Lathan's account of Rankin's reception into the ARP Church

Source: history-of-the-associate-reformed-synod-of-the-south-to-which-is-prefixed-a-history-of-the-associate-presbyterian-and-reformed-presbyterian-churches
Page: 254
Type: quote
Confidence: medium
Date mentioned: 1793
Topics: psalmody-controversy denominational-movement exclusive-psalmody watts-hymns
People: adam-rankin robert-lathan
Places: Kentucky
Institutions: transylvania-presbytery Associate Reformed Church Second Associate Reformed Presbytery of Pennsylvania

Context

This passage appears in Robert Lathan’s 1882 denominational history, in a chapter discussing the Bishop-Rankin difficulty in the Presbytery of Kentucky (c. 1812-1818). Lathan pauses to provide background on Rankin’s entry into the ARP Church some twenty years earlier. This is a secondary account written nearly ninety years after the events described, but Lathan had access to original documents and minutes.

Extract

Of Mr. Rankin it is difficult to speak with certainty. That he was the occasion of much disturbance in the church cannot be denied; but of much of that disturbance he was probably only the innocent occasion. Mr. Rankin came from the Presbyterian Church to the Associate Reformed Church about the year 1793. The reason he left the Presbyterian Church was the introduction of Watts’ “imitation of the Psalms of the Bible into the worship of God by some congregations in connection with the Presbyterian Church. Against this innovation he set himself with all his might, but not being able to prevent it, he withdrew, or rather because he opposed this innovation he was suspended by the Presbytery of Transylvania from the exercise of all ministerial functions. To this sentence of the presbytery he refused to submit, and made application to the Second Associate Reformed Presbytery of Pennsylvania, and was by that presbytery received into the Associate Reformed Church.

Significance

This extract provides independent corroboration of Rankin’s denominational transfer from a later ARP historian. Key points:

  1. Confirms the mechanism: Rankin “made application” to an ARP presbytery and “was received”—formal denominational realignment.
  2. Identifies psalmody as the cause: Lathan explicitly states “the reason he left the Presbyterian Church was the introduction of Watts’ imitation of the Psalms.”
  3. Captures ambiguity about agency: Lathan’s careful phrasing (“he withdrew, or rather because he opposed this innovation he was suspended”) reflects the contested narrative about whether Rankin left voluntarily or was pushed out.
  4. Shows ARP as psalmody refuge: The Second Presbytery of Pennsylvania received Rankin, demonstrating how exclusive-psalmody denominations functioned as destinations for those opposed to Watts.

This external account complements Rankin’s own pamphlet by showing how the ARP church remembered and understood his transfer.