What is Kirk

1.

What is Kirk?
BY PAULINA DIMITROVA

2.

Meaning
The Kirk is an informal
name for the Church of
Scotland, the country's
national church. The Kirk
of Scotland was in official
use as the name of the
Church of Scotland until
the 17th century, and still
today the term is frequently
used in the press and
everyday speech, though
seldom in the Church's own
literature.

3.

Form
The Scottish Church is
Presbyrian in form.
The first Protestants in
Scotland, led by
Patrick Hamilton, were
mostly Lutheran.
However, with the return
of John Knox from
Geneva, the Scottish
Reformation came under
the influence of
Calvinism.

4.

Separation
Main stages of the separation of
the church from the state were the
transfer (1872) of church schools to
civil authorities and the
abolition (1874) of
ecclesiastical patronage. The
spiritual independence of
the Church of Scotland
was recognized by Acts of
Parliament in 1921 and 1925. A
merger proposed in 1960 between
the Church of England, the Church
of Scotland, the Presbyterian
Church of England, and
the Episcopal Church of Scotland
did not take place. The
church has about 640 members
(1999).

5.

The end