General Assembly of the Church of Scotland

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General Assembly of the Church of Scotland. Instituted in 1560 and meeting annually from the 18th cent., but with significant gaps before that, its constitution, statutorily confirmed in 1921, declares it to be the supreme court of a national church. Its national standing is symbolized by the attendance of the lord high commissioner (or the monarch), its freedom of action by that commissioner's place in a gallery outside assembly bounds. The 6 ministers and 35 others of 1560 have become 1,250 commissioners (elders and ministers in equal numbers since 1929) responsible, under an annually elected moderator, for their church's judicial, legislative, and administrative functions.

Clyde Binfield

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General Assembly of the Church of Scotland

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