved to silence or banish all the Presbyterian ministers in Ulster who refused to take the engagement oath. But in this attempt they failed. The ministers declined to subscribe, while they professed a disposition to do all they could to promote peace and order in the kingdom. The matter was brought before Fleetwood at Dublin, who referred it to a council of officers. From the known character of the army, it might have been supposed that all measures of persecution would have been abjured; but when the accused placed their refusal to take the oath on the ground of conscience, Alien, an Anabaptist, replied, “A papist would and might say as much for himself, and pretend conscience as well as they.” To this charge Adair, one of their number, responded that “their consciences could digest to kill Protestant kings, but so would not ours, to which our principles are contrary.” This was a home-thrust, and silenced the council. Some who were in heart opposed to the execution of the king drew their hats down over their faces, and others were angry because of the reflection on their conduct. The ministers were not called to appear again before the council, and were permitted to leave Dublin, though no pledge was given them that they would in future be secure from persecution.

The respite enjoyed was very brief, for in six weeks from their dismissal by the council the commissioners sent a party of soldiers to each minister’s house, to seize all papers and letters they could find. They had determined to press the engagement upon all classes, beginning with their pastors. The danger was imminent, and they only escaped by the opportune arrival of the news of the dissolution of Parliament by Cromwell. This intelligence stayed the hands of the commissioners. Their authority was now at an end, and they dared not proceed. Accordingly, the ministers were permitted to return to their homes with fair words, and blessing God for the unexpected deliverance from their troubles.

Cromwell’s accession to supreme power brought great relief to Nonconformists. Differences existed among themselves which produced no little friction in their final adjustment. But they were freed from persecution by Romanists and by the High Church party. Henry Cromwell was sent over to Ireland by the Protector to ascertain the condition of affairs, especially the disposition of the army toward the new government. His visit did much to allay the violence of parties and restore peace to the country. The suspicions which Cromwell at first entertained respecting the loyalty of the Presbyterian ministers were allayed, and they were permitted to pursue their proper calling without any serious restraints. Under their culture the churches began to revive and new ones were established, and during the Protectorate of Cromwell Presbyterianism in Ireland enjoyed almost uninterrupted prosperity. Many of those ministers who had fled to Scotland again returned.

The differences which so divided their brethren in the Church of Scotland were not permitted to enter the Irish Church and work a division in it. It required, however, the utmost prudence and vigilance to guard the Church against the ruinous schism, since there was constant danger that the causes of dissension would be introduced by the return of the exiled ministers and the accession of new men from Scotland. Great caution was observed in receiving candidates for the ministry. If from abroad, they were required to produce testimonials as to their piety, their literary attainments and their theological views, and none were received until they could furnish ample proofs of their qualifications for the sacred office. Accepted candidates were put for a time on special trial, and appointed to preach not only in the congregations which wished to call them, but in neighboring ones also, so that ministers and people might have an opportunity to judge of their gifts. If they passed this scrutiny, approving themselves good and faithful preachers of the word, the presbytery gave its assent to their settlement, and proceeded to ordain and install them over the parish.

These wise and faithful measures were successful not only in preserving harmony in the presbytery, but in promoting the growth and spirituality of its churches. The gospel was preached in places which it had never reached before, and churches were multiplied and very generally had the services of a regular pastor. While in 1653 the number of ministers was only twenty-four, in a few years it reached eighty. The presbytery, having become too large to meet conveniently in one place, and extending over too large a district of country to provide properly for destitute places and maintain strict discipline in its churches, was divided so as to compose “five meetings.” The order of the Church of Scotland, as heretofore, was carefully observed. Though these “meetings” were not strictly presbyteries acting on their own authority, but by commission, yet they performed most of the duties of such bodies, visiting congregations, giving advice to sessions and seeing that ministers, elders and congregations performed their respective duties. Thus they greatly facilitated the work of the presbytery, and helped to maintain a proper oversight of the wide and rapidly extending field. It was during this period of comparative tranquillity, extending to the death of the Protector, September 3, 1658, that the Presbyterian Church of Ireland was established on a permanent foundation.

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