55:
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.
58:
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,
54:
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
130:
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
45:
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.
112:
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
652:
92:
On 1 September 2020 the presbyteries of
Dumbarton, and Greenock and Paisley (itself a recent merger of Greenock and Paisley presbyteries) merged becoming the Presbytery of Clyde.
81:
The Church of
Scotland is currently in a process of consultations with the aim of reducing the number of presbyteries to around 12. The current completed mergers are as follows:
125:
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.
526:
880:
154:
Presbytery of the South West (merger of: Annandale and
Eskdale; Dumfries and Kirkcudbright; Wigtown and Stranraer; Ayr; Irvine and Kilmarnock; and Ardrossan)
748:
645:
39:
844:
768:
638:
890:
174:
Presbytery of the North East and Northern Isles (merger of: Aberdeen and Shetland; Buchan; Gordon; Kincardine and Deeside; Moray; and Orkney)
693:
615:
854:
505:
885:
678:
828:
818:
733:
698:
673:
119:
the newly formed Presbytery of Perth united the former presbyteries of Angus, Dundee, Dunkeld and Meigle, Perth, and Stirling.
823:
713:
813:
788:
778:
723:
122:
the presbyteries of Lothian; Melrose and Peebles; Duns; and Jedburgh merged becoming the Presbytery of Lothian and Borders.
798:
688:
66:
In 1974 the presbyteries of North Europe, South Europe, and Spain and Portugal merged to become the Presbytery of Europe.
808:
803:
773:
26:
structure, which means it is organised under a hierarchy of courts. Traditionally there were four levels of courts: the
708:
552:
875:
793:
718:
758:
753:
95:
On 1 January 2021 the presbyteries of St Andrews, Kirkcaldy, and Dunfermline merged becoming the Presbytery of Fife.
783:
728:
743:
89:
and Shetland merged to form the Presbytery of Aberdeen and Shetland (with Shetland reducing its parishes to one).
703:
101:
the presbyteries of West Lothian and of Edinburgh merged to become the Presbytery of Edinburgh and West Lothian.
763:
683:
190:
738:
72:
In 2004 the presbyteries of South Argyll, Dunoon, and Lorn and Mull merged to become the Presbytery of Argyll.
216:
178:
145:
104:
the presbyteries of Lanark and Hamilton merged to become the Presbytery of the Forth Valley and Clydesdale.
86:
160:
109:
On 1 June 2022 the Presbytery of Falkirk merged into the Presbytery of the Forth Valley and Clydesdale.
69:
In 1976 the presbyteries of Melrose and Peebles merged to become the Presbytery of Melrose and Peebles.
31:
23:
19:
607:
151:
Presbytery of Lothian and Borders (merger of: Lothian; Melrose and Peebles; Duns; and Jedburgh)
578:
171:
Presbytery of Perth (merger of: Angus, Dundee, Dunkeld and Meigle, Perth, and Stirling)
869:
165:
Presbytery of Forth Valley and Clydesdale (merger of: Lanark, Hamilton, and Falkirk)
27:
181:, Inverness, Lochaber, Ross, Sutherland, Caithness, Lochcarron-Skye, and Uist)
630:
168:
Presbytery of Fife (merger of: St Andrews, Kirkcaldy, and Dunfermline)
157:
Presbytery of Clyde (merger of: Greenock and Paisley, and Dumbarton)
144:
Presbytery of Edinburgh and West Lothian (merger of West Lothan and
35:
634:
527:"Presbytery reform continues as three new presbyteries formed"
135:
Therefore, the total number of presbyteries now stands at 14.
837:
666:
62:The following mergers took place before 2020:
59:the synods were abolished in the early 1990s.
646:
8:
577:Scotland, The Church of (17 January 2012).
525:Scotland, The Church of (19 January 2023).
850:Church of Scotland synods and presbyteries
653:
639:
631:
193:(known as Presbytery of Europe until 2016)
551:Scotland, The Church of (2 March 2020).
517:
881:Presbyteries of the Church of Scotland
618:from the original on 7 September 2017
7:
506:List of Church of Scotland parishes
177:Clèir Eilean ì (merger of: Argyll,
85:On 1 June 2020 the presbyteries of
769:Na h-Eileanan Siar (Western Isles)
14:
50:History and mergers before 2020
42:(the Church's highest court).
30:(at congregational level), the
38:(at a regional level) and the
1:
891:Lists of Protestant dioceses
855:Church of Scotland parishes
34:(at local area level), the
907:
305:Dumfries and Kirkcudbright
77:Mergers from 2020 to 2024
886:Ecclesiastical provinces
553:"Church reform timeline"
254:Banff, Cullen or Fordyce
191:International Presbytery
196:Presbytery of Jerusalem
612:The Church of Scotland
583:The Church of Scotland
557:The Church of Scotland
531:The Church of Scotland
386:Kincardine and Deeside
239:Ardmannach or Chanonry
699:Dumfries and Galloway
494:Wigtown and Stranraer
374:Irvine and Kilmarnock
233:Annandale and Eskdale
221:Abertarff or Lochaber
210:Aberdeen and Shetland
187:Presbytery of England
161:Presbytery of Glasgow
661:Churches in Scotland
362:Greenock and Paisley
308:Dumfries and Penpont
845:Collegiate churches
824:West Dunbartonshire
714:East Dunbartonshire
449:Penpont or Sanquhar
422:Melrose and Peebles
263:Brechin and Fordoun
201:Former presbyteries
184:Presbytery of Lewis
116:On 1 January 2023:
98:On 1 January 2022:
876:Church of Scotland
470:Spain and Portugal
326:Dunkeld and Meigle
230:Annan or Middlebie
20:Church of Scotland
863:
862:
814:South Lanarkshire
789:Perth and Kinross
779:North Lanarkshire
724:East Renfrewshire
608:"Presbytery list"
579:"Presbytery list"
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799:Scottish Borders
694:Clackmannanshire
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40:General Assembly
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667:By council area
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404:Lochcarron-Skye
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281:Cowal or Dunoon
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829:West Lothian
794:Renfrewshire
719:East Lothian
620:. Retrieved
611:
586:. Retrieved
582:
572:
560:. Retrieved
556:
546:
534:. Retrieved
530:
520:
491:West Lothian
467:South Europe
464:South Argyll
434:North Europe
248:Auchterarder
139:Presbyteries
134:
80:
61:
57:
53:
44:
28:Kirk Session
24:Presbyterian
17:
15:
622:7 September
476:Strathbogie
320:Dunfermline
870:Categories
759:Midlothian
754:Inverclyde
512:References
479:Sutherland
455:St Andrews
32:Presbytery
729:Edinburgh
437:Olnafirth
431:Nithsdale
407:Lochmaben
392:Kirkcaldy
368:Inverness
335:Edinburgh
299:Dumbarton
278:Chirnside
275:Caithness
242:Ardrossan
217:Abernethy
179:Abernethy
146:Edinburgh
819:Stirling
804:Shetland
749:Highland
674:Aberdeen
616:Archived
500:See also
473:Stirling
461:Shetland
401:Langholm
395:Kirkwall
380:Jedburgh
365:Hamilton
359:Greenock
332:Earlston
314:Dunblane
302:Dumfries
293:Dingwall
290:Dalkeith
272:Cairston
269:Burravoe
236:Arbroath
213:Aberlour
207:Aberdeen
87:Aberdeen
744:Glasgow
734:Falkirk
482:Turriff
458:Selkirk
446:Peebles
443:Paisley
419:Melrose
413:Lothian
389:Kinross
347:Fordoun
344:Falkirk
323:Dunkeld
296:Dornoch
260:Brechin
784:Orkney
704:Dundee
588:4 June
562:4 June
536:4 June
440:Orkney
416:Meigle
398:Lanark
371:Irvine
356:Gordon
353:Forres
350:Forfar
317:Dundee
311:Dunbar
266:Buchan
257:Biggar
245:Argyll
131:Iona).
22:has a
764:Moray
684:Angus
428:Nairn
425:Moray
383:Kelso
377:Italy
341:Ellon
338:Elgin
287:Cupar
224:Angus
113:West.
36:Synod
739:Fife
624:2017
590:2024
564:2024
538:2024
488:Weem
485:Uist
452:Ross
329:Duns
18:The
251:Ayr
872::
614:.
610:.
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529:.
654:e
647:t
640:v
626:.
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