The Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland is the oldest in the growing family of Reformed Presbyterian Churches which can be found throughout the world.
As its name suggests, the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland is a ‘Reformed’ church. As such, it belongs to the family of Churches which ‘re-formed’ out of Western Roman Catholicism in the 16th century. It is also ‘Presbyterian’ in that it belongs to the particular family of Reformed churches governed by a plurality of Presbyters (Elders) ruling in parity. However, its roots go deeper than the Reformation, and, resting upon the ancient creeds of Christendom and, ultimately, upon the Word of God itself, it confesses itself to be a constituent member of the catholic (or’ universal’) church, which is the house and family of God, ‘built upon the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus himself being the cornerstone’ (Ephesians 2:21).
More immediately, the origins of the Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland, as a distinct denomination of Christians, can be traced back to the First Reformation in Scotland in 1560 and the original Reformed Church of Scotland from which it claims unbroken descent.