Rev. Donald Macfarlane (1834–1926) was the founding father of the

Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland The Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland ( gd, An Eaglais Shaor Chlèireach, ) was formed in 1893. The Church identifies itself as the spiritual descendant of the Scottish Reformation. The Church web-site states that it is 'the constitutional he ...

. It began as a separate denomination when he tabled a Protest against the Declaratory Act at 25 May 1893 meeting of the General Assembly of the

Free Church of Scotland (1843–1900) The Free Church of Scotland is a Scottish denomination which was formed in 1843 by a large withdrawal from the established Church of Scotland in a schism known as the Disruption of 1843. In 1900, the vast majority of the Free Church of Scotla ...

. The Act, originally passed in 1892, had allowed a watering-down of the

Calvinism Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John Ca ...

of the church and conservative Free Churchmen like Macfarlane believed it would prevent church discipline of those who opposed the

Westminster Confession of Faith The Westminster Confession of Faith is a Reformed confession of faith. Drawn up by the 1646 Westminster Assembly as part of the Westminster Standards to be a confession of the Church of England, it became and remains the "subordinate standard" ...

as a result of it. Macfarlane and those who followed him believed that it 'altered and vitiated' the constitution of the Free Church. On 28 July 1893, at a meeting in

Portree Portree (; gd, Port Rìgh, ) is the largest town on, and capital of, the Isle of Skye in the Inner Hebrides of Scotland. Murray, W.H. (1966) ''The Hebrides''. London. Heinemann. Pages 154-155. It is the location for the only secondary school o ...

, Isle of Skye, Macfarlane joined the Rev Donald Macdonald,

Shieldaig Shieldaig ( gd, Sìldeag; on, síld- vík, lit=herring bay)W. J. Watson''Place-names of Ross and Cromarty'' 1904, p. 208. is a village in Wester Ross in the Northwest Highlands and is in the Scottish council area of Highland. Geography a ...

and Alexander Macfarlane, a schoolmaster on

Raasay Raasay (; gd, Ratharsair) or the Isle of Raasay is an island between the Isle of Skye and the mainland of Scotland. It is separated from Skye by the Sound of Raasay and from Applecross by the Inner Sound. It is famous for being the birt ...

, in forming a presbytery. Macfarlane was minister of the Free Church in Strathconon, Ross-shire (1873–1879), followed by Moy, Inverness-shire (1879–1889) and Kilmallie (1889–1893). As a Free Presbyterian minister he served in Raasay until 1903 when he was translated to the

Dingwall Dingwall ( sco, Dingwal, gd, Inbhir Pheofharain ) is a town and a royal burgh in the Highland council area of Scotland. It has a population of 5,491. It was an east-coast harbour that now lies inland. Dingwall Castle was once the biggest cas ...

congregation which he pastored until his death in 1926.''Memoir, Diary, & Remains of the Rev. Donald Macfarlane, Dingwall''; Ed. Donald Beaton; Inverness, 1929; pp. 10, 12, 16, 24, 40

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* Ministers of the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland 1834 births 1926 deaths {{Scotland-reli-bio-stub