In April 1957 the Bishops’ Report burst upon Scotland with a minor explosion. It fanned the embers of national feeling in those who, having little interest in theology, saw in the proposals an attempt by the English to absorb one of the few remaining national institutions; it frightened many Godly Presbyterians who saw in it the thin end of a prelatic wedge and the beginnings of idolatry; but it did not arouse organized popular support for its own proposals. Probably several influential Scottish churchmen would welcome the acceptance of the proposals contained in this report, but they certainly cannot claim to lead a popular movement. And so the explosion which heralded the first publication of the Report turned out to be more of a firework display than the first rumblings of a serious battle, for there was only one fairly clearly defined party—the opposition.

The result of the first round in the discussions may have been a little misleading. The General Assembly in 1957 accepted the Report for study. This meant that the majority of ministers and elders in the Assembly refused to reject the Report out of hand, but decided that it should be studied by as many ministers, elders, and members of the Church of Scotland as possible; and it also showed that very many Church of Scotland ministers admit the urgency of finding a solution to the scandal of a divided Christendom. The Report was, therefore, widely distributed for unofficial study and discussion; and after the Assembly of 1958 was sent down to the local courts, the presbyteries, for official debate.