List of Church of Scotland synods and presbyteries
Encyclopedia
The Church of Scotland
has a Presbyterian
structure, which means it is organised under a hierarchy of courts. Traditionally there were four levels of courts: the Kirk Session (at congregational level), the Presbytery (at local area level), the Synod
(at a regional level) and the General Assembly
(the Church's highest court). However, the synods were abolished in the early 1990s as they had ceased to have any significant power.
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. Since 2003 several presbyteries have voluntarily sought permission to merge, as described below. Despite these mergers the existing Presbytery numbering system is being retained, albeit now with some gaps.
It is the presbyteries which have oversight of parishes and pastoral responsibility for parish ministers, and the Kirk Sessions of the individual parishes are subordinated to them. A parish minister is answerable to the Presbytery, not to the Kirk Session. The following is a list of presbyteries, arranged according to historical synod, and with the presbytery code number from the Church of Scotland Yearbook.
Church of Scotland
The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....
has a Presbyterian
Presbyterian polity
Presbyterian polity is a method of church governance typified by the rule of assemblies of presbyters, or elders. Each local church is governed by a body of elected elders usually called the session or consistory, though other terms, such as church board, may apply...
structure, which means it is organised under a hierarchy of courts. Traditionally there were four levels of courts: the Kirk Session (at congregational level), the Presbytery (at local area level), the Synod
Synod
A synod historically is a council of a church, usually convened to decide an issue of doctrine, administration or application. In modern usage, the word often refers to the governing body of a particular church, whether its members are meeting or not...
(at a regional level) and the General Assembly
General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the sovereign and highest court of the Church of Scotland, and is thus the Church's governing body[1] An Introduction to Practice and Procedure in the Church of Scotland, A Gordon McGillivray, 2nd Edition .-Church courts:As a Presbyterian church,...
(the Church's highest court). However, the synods were abolished in the early 1990s as they had ceased to have any significant power.
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. Since 2003 several presbyteries have voluntarily sought permission to merge, as described below. Despite these mergers the existing Presbytery numbering system is being retained, albeit now with some gaps.
It is the presbyteries which have oversight of parishes and pastoral responsibility for parish ministers, and the Kirk Sessions of the individual parishes are subordinated to them. A parish minister is answerable to the Presbytery, not to the Kirk Session. The following is a list of presbyteries, arranged according to historical synod, and with the presbytery code number from the Church of Scotland Yearbook.
Synod of Lothian
- 1. Presbytery of EdinburghPresbytery of EdinburghThe Presbytery of Edinburgh is one of the forty-six presbyteries of the Church of Scotland, being the local presbytery for Edinburgh. Its boundary is almost identical to that of the City of Edinburgh Council area .The current Clerk is the Reverend Dr. George J. Whyte...
http://www.edinburghpresbytery.org.uk - 2. Presbytery of West Lothian
- 3. Presbytery of Lothian
Synod of The Borders
- 4. Presbytery of Melrose and Peebles
- 5. Presbytery of Duns
- 6. Presbytery of Jedburgh
Synod of Dumfries and Galloway
- 7. Presbytery of Annandale and Eskdale
- 8. Presbytery of Dumfries and Kirkcudbright
- 9. Presbytery of Wigtown and Stranraer
Synod of Ayr
- 10. Presbytery of Ayr http://www.ayrpresbytery.co.uk
- 11. Presbytery of Irvine and Kilmarnock
- 12. Presbytery of Ardrossan http://www.ardrossanpresbytery.org.uk
Synod of Clydesdale
- 13. Presbytery of Lanark
- 14. Presbytery of Greenock and Paisley, created in 2003 by the merger of:
- Presbytery of Paisley
- Presbytery of Greenock
- 16. Presbytery of Glasgow http://www.presbyteryofglasgow.org.uk
- 17. Presbytery of Hamilton http://www.presbyteryofhamilton.co.uk
- 18. Presbytery of Dumbarton http://www.presbyteryofdumbarton.org.uk
Synod of Argyll
- 19. Presbytery of Argyll, created by the recent merger of:
- Presbytery of South Argyll
- Presbytery of Dunoon
- Presbytery of Lorn and Mull
Synod of Forth
- 22. Presbytery of Falkirk http://www.falkirkpresbytery.org
- 23. Presbytery of Stirling
Synod of Fife
- 24. Presbytery of Dunfermline http://www.dunfermline.presbytery.org.uk
- 25. Presbytery of Kirkcaldy
- 26. Presbytery of St Andrews http://www.standrewspresbytery.org.UK
Synod of Perth and Angus
- 27. Presbytery of Dunkeld and Meigle
- 28. Presbytery of Perth
- 29. Presbytery of Dundee http://web.archive.org/web/20091021145553/http://dundeepresbytery.org.uk
- 30. Presbytery of Angus
Synod of Grampian
- 31. Presbytery of AberdeenPresbytery of AberdeenThe Presbytery of Aberdeen is one of the forty-six presbyteries of the Church of Scotland, being the local presbytery for the city of Aberdeen. The current moderator is the Rev John M Watson, who is minister of St Mark's Church. The presbytery represents and supervises forty-four Church of Scotland...
- 32. Presbytery of Kincardine and Deeside
- 33. Presbytery of Gordon http://www.presbyteryofgordon.org.uk/
- 34. Presbytery of Buchan
- 35. Presbytery of Moray http://www.moraypresbytery.org.uk
Synod of The Southern Highlands
- 36. Presbytery of AbernethyPresbytery of AbernethyThe Presbytery of Abernethy is one of the forty-six presbyteries of the Church of Scotland, being the local presbytery for the area of Abernethy. The current clerk is the Rev James A.I. MacEwan, who is minister of Abernethy Church. The presbytery represents and supervises twelve Church of Scotland...
- 37. Presbytery of Inverness http://www.invernesspresbytery.co.uk
- 38. Presbytery of Lochaber
Synod of Ross, Sutherland and Caithness
- 39. Presbytery of Ross
- 40. Presbytery of Sutherland
- 41. Presbytery of Caithness
- 42. Presbytery of Lochcarron and Skye
- 43. Presbytery of Uist
- 44. Presbytery of Lewis
Presbyteries not formerly part of any Synod
- 45. Presbytery of Orkney
- 46. Presbytery of Shetland
- 47. Presbytery of England http://www.presbyteryofengland.org.uk
- 48. Presbytery of EuropePresbytery of EuropeThe Presbytery of Europe covers the Church of Scotland's congregations in continental Europe.As a Presbyterian church, the Church of Scotland has no bishops. Instead courts of ministers, elders and deacons have collective responsibility for the governance of the church...
http://www.europepresbytery.net - 49. Presbytery of Jerusalem