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ABOUT … THE SCHISM SERMON (1ST AUGUST)
Our church has a long history, and for much of our early history Christians at Abingdon Baptist Church suffered a great deal of persecution, both official and unofficial. The last period of persecution was in the early 18th Century when a series of laws were passed designed to discriminate against Catholic and nonconformist churches like ours. The last of these was the “Schism Act” which was passed by Parliament in 1714. This was designed to close Catholic and nonconformist schools, which would have been a serious blow to our church families who could not, in all conscience, send their children to Church of England schools.
However, before the Act could be enforced, it needed to be signed by the monarch, Queen Anne. She was in favour of the act, but was gravely ill and she died on the day the law was due to be enacted. Her successor, George I, was more tolerant, and the law was never enforced. The timely death of Queen Anne was seen by Baptists at the time as a great act of deliverance by God, and in this church a sum of money was set aside to pay one shilling for the preaching of a special sermon close to the anniversary of Queen Anne's death. This “Schism Sermon” is one of Abingdon's oldest traditions and although today our relations with other churches are excellent, we keep the tradition alive to honour our forebears who suffered so much for the sake of their faith, to remember our history, and to remember that there are millions around the world who suffer persecution for their faith today.
Our church has a long history, and for much of our early history Christians at Abingdon Baptist Church suffered a great deal of persecution, both official and unofficial. The last period of persecution was in the early 18th Century when a series of laws were passed designed to discriminate against Catholic and nonconformist churches like ours. The last of these was the “Schism Act” which was passed by Parliament in 1714. This was designed to close Catholic and nonconformist schools, which would have been a serious blow to our church families who could not, in all conscience, send their children to Church of England schools.
However, before the Act could be enforced, it needed to be signed by the monarch, Queen Anne. She was in favour of the act, but was gravely ill and she died on the day the law was due to be enacted. Her successor, George I, was more tolerant, and the law was never enforced. The timely death of Queen Anne was seen by Baptists at the time as a great act of deliverance by God, and in this church a sum of money was set aside to pay one shilling for the preaching of a special sermon close to the anniversary of Queen Anne's death. This “Schism Sermon” is one of Abingdon's oldest traditions and although today our relations with other churches are excellent, we keep the tradition alive to honour our forebears who suffered so much for the sake of their faith, to remember our history, and to remember that there are millions around the world who suffer persecution for their faith today.
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