The Diocese of Glasgow and Galloway is one of the seven

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

s of the

Scottish Episcopal Church The Scottish Episcopal Church ( gd, Eaglais Easbaigeach na h-Alba; sco, Scots Episcopal(ian) Kirk) is the ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion in Scotland. A continuation of the Church of Scotland as intended by King James VI, and ...

. It covers

Dumfries and Galloway Dumfries and Galloway ( sco, Dumfries an Gallowa; gd, Dùn Phrìs is Gall-Ghaidhealaibh) is one of 32 unitary council areas of Scotland and is located in the western Southern Uplands. It covers the counties of Scotland, historic counties of ...

Ayrshire Ayrshire ( gd, Siorrachd Inbhir Àir, ) is a historic county and registration county in south-west Scotland, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine and it borders the counties of Re ...

Lanarkshire Lanarkshire, also called the County of Lanark ( gd, Siorrachd Lannraig; sco, Lanrikshire), is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the central Lowlands of Scotland. Lanarkshire is the most populous county in Scotlan ...

(including

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

Dunbartonshire Dunbartonshire ( gd, Siorrachd Dhùn Breatann) or the County of Dumbarton is a historic county, lieutenancy area and registration county in the west central Lowlands of Scotland lying to the north of the River Clyde. Dunbartonshire borders P ...

Renfrewshire Renfrewshire () ( sco, Renfrewshire; gd, Siorrachd Rinn Friù) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. Located in the west central Lowlands, it is one of three council areas contained within the boundaries of the historic county of Renfr ...

and west

Stirlingshire Stirlingshire or the County of Stirling, gd, Siorrachd Sruighlea) is a Counties of Scotland, historic county and registration countyRegisters of Scotland. Publications, leaflets, Land Register Counties. of Scotland. Its county town is Stirli ...

(south of the

River Forth The River Forth is a major river in central Scotland, long, which drains into the North Sea on the east coast of the country. Its drainage basin covers much of Stirlingshire in Scotland's Central Belt. The Gaelic name for the upper reach of th ...

). The cathedral of the diocese is

St. Mary's Cathedral, Glasgow The Cathedral Church of St Mary the Virgin (Scottish Gaelic: Cathair-eaglais Naomh Moire), commonly called St Mary's Cathedral, is a cathedral of the Scottish Episcopal Church. It is located on the Great Western Road, in the west end of Glasgow, ...

History

The Diocese of Glasgow and Galloway is a union of two of the oldest dioceses in Scotland. The

Diocese of Galloway The Diocese of Galloway was one of the thirteen (after 1633 fourteen) dioceses of the pre-1689 Scottish Church. The Diocese was led by the Bishop of Galloway and was centred on Whithorn Cathedral. In the Middle Ages, there was only one archd ...

(also known as Candida Casa or Whithorn) is thought to have been founded by

Saint Ninian Ninian is a Christian saint, first mentioned in the 8th century as being an early missionary among the Pictish peoples of what is now Scotland. For this reason he is known as the Apostle to the Southern Picts, and there are numerous dedication ...

in the 5th century. The

Diocese of Glasgow The Archdiocese of Glasgow was one of the thirteen (after 1633 fourteen) dioceses of the Scottish church. It was the second largest diocese in the Kingdom of Scotland, including Clydesdale, Teviotdale, parts of Tweeddale, Liddesdale, Annanda ...

is thought to have been founded by

Saint Mungo Kentigern ( cy, Cyndeyrn Garthwys; la, Kentigernus), known as Mungo, was a missionary in the Brittonic Kingdom of Strathclyde in the late sixth century, and the founder and patron saint of the city of Glasgow. Name In Wales and England, this s ...

(or Kentigern) around 550. On 9 January 1492, the Diocese of Glasgow was raised in rank to be an

archdiocese In church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided provinces were administratively associate ...

. During the

Scottish Reformation The Scottish Reformation was the process by which Kingdom of Scotland, Scotland broke with the Pope, Papacy and developed a predominantly Calvinist national Church of Scotland, Kirk (church), which was strongly Presbyterianism, Presbyterian in ...

, the heritage and jurisdiction of the church passed into the hands of

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

. However, the small Scottish Episcopal Church continued the line of bishops of both diocese, even though, in the 16th century, many of them held the office in title alone. In 1697, the Diocese of Galloway was united with the

Diocese of Edinburgh The Diocese of Edinburgh is one of the seven dioceses of the Scottish Episcopal Church. It covers the City of Edinburgh, the Lothians, the Borders and Falkirk. The diocesan centre is St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh. The Bishop of Edinburgh is ...

. In 1708, the episcopal line experienced a hiatus before continuing with Alexander Duncan, in 1731, as Bishop (rather than Archbishop) of Glasgow. However, when Duncan died two years after his appointment as bishop, the see fell vacant once more. In 1787, William Abernethy Drummond became Bishop of Edinburgh and Galloway and

Bishop of Brechin The Bishop of Brechin is the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Brechin or angus, Scotland, Angus, based at Dundee. Brechin Cathedral, Brechin is a parish church of the established (presbyterian) Church of Scotland. The diocese had a long-es ...

in a temporary personal union of the dioceses. To this he added the then vacant see of Glasgow in union with Edinburgh and Galloway. Within a year, Drummond gave way to John Strachan as the newly appointed Bishop of Brechin, and, in 1805, resigned from the united see of Edinburgh and Galloway (to Daniel Sandford) to focus on ministry in Glasgow. Drummond continued as Bishop of Glasgow until his death in 1809, when the see was reunited with Edinburgh and Galloway. In 1837, James Walker, bishop of the triple see and Primus, gave way to Michael Russell to be the first modern

Bishop of Glasgow and Galloway The Bishop of Glasgow and Galloway is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary (diocesan bishop) of the Scottish Episcopal Church Diocese of Glasgow and Galloway. Brief history When the dioceses of Glasgow and Galloway were combined in 1837, Michael ...

. In 1878, the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

formed a new

Archdiocese of Glasgow The Archdiocese of Glasgow was one of the thirteen (after 1633 fourteen) dioceses of the Scottish church. It was the second largest diocese in the Kingdom of Scotland, including Clydesdale, Teviotdale, parts of Tweeddale, Liddesdale, Annanda ...

and

in its modern structures. In 1888, the counties of

Selkirkshire Selkirkshire or the County of Selkirk ( gd, Siorrachd Shalcraig) is a historic county and registration county of Scotland. It borders Peeblesshire to the west, Midlothian to the north, Roxburghshire to the east, and Dumfriesshire to the south. ...

Peeblesshire Peeblesshire ( gd, Siorrachd nam Pùballan), the County of Peebles or Tweeddale is a historic county of Scotland. Its county town is Peebles, and it borders Midlothian to the north, Selkirkshire to the east, Dumfriesshire to the south, and Lan ...

and

Roxburghshire Roxburghshire or the County of Roxburgh ( gd, Siorrachd Rosbroig) is a historic county and registration county in the Southern Uplands of Scotland. It borders Dumfriesshire to the west, Selkirkshire and Midlothian to the north-west, and Berw ...

, which were historically part of the Diocese of Galloway, were transferred from the Episcopalian Diocese of Glasgow and Galloway back to Edinburgh. Gregor Duncan was elected the fourteenth bishop of the diocese on 16 January 2010. He was consecrated and enthroned as bishop on 23 April 2010, and retired on 11 October 2018. Kevin Pearson was elected the fifteenth bishop of the diocese on 18 January 2020. He was installed by deed on 1 July 2020.

Companion Dioceses

The Diocese of Glasgow and Galloway formerly had companion links with the Episcopal Diocese of Byumba (

Rwanda Rwanda (; rw, u Rwanda ), officially the Republic of Rwanda, is a landlocked country in the Great Rift Valley of Central Africa, where the African Great Lakes region and Southeast Africa converge. Located a few degrees south of the Equator ...

), the

Episcopal Diocese of Kentucky The Episcopal Diocese of Kentucky is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, encompassing the western half of the state of Kentucky. History The first verifiable religious services in Kentucky were held on May 28, 1 ...

(

ECUSA The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop of ...

) and the Lutheran Diocese of Gothenburg, Sweden.

Area and population

The diocese covers the historic counties of

Wigtownshire Wigtownshire or the County of Wigtown (, ) is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Wigtownshire was an administrative county used for local government. Since 1975 the area has f ...

Kirkcudbrightshire Kirkcudbrightshire ( ), or the County of Kirkcudbright or the Stewartry of Kirkcudbright is one of the historic counties of Scotland, covering an area in the south-west of the country. Until 1975, Kirkcudbrightshire was an administrative county ...

Dumfriesshire Dumfriesshire or the County of Dumfries or Shire of Dumfries (''Siorrachd Dhùn Phris'' in Gaelic) is a historic county and registration county in southern Scotland. The Dumfries lieutenancy area covers a similar area to the historic county. I ...

and western

. This total population of approximately 2,334,000 gives the diocese a ratio of one priest to every 60,000 inhabitants and one church to every 38,900 inhabitants.

List of churches

The diocese currently contains 35 stipendiary clergy and 58 active congregations.

Former congregation

Defunct churches

References

{{authority control

Christianity in Glasgow Christianity in Dumfries and Galloway Christianity in Renfrewshire Christianity in South Ayrshire Christianity in North Lanarkshire