The Church of Scotland and the Scottish Episcopal Church, on 30 November, signed a “Saint Andrew Declaration,” in which they each formally recognised one another as part of the one Church of Jesus Christ and deepened their relationship.
The declaration lays the foundations, through a series of acknowledgements and commitments, for the two churches to work together in response to a common calling to minister to the whole people of Scotland.
World Council of Churches (WCC) Rev. Prof. Dr Ioan Sauca warmly congratulated the Church of Scotland and the Scottish Episcopal Church.
“This declaration shows that fundamental unity in Christ transcends any disunity over types of church governance, given that contemporary challenges, disunity and division in the church are a distraction from and a hindrance to the effective proclamation of the Gospel,” said Sauca. “This example from Scotland is an excellent and very practical example of Christian witness to the entire world.”
Following a one-day conference in Edinburgh, the Saint Andrew Declaration was formally signed in a special service at St Mary’s Cathedral, Edinburgh, on Saint Andrew’s Day, 30 November, by the moderator of the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland, Lord Wallace of Tankerness, and the primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Most Rev. Mark Strange.
The Church of Scotland is a Reformed church with a Presbyterian system of church government. The Scottish Episcopal Church is part of the Anglican Communion. Both are WCC member churches.
