Motto: "Nec tamen consumebatur" "Yet it was not consumed"
Abbreviation
CoS
Type
Communion
Classification
Protestant
Orientation
Reformed
Theology
Calvinism
Polity
Presbyterian[1]
Governance
General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
Moderator
The Rt Revd Shaw Paterson
Lord High Commissioner
Prince Edward, Duke of Edinburgh
Associations
Action of Churches Together in Scotland
Churches Together in Britain and Ireland
Communion of Protestant Churches in Europe
World Communion of Reformed Churches
Conference of European Churches
World Council of Churches
Region
Scotland
Territory
Scotland
Founder
John Knox
Origin
August 1560 (Reformation Parliament) 463 years ago
Independence
28 July 1921
Separated from
Roman Catholic Church
Absorbed
United Free Church of Scotland (incorporated 1929)
Separations
Scottish Episcopal Church (definitive separation 1689)
Free Church of Scotland (1843)
Congregations
1,136 (2023)[2]
Members
259,200 (2023)[3]
Official website
churchofscotland.org.uk
Religion in Scotland
Church of Scotland
Catholic Church
Free Church of Scotland
Free Church of Scotland (Continuing)
United Free Church of Scotland
Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland
Reformed Presbyterian Church of Scotland
International Presbyterian Church
Associated Presbyterian Churches
Scottish Episcopal Church
Eastern Orthodoxy
Oriental Orthodoxy
Baptist Union of Scotland
Methodist Church of Great Britain
Latter-day Saints
Salvation Army
Fellowship of Independent Evangelical Churches
Congregational Federation
Action of Churches Together in Scotland
Scottish Reformation
Bahá'í Faith
Buddhism
Hinduism
Islam
Judaism
Sikhism
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The Church of Scotland (Scots: The Kirk o Scotland; Scottish Gaelic: Eaglais na h-Alba) 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 (in 1982 it had nearly 920,000 members),[4] 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.[5][6] 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.[7]
The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church and established itself as a church in the Reformed tradition. The church belongs to the Presbyterian tradition of Reformed Christianity (Calvinism), having no head of faith or leadership group and believing that God invited the church's adherents to worship Jesus.
The Church of Scotland celebrates two sacraments, Baptism and the Lord's Supper, as well as five other ordinances, such as Confirmation and Matrimony. The church adheres to the Bible and the Westminster Confession of Faith, and is a member of the World Communion of Reformed Churches. The annual meeting of the church's general assembly is chaired by the Moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland.
^Nimmo, Paul T.; Fergusson, David A. S. (26 May 2016). The Cambridge Companion to Reformed Theology. Cambridge University Press. p. 248. ISBN 9781107027220. The established and national Church of Scotland was Reformed and Presbyterian, and dominated the Divinity Faculties of the ancient universities.
^"Report of the Assembly Trustees" (PDF).
^"Report of the Assembly Trustees" (PDF).
^secular Scotland is fast losing its churches
^"Section Two - Household Characteristics". www.gov.scot. Retrieved 11 January 2024.
The Scottish Episcopal Church (Scottish Gaelic: Eaglais Easbaigeach na h-Alba; Scots: Scots Episcopal(ian) Kirk) is the ecclesiastical province of the...
similar, the word Presbyterian is applied to churches that trace their roots to the ChurchofScotland or to English Dissenter groups that formed during...
Scottishchurch may refer to: ChurchofScotlandScottish Episcopal Church Roman Catholic Church in Scotland Christianity in Scotland British church (disambiguation)...
non-ordained members of the church community. A chapelry was a subdivision of an ecclesiastical parish in England, and parts of Lowland Scotland up to the mid...
Scotland (Scots: Scotland; Scottish Gaelic: Alba) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's...
Presbyterian ChurchofScotland (FPC Church; Scottish Gaelic: An Eaglais Shaor Chlèireach, IPA: [ˈanˈekɫ̪əʃˈhɯːɾˈçleːɾʲəx]) was formed in 1893. The Church identifies...
Catholic Church in Scotland (Scottish Gaelic: An Eaglais Chaitligeach ann an Alba; Scots: Catholic Kirk in Scotland) overseen by the Scottish Bishops'...
flag ofScotland (Scottish Gaelic: bratach na h-Alba; Scots: Banner o Scotland, also known as St Andrew's Cross or the Saltire) is the national flag of Scotland...
United Free ChurchofScotland (UF Church; Scottish Gaelic: An Eaglais Shaor Aonaichte, Scots: The Unitit Free Kirk o Scotland) is a Scottish Presbyterian...
moderator of the General Assembly of the ChurchofScotland is the minister or elder chosen to moderate (chair) the annual General Assembly of the Churchof Scotland...
2023-10-29. "The Origins of St Giles'". St Giles Cathedral. Retrieved 2023-11-05. "Corpus ofScottish medieval parish churches: Dunblane and Dunkeld dioceses"...
independent bodies joined at later dates, including the Pentecostal ChurchofScotland (founded in 1909 by Rev. George Sharpe) and the Pentecostal Mission...
The Reformed Presbyterian ChurchofScotland is a small, Scottish, Presbyterian church denomination. Theologically they are similar to many other Presbyterian...
primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, styled "The Most Reverend the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church", is the presiding bishop of the Scottish Episcopal...
notably "Flower of Scotland" and "Scotland the Brave". The Scottish Government has not formally adopted an official national anthem ofScotland, and said in...
demography ofScotland includes all aspects of population, past and present, in the area that is now Scotland. Scotland had a population of 5,463,300 in...
The recorded history ofScotland begins with the arrival of the Roman Empire in the 1st century, when the province of Britannia reached as far north as...
the Hielands; Scottish Gaelic: a' Ghàidhealtachd [ə ˈɣɛːəl̪ˠt̪ʰəxk], lit. 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region ofScotland.[failed verification]...
ScottishChurch College is a college affiliated by Calcutta University, India. It offers selective co-educational undergraduate and postgraduate studies...
the conduct of public worship in the ChurchofScotland are entirely at the discretion of the parish minister. As a result, a wide variety of musical resources...
A ChurchofScotland congregation is led by its minister and elders. Both of these terms are also used in other Christian denominations: see Minister (Christianity)...
The Royal Banner of the Royal Arms ofScotland, also known as the Royal Banner ofScotland, or more commonly the Lion Rampant ofScotland, and historically...
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