To what extent was the challenge to the Kirk’s authority in the 18th century due to the Patronage Act?

Ultimately, Scottish Presbyterianism was not a homogenous religious movement, and whilst the Patronage Act was the most prominent point of contention in the Kirk Authority, various factors influenced and questioned the authority of the Scottish Kirk. Looking simply, the Scottish Kirk's authority was constantly being questioned by various groups for various reasons. The Succession Churches, Extreme Calvinist Covenanters, and Scottish Episcopalians all questioned the Kirk's Authority. The Succession churches seceded from the Established Kirk as a direct result of the Patronage Act of 1711 and the Act's implementation in the Church of Scotland in 1733 and 1766. The Succession Churches believed that the Scottish Kirk had departed from the original church of the Scottish Reformation. The Succession church argued that the Reformation promoted the principle of the election of parish ministers by their congregation, although congregational election was never actually realised in the sixteenth century. To this extent, the Church's authority was questioned because of the Patronage act. However, within the Scottish Presbyterian movement, there was also the Covenanters. The Covenanters argued that the Scottish Kirk was not upholding the Covenants of the seventeenth century. Their attack on the Scottish Kirk and British State was not solely about patronage but rather broader theological and ecclesiastical contention. The Covenanters were a threat to the British state and Scottish Kirk, and as such undermine the Patronage Act's placement as the sole criteria for criticism of the Scottish Kirk. Additionally, Episcopalians had large numbers in the North-East and Highlands of Scotland, and they had patronage within their church but disagreed with the Presbyterian ecclesiastical structure of the Established church of Scotland. As such, although the patronage act may be said to embody the attitude of the Scottish Kirk at the time, the dominance of the gentry over the church, it was not the sole reason for challenges to the Kirk's authority in the eighteenth century.