Free Presbyterians denounce ecumenical services and Christmas 28/12/11
The Outer Isles Presbytery of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland has declared its opposition to Presbyterian ministers participating in ecumenical services.
In addition, it repudiated the “religious celebration of Christmas.”
At its recent meeting in Tarbert, the local denomination recorded its “its strong disapproval of Protestants participating in ecumenical services with Roman Catholic priests.”
Presbytery said it strongly disapproved of the holding of an ecumenical service at the Royal National Mod as well as a similar service broadcasted by Gaelic TV channel BBC Alba on Christmas Eve which involved ministers from the Church of Scotland and the Free Church, along with a Roman Catholic priest.
The Presbytery expressed “grave concern that this new practice will gain support and credibility due to the participation of ministers in it and the defence offered on their behalf.”
A spokesman said: “There is no authority in the Word of God for the religious observance
of Christmas or any other so-
“The Presbytery encourages a faithful adherence to the scriptural position, which calls for the observance of the weekly Christian Sabbath as the only appointed holy day and rejects the spurious offences made in behalf of those who have adopted the practice of less reformed churches.
“The Reformed Church in Scotland has always held, and if it remains faithful to Scripture it will always hold, that Protestants should in no way connive at or encourage Roman Catholic practices, which ecumenical services necessarily do.”