Thomas Gillespie and the Origins of the Relief Church in 18th Century Scotland.

This book examines the life and work of Thomas Gillespie and the origins of the Relief Church in eighteenth century Scotland, within the wider context of the evangelical movement both within and without the Church of Scotland. Thomas Gillespie witnessed many changes within the religious and social life of Scotland and was at the centre of a dispute within the Church of Scotland which led to the beginning of one of the most significant Presbyterian denominations in the 18th and 19th centuries. The book examines the impact of the Evangelical Revival, the influence of the Enlightenment on Gillespie's theology as well as the reasons for the development of a denomination which, by 1851, was the largest single denomination in Glasgow, achieving considerable political influence in the central belt of Scotland.