Christian Traditions: The Scottish Episopal Church

Christian Churches / Traditions in Scotland Today

The Scottish Episcopal Church

Rev Canon Dr Michael Fuller of the Theological Institute of the Scottish Episcopal Church

Introduction: A brief history of the Scottish Episcopal Church

Thank-you for your welcome and for the invitation to be here with you to say a little about the Scottish Episcopal Church. It’s a particular pleasure to do so as I began my ministry in Scotland just next door, at St John’s on the corner of Lothian Road and Princes Street. I look forward to exploring with you the small yet distinctive denomination to which I belong.

It’s sometimes known as ‘The English Church’, and it is a part of the world-wide Anglican Communion, along with the Church of England, with the Archbishop of Canterbury as the main focus of unity for that Communion. However, the name ‘English Church’ is misleading. I’ve heard it said that, with two exceptions, the Anglican Churches can trace their origins back to the activity of English missionaries around the world. Those two exceptions are Scotland and the USA. The case of the USA is perhaps debatable, and I’ll come back to it; but it’s certainly true that the history of the Scottish Episcopal Church is not bound up with the Church of England, even if many members of the Episcopal Church here are incomers from south of the border (as you may have realized, this is true too of your speaker this afternoon!).

I’ve been asked to say a little bit about how the Episcopal Church came about. This is not a straightforward issue. I’ve read, and been bewildered by, a number of books concerning the Scottish Reformation, but one thing is clear: it was a very complicated business, bound up not only with the monarchy (as of course was very definitely the case in England, where the establishment of the C of E was very much bound up with the particular characters of Henry VIII and his children). It was bound up also with the power politics of Scotland, and with the way in which it was felt appropriate to order the Church. Following the Reformation Parliament of 1560, links between the Scottish Church and Rome were severed, and the relative fortunes of Episcopalians and Presbyterians swung from one to the other over the next 130 years. To greatly over-simplify a complex picture, the Highlands and the north-east of Scotland generally retained Episcopal governance, with the Lowland south moving towards Presbyterian Church governance – that is to say, the ordering of Churches locally and regionally under councils of elders.

The aftermath of the Union of the Crowns in 1603 brought further tensions, most famously when Charles I attempted to impose the use of the English Prayer Book in Scotland. Finally, in 1689, James VII and II having fled for France, the Estates of the Kingdom of Scotland were convened, and after discussion offered the crown to William and Mary. In the same year, the Scottish Parliament passed an act banning Episcopacy, and the Episcopal Church entered a period of suppression which remains a defining episode in its history. Bishops were deprived of their livings; priests who retained Episcopal sympathies were turned out of their churches, with little warning and no compensation. Numbers declined massively. It is estimated that in 1688 the Episcopal Church had ‘more than a thousand clergy, thirteen bishops and probably two-thirds of the people’; by the end of the eighteenth century, there were ‘some 40 clergy, four bishops and a comparative handful of people, mainly in the north-east of Scotland’ (Luscombe, p 31). Penal laws resulted in some priests being imprisoned; an iconic image for Episcopalians is a picture of one such priest in the Stonehaven tollbooth, baptizing through his barred cell window babies being brought to him for that purpose.

From 1712, Episcopalian worship was permitted again, in what were termed ‘Qualified Chapels.’ These congregations undertook to use the Prayer Book and to pray for the King and Royal Family. However, the Episcopal Church was closely associated with the Jacobite rebellions of 1715 and 1745, which of course did its fortunes no good at all. After 1745 the rules surrounding qualified congregations were tightened, and only those ordained in England or Ireland were allowed to minister to them. Following a Synod at Laurencekirk, near Brechin, in 1804 (of which we celebrated the 200th anniversary last year), the Episcopal Church agreed to subscribe to the 39 articles of the Church of England, and to make this a requirement of all those who were to be ordained. The suspicion with which Episcopalianism was viewed slowly started to recede. The penal laws were eventually repealed, and much church building took place through the nineteenth century. Many Episcopalian Church buildings date from this period. In Edinburgh, for example, we have St George’s (now St Paul’s and St George’s) in York Place, and St John’s, Princes Street. The latter in fact began life as the Charlotte Chapel, in a previous building on the same site in Rose Street as the present Charlotte Chapel. In the Edinburgh area, as elsewhere in Scotland, many Churches were built by lairds on their estates to serve their families and their estate workers:; examples of this would be St Mary’s Dalkeith, and St Mary’s Dalmahoy. Others were built by congregations as mission Churches; examples would be St Columba’s by the Castle, or All Saints’ (now St Michael’s and All Saints’), Tollcross. In this local roll-call, I must of course also mention Old St Paul’s, Edinburgh’s original Piskie Church, I suppose, which goes back to Jacobite times, and which was allegedly formed when its minister led its members from St Giles after the imposition of Presbyterian governance there following the 1689 Act of Parliament.

There is one further historical event of some importance which I must note. I mentioned earlier that the Episcopal Church in the USA, ECUSA as it is known, shares with the Scottish Episcopal Church the distinction amongst Anglican Churches of not effectively being founded by the Church of England. The justification for this assertion lies in an episode in 1784. The Anglicans in the USA were all technically under the jurisdiction of English Bishops. This arrangement being extremely inconvenient, they petitioned to have a Bishop consecrated specially to serve them. A man named Samuel Seabury was selected, and he traveled to England to seek consecration from the English Bishops, but the ties of Church and State there prevented this. He therefore turned to Scotland, where no such ties existed, and the bishops of Aberdeen and Moray consented to his consecration, which duly took place in Aberdeen. Samuel Seabury thereby became the first Episcopalian Bishop in America.

So, that has said a little about how the Episcopal tradition came about in Scotland, and the mixed fortunes it has enjoyed. I’d now like to say a little in response to the seven questions I’ve been asked to address. I’ll do this simply by responding to the questions in turn.

What does Episcopalianism consider to be the irreducible core of the Christian faith?

A surprisingly difficult question to answer, as different Episcopalians will give a variety of different responses to it. A proper doctrinal response to the question would be ‘Scripture, and the historic Creeds of the Church.’

What does Episcopalianism consider to be absolutely integral to becoming and being a Christian?

Becoming: baptism in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.

Being: remaining faithful to the promises undertaken at baptism, which in our 1998 liturgy are (I quote): ‘continu[ing] in the Apostles’ teaching and fellowship, in the breaking of bread, and in the prayers … proclaim[ing] the good news by word and deed, serving Christ in all people … work[ing] for justice and peace, honouring God in all Creation’.

What does Episcopalianism share in common with other traditions in Christianity?

The Holy Scriptures, and the historic Creeds of the Church. Episcopalians also place a high value on the writings of the Fathers of the early Church. The threefold ordering of ministry is another feature which we share with many denominations.

What are the main unique features of Episcopalianism?

The main things we have which is unique are: (i) our Code of Canons, governing the ways in which the Church is run, and (ii) our liturgies.

Why would I encourage a seeking person to explore my particular Church tradition?

I would encourage a thinking person to explore as many Church traditions as he or she wished, and to find one with which he or she felt comfortable. I would like to think that an explorer would find in the Episcopal Church an open and accepting environment, in which it is quite legitimate to ask whatever questions you wish: all of us remain seekers, even if we have been going to Church for decades.

How would I begin helping a person to discover the treasures of Episcopalianism?

I would invite a person to experience Episcopal worship, which is where a principle treasure of our tradition lies, and then explore their theological convictions – or lack of them – with them afterwards, such open exploration being another treasure of our tradition.

How would I help a person to grow in their faith?

Housegroups: talks and seminars: reading groups: personal contact/ discussion. Encouragement to join in Church-based activities and the fellowship these entail.

Information on the Scottish Episcopal Church

Books

Goldie, Frederick. A Short History of the Episcopal Church in Scotland (Edinburgh: The Saint Andrew Press, 1976)

Lochhead, Marion. Episcopal Scotland in the 19th Century (London: John Murray, 1966)

Luscombe, Edward. The Scottish Episcopal Church in the Twentieth Century (Edinburgh: General Synod Office of the Scottish Episcopal Church, 1996)

Luscombe, Edward. Steps to Freedom (Edinburgh: General Synod Office of the Scottish Episcopal Church, 2004)

White, Gavin. The Scottish Episcopal Church: A New History (Edinburgh: General Synod Office of the Scottish Episcopal Church, 1998)

General Synod Office publications may be obtained from the Office at 21 Grosvenor Crescent, Edinburgh EH12 5EE (225 6357), or from Cornerstone Bookshop, St John’s, Princes Street.

Websites

The Scottish Episcopal Church: www.scotland.anglican.org

The Diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney: www.aberdeen.anglican.org

The Diocese of Argyll and the Isles: www.scotland.anglican.org/argyll

The Diocese of Brechin: www.episcopal.brechin.com

The Diocese of Edinburgh: www.dioceseofedinburgh.org

The Docese of Glasgow and Galloway: www.episcopalglasgow.org.uk

The Diocese of Moray, Ross and Caithness: www.morayrossandcaithness.co.uk

The Diocese of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane: www.scotland.anglican.org/standrews

Some Episcopal Churches in Central Edinburgh

St Mary’s Cathedral, Palmerston Place EH12 5AW (225 6293 www.cathedral.net)

Provost: Very Revd Graham Forbes.