Mr. A.D. Bowie: a lay heretic, 1897
Mr. A. Douglas Bowie was precentor (lay singing leader) in Kirkcudbright Free Church when he was accused of having also been a member of the charismatic Catholic Apostolic Church ( wiki ) for the previous thirteen years. As a consequence h is minister, Rev Marshall, dismissed him from his role i n June 1897 . I guess the minister was new. The substantive allegation, insofar as it was articulated, was of holding beliefs of one church which were incompatible with the beliefs, and therefore membership, of the Free Church. The driving accusation was deceit. But Marshall acted outwith the proper procedure. He asked the Kirk-Session (the church council and a court in its own right) that he might deal with his organist and they had assented. By doing so they abrogated their duty as a court, and denied Bowie the chance of both a more public hearing and the opportunity to appeal . Bowie petitioned the Presbytery which effectively acted as a court of review notwithstanding the absence of