Records of St Monans Kirk Session.

Minutes and accounts, 1597-1617, 1629-1660, 1665-1670 and 1689-1790; Acts of ordinances of the session, 1630; Lits of subscribers towards bell of Abercrombie, 1630; Minutes, 1670-1681 and 1790-1939; Accounts, 1670-1682 and 1717-1721; Cash book, 1895-1939; Baptismal register, 1857-1978; Proclamation register, 1855-1978; Burial register, 1855-1939; Teind papers, 1804-1933; Church hall committee minutes, 1914-1960.

The church of St Monans (or St Monance), which was named of old Abercrombie, dates back to 1362 when it was founded by David II, to express his gratitude for his survival after his ship was wrecked in the Firth of Forth. The church, which replaced an earlier chapel, was burn down by the English in 1544 but was later rebuilt as the parish church of St Monans in 1646. In 1939 St Monans old parish church united with the former United Free church congregation of St Monans Braehead, the session continued under the name of St Monans after the union and the former United Free church was sold in 1947. The Kirk Session of St Monans, which was linked in 1983 with Largoward, sits within the Presbytery of St Andrews.

Each congregation of the Church of Scotland has a Kirk Session, which comprises the minister(s) and the ruling elders, all members of the Session (including the minister) being elders. The elders' duty is care for the spiritual needs of the congregation; each of them has a district of the parish assigned to him/her. The Kirk Session determines the number of elders. The minister is moderator of the Session, and there is a clerk who has custody of all the Session's records. There may also be a treasurer, and an officer or beadle. The Session must have maintained a communion roll, containing the names and addresses of the communicant church members within the parish.

The Kirk Session's duties are to maintain good order amongst its congregation (including administering discipline and superintending the moral and religious condition of the parish), and to implement the Acts of the General Assembly. The Kirk Session is at the base of the pyramid of church courts, and it is subject to the review of the Presbytery in which it is situated, and to the superior courts of the Church. Each Kirk Session elects one of its number to represent it at the Presbytery (and formerly at the Synod).

Into the 19th century, there used to be weekly collections made for the support of the poor, but as the state began to assume responsibility for their support (by means of taxation) so funds collected from communicants might be directed to special schemes (eg support of missionaries), more recently through a weekly freewill offering scheme. Seat or pew rents were also quite common (money paid for a fixed seat in a church), but declined rapidly from the 1950s. Many congregations now have a congregational board, which monitors income and expenditure. Former Free Church congregations often had Deacons' Courts, which had responsibility for the whole property of the congregation, and had to apply spiritual principles in the conduct of their affairs.

Sources: Hew Scott and others (ed.), Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae, vols. 5 and 8-11 (Edinburgh, 1915-2000).

By appointment with the Archivist. Access to unpublished records less than 30 years old and other records containing confidential information may be restricted. Special conditions apply to photographs.

Held under charge and superintendence of the Keeper of Records for Scotland.

Description compiled by Rachel Hart, Archives Hub Project, based on description created by Lesley Doig and modified by Alan Borthwick, Scottish Archive Network project.

Typescript catalogue available in St Andrews University Library Department of Special Collections and in National Archives of Scotland search rooms.

Applications for permission to quote should be sent to the University Archivist. Reproduction subject to usual conditions: educational use and condition of documents.

GB 227 CH3/1067 Records of St Monans, Braehead, United Free Church