History and mergers before 2020
The original Presbyteries of the Church of Scotland were created in April 1581, about 20 years after the Reformation in Scotland and the establishment of the Church of Scotland. In 1581, the original 600 parishes were grouped together into about 50 presbyteries, 13 of which were erected immediately: Edinburgh, St Andrews, Dundee, Perth, Stirling, Glasgow, Ayr, Irvine, Haddington, Dunbar, Chirnside, Linlithgow and Dunfermline. [2]
Scottish local government was reorganised in 1975, creating a new system of regions and districts to replace the long-standing counties and burghs. The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland also ordered a major reorganisation of presbyteries in the mid-1970s, redrawing presbytery boundaries to make them broadly contiguous with the then-new local government boundaries. An example was the union of the former Presbyteries of Cupar and St Andrews, creating a new Presbytery of St Andrews (which also included the Parishes of Newport-on-Tay, Wormit and Tayport, previously in the Presbytery of Dundee). This new Presbytery's boundaries mirrored the North East Fife District Council.
Following further local government reorganisation in the 1990s (replacing regions and districts with a single-tier system of councils), it was proposed to further considerably reduce the number of Presbyteries (possibly to as few as seven). This proposal was rejected by the General Assembly. However, the synods were abolished in 1993.
The following is a timeline of the mergers that took place before 2020:
From 1581 - 1700
- In 1590, the original Presbytery of Paisley and Dumbarton was split into the presbyteries of Paisley and of Dumbarton. [3]
- In 1609, a new Presbytery of Kelso was disjoined from parts of Duns and Jedburgh. [4]
- In 1611, Forfar was disjoined from Meigle, Dundee, Brechin and Arbroath. [4]
- In 1613, Selkirk was renamed Melrose. [4]
- In 1613, a new Presbytery of Earlston was disjoined from Selkirk. [4]
- In 1622, Stranraer was formed from part of Wigtown. [5]
- By 1638, from part of Dumfries, three new presbyteries were formed: Lochmaben, Middlebie and Penpont. [5]
- In 1638 Argyll was split into Dunoon, Kintyre, Inveraray and Lorn (aka Kilmore).
- In 1640, Melrose was renamed to its original name, Selkirk. [4]
- In 1643, Biggar was formed from parts of Peebles and Lanark. [5]
1700 - 1800
- Long Island, covering Lewis to Barra, was severed from Skye in 1724. [6]
- Garioch was erected in 1724; most of its parishes were from Dingwall but one was from Lorn. [7]
- Abertarff was erected in 1724. [8]
- Mull was severed from Lorn in 1726. [9]
- Tongue was erected in 1726 from parts of Caithness and Dornoch. [10]
- Long Island was split into Lewis and Uist in 1742. [11]
- In 1743, Langholm was formed from part of Middlebie. [5]
- In 1743, Middlebie was renamed Annan. [5]
- Selkirk was renamed as Lauder. [4]
- Nairn was erected in 1773 from parts of Forres and Inverness. [12]
- Garioch was renamed Lochcarron in 1775. [7]
1800 - 1900
- In 1830 Burrovoe was disjoined from the original Presbytery of Lerwick. [3]
- In 1834 Greenock was disjoined from Paisley. [3]
- Islay & Jura was severed from Kintyre in 1836. [13]
- In 1836, Weem was disjoined from Dunkeld. [4]
- In 1848, Olnafirth was disjoined from Lerwick. [3]
- In 1856, Kinross was formed from parts of the original Presbyteries of Dunfermline, Kirkcaldy, Perth and Auchterarder. [14]
- Lauder was renamed to its original name, Selkirk in 1876. [4]
1900 - 2000
- Islay & Jura was renamed Islay c. 1900. [13]
- In 1924, Abertarff was renamed Lochaber and some parishes moved to Inverness.
- In 1929, Lerwick, Burrovoe and Olnafirth presbyteries united to form Shetland. [3] (thus reflecting the original 1581 boundaries).
- In 1929, Dunfermline and Kinross united as the Presbytery of Dunfermline and Kinross. [14]
- In 1929, the original Linlithgow presbytery was split into Bathgate and Linlithgow and Falkirk. [5]
- In 1929, Biggar and Lanark were united as Lanark. [14]
- In 1929, Dumfries and Penpont were united as the Presbytery of Dumfries. [5]
- In 1929, Lochmaben and Annan were united as the Presbytery of Annandale. [5]
- In 1929, Langholm was subsumed into a new Presbytery of Hawick. [4]
- In 1929, Irvine was split into the presbyteries of Irvine and Kilmarnock and Ardrossan. [5]
- In 1929, Haddington and Dunbar were united as the Presbytery of Haddington & Dunbar. [4]
- In 1929, Duns and Chirnside were united as the Presbytery of Duns. [4]
- In 1929, Jedburgh was divided. Part of it united with Kelso to form Jedburgh & Kelso, and part united with Langholm to form Hawick. [4]
- In 1929, Earlston and Selkrik were united as the Presbytery of Melrose. [4]
- In 1929, Dunkeld and Weem were (re)united as Dunkeld. [4]
- In 1929, Stirling and Dunblane were united as Stirling & Dunblane. [4]
- In 1929, Brechin and Fordoun were united as Brechin & Fordoun. [4]
- In 1929, Nairn was merged into Inverness.
- Dornoch and Tongue united to form Sutherland in 1961. [10]
- In 1961, Forfar, Arbroath, Brechin & Fordoun were united as the Presbytery of Angus & Mearns. [4]
- Lorn and Mull reunited to form Lorn & Mull in 1963. [9]
- In 1963, Dumfries and Kirkcudbright united to form Dumfries and Kirkcudbright. [5]
- In 1964, Bathgate was renamed Livingston and Bathgate. [5]
- In 1972, Jedburgh & Kelso and Hawick united as the Presbytery of Jedburgh. [4]
- In 1974 the presbyteries of North Europe, South Europe, and Spain and Portugal merged to become the Presbytery of Europe.
- in 1976, Livingston and Bathgate was renamed West Lothian, with some charges moved to Falkirk. [5]
- In 1976, Linlithgow and Falkirk was renamed Falkirk, with some charges moved to West Lothian. [5]
- Inveraray, Islay and Kintyre united to form South Argyll in 1976. [13]
- Lochcarron and Skye united to form Lochcarron-Skye in 1976. [7]
- Elgin, Fordyce and Strathbogie merged to form Moray in 1976. [15]
- In 1976 the presbyteries of Melrose and Peebles merged to become the Presbytery of Melrose and Peebles.
- In 1976, the Presbytery of Dunfermline and Kinross was renamed as Dunfermline (with six charges moving to the Presbytery of Perth). [14]
- In 1976, the Presbyteries of Cupar and St Andrews were united as the Presbytery of St Andrews. [14]
- In 1976, Dalkeith and Haddington & Dunbar united as the Presbytery of Lothian. [4]
- In 1976, Peebles and Melrose were united as the Presbytery of Melrose and Peebles. [4]
- In 1978, Annandale was renamed Annandale and Eskdale. [5]
- In 1981, Chanonry, Dingwall and Tain united to form Ross.
2000 - 2020
- In 2003, Paisley and Greenock presbyteries were united (again) as Greenock and Paisley. [3]
- South Argyll, Lorn & Mull, and Dunoon united in 2004 to form Argyll.
- In 2012 South Uist and Barra moved to Argyll. [16]
Mergers from 2020 to 2024
From 2020 to 2024 the Church of Scotland engaged in a process of consultations with the aim of reducing the number of presbyteries to around 12. [17] [18] The completed mergers went as follows:
- On 1 June 2020 the presbyteries of Aberdeen and Shetland merged to form the Presbytery of Aberdeen and Shetland (with Shetland reducing its parishes to one).
- On 1 September 2020 the presbyteries of Dumbarton, and Greenock and Paisley (itself a merger in 2003 of Greenock and Paisley presbyteries) merged becoming the Presbytery of Clyde. This reflects the original 1581 roots (at the time called Paisley and Dumbarton). [3]
- On 1 January 2021 the presbyteries of St Andrews, Kirkcaldy, and Dunfermline merged becoming the Presbytery of Fife.
- On 1 January 2022:
- the presbyteries of West Lothian and of Edinburgh merged to become the Presbytery of Edinburgh and West Lothian.
- the presbyteries of Lanark and Hamilton merged to become the Presbytery of the Forth Valley and Clydesdale.
- On 1 June 2022 the Presbytery of Falkirk merged into the Presbytery of the Forth Valley and Clydesdale.
- On 30 September 2022 the presbyteries of Ardrossan; Irvine and Kilmarnock; Ayr; Wigtown and Stranraer; Annandale and Eskdale; and Dumfries and Kirkcudbright merged to become the Presbytery of the South West.
- On 1 January 2023:
- the newly formed Presbytery of Perth united the former presbyteries of Angus, Dundee, Dunkeld and Meigle, Perth, and Stirling.
- the presbyteries of Lothian; Melrose and Peebles; Duns; and Jedburgh merged becoming the Presbytery of Lothian and Borders.
- the presbyteries of Aberdeen and Shetland; Buchan; Gordon; Kincardine and Deeside; Moray; and Orkney merged becoming the Presbytery of the North East and Northern Isles.
- On 1 January 2024 a new presbytery covering all of the Highlands and Hebrides (except Lewis) was created: the presbyteries of Argyll, Caithness, Sutherland, Ross, Inverness, Abernethy, Lochaber, Locharron-Skye, and Uist merged into Clèir Eilean ì (the Presbytery of the Island of Iona).
Therefore, the total number of presbyteries now stands at 14. [19] In Scotland there are eleven: the nine marked above by bold type, plus the presbyteries of Lewis and Glasgow which as yet have been unaffected by mergers.
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