The national Church in Scotland, founded at the Reformation of 1560 under the leadership of John Knox. It comprises a larger proportion of the population than most Protestant Churches in the English-speaking world, with a strong missionary tradition, especially in Africa and India. It maintains links with and supports many Churches in developing countries. Presbyterian in its governing organization and discipline, laymen or elders (ordained) play a leading part with ministers in church courts at local, congregational level (in kirk session), district level (presbyteries, overseeing congregations in a given area), and in the General Assembly. Ministers (women and men), who are ordained by presbytery, are alone authorized to administer the sacraments of baptism (of infants as well as adults) and the Lord's Supper (communion). Historically renowned for scholarship in Reformed theology, it has occupied a position in the world Reformed community out of proportion to its size.
| Religion in Scotland |
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Church of Scotland |
The Church of Scotland (CofS, known informally as The Kirk, Eaglais na h-Alba in Scottish Gaelic) is the national church of Scotland.
The Church of Scotland traces its roots back to the beginnings of Christianity in Scotland, but its identity is principally shaped by the Scottish Reformation of 1560.
Position in Scottish society
The 2001 Census:| Religion | Percentage of Population |
|---|---|
| Church of Scotland | 42% |
| No Religion | 28% |
| Roman Catholic | 16% |
| Other Christian | 7% |
| No Answer | 5% |
| Islam | 0.8% |
| Buddhism | 0.1% |
| Sikhism | 0.1% |
| Judaism | 0.1% |
| Hinduism | 0.1% |
| Other Religions | 0.5% |
The Church of Scotland has around 1,400 active ministers, 1,200 congregations, and its official membership at approximately 600,000 comprises about 12% of the population of Scotland.
Although it is the national church, the Kirk is not a "state church", and in this, and other, regards is dissimilar to the Church of England (the established church in England).
The British monarch (when in Scotland) is simply a member of the Church (she is not, as in England, its Supreme Governor). The monarch’s coronation oath includes a promise to "defend the security" of the Church of Scotland.
The Church of Scotland is committed to its ‘distinctive call and duty to bring the ordinances of religion to the people in every parish of Scotland through a territorial ministry’.
The Church played a leading role in the provision of universal education in Scotland (the first such provision in the modern world), largely due to its desire that all people should be able to read the Scripture.
The Church of Scotland’s Social Care Council (also known as "CrossReach") is the largest provider of social care in Scotland today, running projects for various disadvantages and vulnerable groups including care for the elderly, help with alcoholism, drug and mental health problems and assistance for the homeless.
The national Church has never shied from involvement in Scottish politics. In 1919, the General Assembly created a Church and Nation Committee, which in 2005 became the Church and Society Council. The Church of Scotland was (and is) a firm opponent of nuclear weaponry. The Church of Scotland actively supports the work of the Scottish Churches Parliamentary Office in Edinburgh.
Governance and administration
The Church of Scotland is Presbyterian in polity, and Reformed in theology.
Courts and assemblies
As a Presbyterian church, the Kirk has no bishops, but is rather governed by elders and ministers (collectively called presbyters) sitting in a series of courts. The Moderator of the General Assembly serves for the year as the public representative of the Church – but beyond that enjoys no special powers or privileges and is in no sense the leader or official spokesperson of the Kirk.
Church offices
The Church of Scotland Offices are located at 121 George Street, Edinburgh, EH2 4YN. These imposing buildings - popularly known in Church circles as "one-two-one" - were designed in a Scandinavian-influenced style by the architect Sydney Mitchell and built in 1909-1911 for the United Free Church of Scotland.
The offices of the Moderator, Principal Clerk, General Treasurer, Law Department and all the Church councils are located at 121 George Street, with the exception of the Social Care Council (CrossReach).
History
See also: History of ScotlandThe Church of Scotland traces its roots back to the beginnings of Christianity in Scotland, but its identity is principally shaped by the Scottish Reformation of 1560. At that point, the church in Scotland broke with Rome, in a process of Protestant reform led, among others, by John Knox. In 1560, the Scottish Parliament abolished papal jurisdiction and approved Calvin's Confession of Faith, but did not accept many of the principles laid out in Knox's First Book of Discipline, which argued, amongst other things, that all of the assets of the old church should pass to the new. By the time he died in 1625, the Church of Scotland had a full panel of bishops and archbishops. In early 1638 the National Covenant was signed by large numbers of Scots, protesting at the introducation of the Prayer Book and other liturgical innovations that had not first been tested and approved by free Parliaments and General Assemblies of the Church. The Church of Scotland was then established on a Presbyterian basis. Ironically, this document remains the subordinate standard of the Church of Scotland, but was replaced in England after the Restoration. However, controversy still surrounded the relationship between the Church of Scotland's independence and the civil law of Scotland. This began with the secession of 1733 and culminating in the Disruption of 1843, when a large portion of the Church broke away to form the Free Church of Scotland.
However, in the 1920s, the United Kingdom Parliament passed the Church of Scotland Act 1921, finally recognising the full independence of the Church in matters spiritual, and as a result of this the Kirk was able to unite with the United Free Church of Scotland in 1929. The United Free Church of Scotland was itself the product of the union of the former United Presbyterian Church of Scotland and the majority of the Free Church of Scotland in 1900. These include the Free Church of Scotland (formed of those congregations which refused to unite with the United Presbyterian Church in 1900), the United Free Church of Scotland (formed of congregations which refused to unite with the Church of Scotland in 1929), the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland (which broke from the Free Church of Scotland in 1893), the Associated Presbyterian Churches (which emerged as a result of a split in the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland in the 1980s) and the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) (which emerged from a split in the Free Church of Scotland in the 1990s).
The motto of the Church of Scotland is nec tamen consumebatur (Latin) - 'Yet it was not consumed', an allusion to Exodus 3:2 and the Burning Bush.
Theology and practice
The basis of faith for the Church of Scotland is the Word of God, which it views as being ‘contained in the Scriptures of the Old and New Testament’.
The Church of Scotland has no compulsory prayer book although it does have a hymn book (the 4th edition was published in 2005) and its Book of Common Order contains recommendations for public worship which are usually followed fairly closely in the case of sacraments and ordinances. The typical Church of Scotland service lasts about an hour, and has been characterised jokingly as a hymn-prayer sandwich, in which everything leads up to a climax in a 15-minute sermon near the end.
In common with other Protestant denominations, the Church recognises two sacraments: Baptism and Holy Communion (the Lord's Supper). Communion in the Church of Scotland today is open to Christians of whatever denomination, without precondition.
Theologically, the Church of Scotland is Reformed (ultimately in the Calvinist tradition).
The Church of Scotland is a member of ACTS (‘Action of Churches Together in Scotland’) and, through, its Committee on Ecumenical Relations, works closely with other denominations in Scotland. The present inter-denominational cooperation marks a distinct change from attitudes in certain quarters of the Church in the early twentieth century and before, when opposition to Irish Roman Catholic immigration was vocal (see Catholicism in Scotland). The Church of Scotland is a member of the World Council of Churches and the Conference of European Churches.
Current reform
In common with many larger denominations, the Church of Scotland faces many current difficulties.
As in most western denominations, the membership of the Church of Scotland is also aging, and it has struggled to maintain its relevance to the younger generations.
Since as early as 1968, all ministries and offices in the church have been open to women and men on an equal basis.
Publications
The following publications are useful sources of information about the Church of Scotland.
Life and Work - the monthly magazine of the Church of Scotland. The Church of Scotland Yearbook (known as "the red book") - published annually with statistical data on every parish and contact information for every minister. Weatherhead, published 1997 by the Church of Scotland, ISBN 0-86153-246-5 Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae - published irregularly since 1866, contains biographies of ministers.
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