Relief Church

Scottish religious group

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July 13, 2026

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The Relief Church was a Scottish Presbyterian group founded on October 22, 1761. It emerged from a controversy over the Patronage Act of 1712, which concerned the right of congregations to approve their ministers. Thomas Gillespie, a minister who was deposed for supporting a parish's wish to refuse a minister, was instrumental in its founding, along with Thomas Boston and Thomas Colier. The Relief Church later merged with the United Secession Church in 1847 to form the United Presbyterian Church. This denomination was known for its missionary zeal and opposition to state aid for churches.12

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United Presbyterian Church
…United Secession Church and the Relief Church, which had developed from groups that left the Church of Scotland in the 18th century. The United Presbyterian Church, the Church of Scotland, and the Free Church of Scotland each claimed to represent the soundest traditions of Scottish Presbyterianism. While the three were…
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…United Secession Church and the Relief Church, which had developed from groups that left the Church of Scotland in the 18th century. The United Presbyterian Church, the Church of Scotland, and the Free Church of Scotland each claimed to represent the soundest traditions of Scottish Presbyterianism. While the three were…
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Thomas Gillespie
…who assisted in founding the Relief Church (Oct. 22, 1761), a Presbyterian group advocating the right of a congregation to approve its minister.
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…who assisted in founding the Relief Church (Oct. 22, 1761), a Presbyterian group advocating the right of a congregation to approve its minister.
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