Paisley Photographs Episcopal Church

Paisley Photographs

Paisley Photographs of Paisley Episcopal Church taken on Doors Open Day 2012 by Anne Mcnair for paisley.org.uk

Church of the Holy Trinity & St Barnabas

The Scottish Episcopal Church is a self-governing province of the worldwide Anglican Communion. Within that family our nearest sisters are the Church in Wales, the Church of Ireland and the Church of England.

It is called Scottish because we trace our history back to the earliest known Christian communities in Scotland about 400 CE. It is Episcopal (from the word for bishops) because we maintain the three orders of bishop, priest and deacon, dating from the early Church. Women have been ordained as priests since 1994 and legislation passed in 2003 allows women priests to become bishops.

Scotland is divided into seven dioceses or areas that are under the care and leadership of a Bishop. Each diocese has a mother church, called the Cathedral which is the focus of the worshipping life of the diocese at different times in the year.

There are 325 congregations in Scotland and 325 active priests (although only 176 are full-time). We have approximately 52 000 members. Congregations vary in size from 4 or 5 people meeting together in a house on one of the western isles to over 900 on a Sunday in one of the Edinburgh churches. The Scottish Episcopal Church is a lively church; liturgical innovation is encouraged, built around our distinctive Scottish liturgy and influenced by the rediscovery of our Celtic roots.

The Scottish Episcopal Church is an open and inclusive family welcoming all who wish to belong.