Life Church is a congregation of the Apostolic Church located in the

Southside, Edinburgh Edinburgh ( ; gd, Dùn Èideann ) is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. Historically part of the county of Midlothian (interchangeably Edinburghshire before 1921), it is located in Lothian ...

, Scotland. The church's building was constructed for a congregation of Auld Licht Anti-Burghers in 1813. The building's first congregation was founded in 1806, when Thomas M'Crie the Elder, a leading Auld-Licht or conservative withdrew from the

Anti-Burgher The Anti-Burghers were opponents of the Burgher Oath on theological grounds. History First Secession In 1733 the First Secession from the Church of Scotland resulted in the creation of the "Associate Presbytery". This church split in 1747 ov ...

Secession Church. After M'Crie's death in 1835, the congregation called as its minister

Thomas M'Crie the Younger Thomas M'Crie (earlier spellings include McCree and Maccrie) (7 November 1797–9 May 1875) was a Presbyterian minister and church historian. He was a Scottish Secession minister who joined the Free Church of Scotland and served as the M ...

. The Auld Licht Ant-Burghers joined other factions to form the United Original Secession Church at a meeting in the building in 1842. In 1852, the United Original Secession joined the

Free Church A free church is a Christian denomination that is intrinsically separate from government (as opposed to a state church). A free church does not define government policy, and a free church does not accept church theology or policy definitions fro ...

and six years later adopted the name McCrie Free Church. In 1886, they united with Roxburgh Free Church to form McCrie-Roxburgh Free Church. In 1900, the congregation joined the United Free Church and, in 1920, the congregation united with Newington United Free Church. The united congregation retained the McCrie-Roxburgh buildings as mission halls before selling them to the Apostolic Church in 1930. They remain in use by that denomination. The church is a simple Neoclassical building of 1813. The interior was recast in 1886 by

George Washington Browne Sir George Washington Browne (21 September 1853 – 15 June 1939) was a Scottish architect. He was born in Glasgow, and trained there and in London. He spent most of his career in Edinburgh, although his work can be found throughout Scotland a ...

and refurbished in 1981. Since 2018, the congregation has been engaged in the planning process to add an extension to the building.

History

McCrie Free Church

McCrie Church began in 1806, when Thomas M'Crie the Elder, minister of Potterrow

Secession Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics l ...

Church withdrew, along with most of his congregation, from that denomination in opposition the moderate New Lichts who were then in ascendancy.Scott 1886, p. 323. The congregation remained at Potterrow until 1809, after which they met at Carrubber's Close in the

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...

before moving to a purpose-built meeting house on the corner of Davie Street and West Richmond Street in the

Southside Southside or South Side may refer to: Places Australia * Southside, Queensland, a semi-rural locality in the Gympie Region Canada * South Side, Newfoundland and Labrador, a community in the St. George's Bay area on the southwest coast of New ...

in May 1813.Dunlop 1988, p. 73. In 1827, a faction of Auld Licht Anti-Burghers who opposed the creation of the

United Secession Church The United Secession Church (or properly the United Associate Synod of the Secession Church) was a Scottish Presbyterian denomination. The First Secession from the established Church of Scotland had been in 1732, and the resultant "Associate Pre ...

in 1820 joined the Davie Street congregation. In 1842, Auld Licht Anti-Burghers joined other factions to form the United Original Secession Church at a meeting in the Davie Street meeting-house. The church became the meeting place of the United Original Secession synod. At M'Crie's death, the congregation called as minister his son

.Pinkerton 2012, pp. 108-109. The Original Secession Church united with the

in 1852 and the Davie Street congregation adopted the name McCrie Church in 1858 in honour of their first two ministers. McCrie was reduced to the status of a mission station in 1885.Ewing 1914, ii p. 6.Scott 1886, p. 324. At the encouragement of the Free Church's Presbytery of Edinburgh, McCrie and Roxburgh united on 10 January 1886.Scott 1886, p. 325. The united congregation used the McCrie buildings.Ewing 1914, ii p. 8. McCrie Roxburgh's minister, John McNeill proved so popular a preacher that congregations had soon outgrown the Davie Street building and, in 1888, the congregation considered constructing a new church. By 1910, however, McCrie-Roxburgh had the smallest membership of any of the five United Free churches in the Southside. After considering and rejecting union with Fountainhall Road in the

Grange Grange may refer to: Buildings * Grange House, Scotland, built in 1564, and demolished in 1906 * Grange Estate, Pennsylvania, built in 1682 * Monastic grange, a farming estate belonging to a monastery Geography Australia * Grange, South Austral ...

and Craigmillar Park in Newington, the congregation decided on union with Newington United Free Church on the condition that the Davie Street buildings be retained as mission halls. McCrie-Roxburgh held its last service on 27 June 1920.Lamb 1956, p. 18.Dunlop 1988, p. 74.Pinkerton 2012, p. 121.

Ministers

Rev-thomas-mccrie-1772-1835-seceding-divine-and-ec

The following ministers served the Edinburgh Auld Licht Anti-Burgher (Constitutional) Secession Church (1806–1842); Davie Street United Original Secession Church (1842–1852); Davie Street Free Church (1852–1858); McCrie Free Church (1858–1886); McCrie-Roxburgh Free Church (1886–1900); and McCrie-Roxburgh United Free Church (1900–1920): * 1806–1835 Thomas M'Crie the Elder * 1836–1856

* 1857–1890 Robert Philip * 1880–1885 Neil Patrick Rose * 1886–1889 John McNeill * 1889–1891 John Robertson * 1891–1905 James Stirling * 1906–1920 James Lawson

Life Church

After the union of the United Free Church with the Church of Scotland in 1929, Newington became a parish church and the Davie Street buildings lay outwith its territory. They were sold to the Apostolic Church, a

Pentecostal Pentecostalism or classical Pentecostalism is a Protestant Charismatic Christian movement

denomination, the following year and remain in use by that congregation.Pinkerton 2012, p. 139. Repairs were carried out in 1981.Gifford, McWilliam, Walker 1984, p. 239.

Life Church today

The Apostolic Church Edinburgh - geograph

Life Church is a member of the Apostolic Church and subscribes to the denomination's statement of faith. Charities supported by the congregation include Soul Food – providing meals and hospitality for those in need – and Bethany Christian Trust: a homelessness charity. Since 2018, the congregation has been planning to extend the church. Initial plans by architects Aitken Turnbull were withdrawn on the advice of planners in June 2018. These had included the demolition of an unlisted extension. In July 2019, news plans were submitted. These included the retention of the extension as well as the construction of a two-storey rear with an angular concrete

colonnade In classical architecture, a colonnade is a long sequence of columns joined by their entablature, often free-standing, or part of a building. Paired or multiple pairs of columns are normally employed in a colonnade which can be straight or curv ...

. After the second proposals were rejected, further plans were submitted in March 2021. These include a curved exterior wall with bronze fins dividing the windows.

Building

The building was constructed in 1813. Its exterior is a simple rectangle with a two-storey facade of five

bays A bay is a recessed, coastal body of water that directly connects to a larger main body of water, such as an ocean, a lake, or another bay. A large bay is usually called a gulf, sea, sound, or bight. A cove is a small, circular bay with a narr ...

, which includes double

Doric Doric may refer to: * Doric, of or relating to the Dorians of ancient Greece ** Doric Greek, the dialects of the Dorians * Doric order, a style of ancient Greek architecture * Doric mode, a synonym of Dorian mode * Doric dialect (Scotland) * Doric ...

column A column or pillar in architecture and structural engineering is a structural element that transmits, through compression, the weight of the structure above to other structural elements below. In other words, a column is a compression member. ...

s ''in antis'' flanking the doorway. The columns may have been added around 1830. The central bay of the facade is slightly recessed. The sanctuary has a gallery on three sides and was recast by

in 1886, including the addition of an ornate ceiling. The ceiling was removed during roof repairs in 1981. The church has been Category B listed since 1977.

References

Citations

Bibliography

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External links

Life Church

Historic Environment Scotland: Apostolic Church Davie St and West Richmond Street LB30009

Scotland's Churches Trust: Life Church, Edinburgh
{{Authority control Churches completed in 1813 Category B listed buildings in Edinburgh