First of all you have the wrong time scale. The 18th Century in Scotland was the time of the Moderates so what you have written has nothing to do with it. In the Anglican Church it was a time of general decay which gave rise to the growth of Methodism. I would be very interested to know when "the kings of Scotland were catholic and the bulk of the people were Presbyterian". The pastors were not paid by the State (King) but by the Tiends which was a kind of land tax. Clergy were generally appointed by the patron in the three kingdoms The Covenant was 17th Century, and while there were those who looked to the ideas of the covenant in both Scotland and Ireland they were Presbyterians. Here we are dealing with a member of the Church of Ireland. Deposition is something which happens to Ministers. While in theory people can be excommunicated for some great theological error or some heinous crime, in effect as the ultimate sanction it was in Protestantism of all kinds for generally reserved for Contumacy. What is more interesting were the civil effects of excommunication which prior to the beginning of the 18th century could be quite damaging. This is something I don't know much about in the Irish context _ would depend when in the 18th century with penal times and test acts ant the like Edward Andrews -----Original Message----- From: gordon crooks [mailto:glcrooks@bcpl.net] Sent: Friday, April 29, 2005 11:09 PM To: Scotch-Irish-L@rootsweb.com Subject: [Sc-Ir] Excommunication or deposed Linda: You have brough up the subject of excommunication, but how about "deposed" Remember the kings of Scotland were catholic and the bulk of the people were presbyterian and at that time the pastors were paid by the State (King). The Rev. William Crooks who may or may not be in my line comes to question as he was deposed by King James I, you also have to consider the signers on the convent, the whole subject is about power and relgious strife. Gordon