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The Church of Scotland is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 259,200 members in 2023. While active membership in the church has declined significantly in recent decades, the government Scottish Household Survey found that 20% of the Scottish population, or over one million people, identified the Church of Scotland as their religious identity in 2019. The Church of Scotland's governing system is presbyterian in its approach, therefore, no one individual or group within the church has more or less influence over church matters. There is no one person who acts as the head of faith, as the church believes that role is the "Lord God's". As a proper noun, the Kirk is an informal name for the Church of Scotland used in the media and by the church itself.
The Church of Scotland was one of the first national churches to accept the ordination of women. In Presbyterianism, ordination is understood to be an ordinance rather than a sacrament; ministers and elders are ordained; until recently deacons were "commissioned" but now they too are ordained to their office in the Church of Scotland.
Alexander Moody Stuart was a minister of the Free Church of Scotland. He served as Moderator of the General Assembly to the Free Church of Scotland in 1875.
The Church and Society Council was a former agency of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which was tasked with facilitating the Church's engagement with, and comment upon, national, political and social issues. It was merged with the World Mission Council on 1 January 2020, as to create the Faith Impact Forum, as part of a wide ranging reform of General Assembly bodies agreed at the General Assembly of 2019.
Finlay A. J. Macdonald is a retired minister of the Church of Scotland. He was Principal Clerk to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland from 1996 until 2010. In addition to his rapid rise up the ranks of the Church of Scotland, Macdonald is known for fostering co-operation between the various boards and committees which administer the Church and for steering the Church smoothly through its annual business meetings.
Alexander McDonald was a Scottish minister of the Church of Scotland who served as the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland from 1997 to 1998.
John Cairns Christie is a minister of the Church of Scotland. He was Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland for 2010-2011.
The moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the minister or elder chosen to moderate (chair) the annual General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, which is held for a week in Edinburgh every year. After chairing the Assembly, the Moderator then spends the following year representing the Church of Scotland at civic events, and visiting congregations and projects in Scotland and beyond.
James A. Simpson was a minister of the Church of Scotland. He was Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1994–95 - the first from a Highland parish since James Gunn Matheson in 1975.
James Leslie Weatherhead was a minister of the Church of Scotland and the moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland for 1993–1994.
John Marshall Lang was a Church of Scotland minister and author. He served as Moderator of the General Assembly in 1893 and later became Principal of the University of Aberdeen in 1900.
Elizabeth Lorna Hood, is a minister of the Church of Scotland. From 1979 to 2016, she was the minister of North Parish Church, Renfrew. From 2013 to 2014, she also served as Moderator of its General Assembly. She is an Extra Chaplain to the King in Scotland, appointed in September 2023.
Angus Morrison, is a minister of the Church of Scotland who was Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland 2015–2016. He had been nominated for the role a year earlier but withdrew because of ill health. He is an Extra Chaplain to the King in Scotland, appointed in 2023.
Russell Barr is a minister of the Church of Scotland, who was nominated in late 2015 to be the next Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
Hugh Rutherford Wyllie was a Scottish Presbyterian minister. From 1992 to 1993, he served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
John Rodger Gray, was a Scottish minister serving in Dunblane Cathedral who was Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1977.
George Johnstone Jeffrey was a Scottish minister who served as Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland in 1952.
Colin Sinclair is a minister of the Church of Scotland. He was Moderator of the General Assembly for the year from May 2019. He has served as the minister at Palmerston Place Church in Edinburgh since 1996.
On 5 July 2023, the Honours of Scotland were presented to King Charles III in a ceremony held in St Giles' Cathedral. The ceremony was formally described as a National Service of Thanksgiving and Dedication to mark the coronation of King Charles III and Queen Camilla.
References
- ↑ "Rt Rev Sally Foster-Fulton". Church of Scotland . Retrieved 1 July 2024.
- 1 2 Buchanan, Jill (28 October 2022). "Former Camelon minister Reverence Sally Foster-Fulton named as next Church of Scotland Moderator". Falkirk Herald. National World Publishing. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
- ↑ "Remember Who We Are". Life and Work. Retrieved 1 July 2024.
- 1 2 Sugden, Maureen (20 May 2023). "New moderator elected as King Charles says the church 'inspires'". Herald Scotland. Newsquest Media Group. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
- ↑ Macauley, Joanne (20 May 2023). "Hundreds of churches will have to close, says Kirk". BBC News. Retrieved 21 May 2023.
- ↑ "Moderator gives homily at Honours of Scotland thanksgiving service". The Church of Scotland. 5 July 2023. Retrieved 6 July 2023.
- ↑ McKenna, Kevin (20 May 2024). "Kindness not brimstone at the heart of the Kirk". The Glasgow Herald. Retrieved 1 July 2024.