The use of the English service book by Episcopalians in post-Revolution Scotland became an increasingly contentious issue and their legal right to do so without interference from the Kirk or civil courts was ultimately determined by the House of Lords in the case of James Greenshields in 1711. The historiography of the case is sparse but historians have tended to highlight it as an example of Presbyterian persecution; a ‘most righteous judgement’ that offended Presbyterian sensibilities; a harsh lesson to the Kirk that the partnership between church and state of covenanting times was out of the question; and, importantly, as a prelude to the necessary and just Toleration Act of 1712. The historical context, which was an important element in the contemporary debate, has largely been ignored. The historical parallel upon which writers drew was the consequences of Charles I's attempt to impose the English liturgy on the Kirk in 1637, but the debate also included arguments over the nature of the liturgy adopted by Scots reformers. Likewise, little attention has been given to theological principles governing the unity of the church and uniformity of worship, which lay at the heart of the debate and had important implications for national identity. These were complicated further by the religious settlement of 1689–90 and the union of the kingdoms in 1707.