The International Presbytery (officially, the Presbytery of International Charges) covers the

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 Reformation of 1560, when it split from the Catholic Church ...

's congregations in continental Europe, Sri Lanka and the Caribbean. Until 2016 it was called the Presbytery of Europe. In October 2014 it was agreed to move towards changing the name to the International Presbytery.Name of Presbytery to change, October 2014
/ref> As a

Presbyterian Presbyterianism is a part of the Reformed tradition within Protestantism that broke from the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland by John Knox, who was a priest at St. Giles Cathedral (Church of Scotland). Presbyterian churches derive their n ...

church, the Church of Scotland has no bishops. Instead courts of ministers, elders and deacons have collective responsibility for the governance of the church. The Presbytery is the intermediate court of the church, subject to the

General Assembly A general assembly or general meeting is a meeting of all the members of an organization or shareholders of a company. Specific examples of general assembly include: Churches * General Assembly (presbyterian church), the highest court of pres ...

and responsible for the oversight of Kirk Sessions (at a congregational level.) The International Presbytery is one of three presbyteries operating outside

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to ...

(the other two are the Presbytery of England and the Presbytery of Jerusalem.) The Presbytery of Europe was created in 1974 through the union of the former Presbyteries of North Europe, South Europe and Spain & Portugal, being officially renamed the Presbytery of International Charges in 2016. Most Scottish presbyteries meet monthly. Because of geography, the International Presbytery meets only twice per year (March and October) for a conference-style meeting.

Office bearers

As with all courts of the Church of Scotland, the Presbytery is chaired by an (annually elected) moderator. The Presbytery Clerk is the Reverend Derek Lawson.

Recent moderators

*2003-04 The Rev Kenneth Mackenzie (Budapest) *2004-05 The Rev Ian Manson (Geneva) *2005-06 The Rev David Morris (Malta) *2006-07 The Rev William McCulloch (Rome) *2007-08 The Rev Stewart Lamont (Gibraltar) *2008-09 The Rev James Sharp (Auxiliary minister, Geneva *2009-10 The Rev Matthew Ross (

Conference of European Churches The Conference of European Churches (CEC) was founded in 1959 to promote reconciliation, dialogue and friendship between the churches of Europe at a time of growing Cold War political tensions and divisions. In its commitment to Europe as a who ...

, Brussels) *2010-11 Mrs Alice Tulloch (Elder, Geneva) *2011-12 The Rev James Brown (

Bochum Bochum ( , also , ; wep, Baukem) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 364,920 (2016), is the sixth largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) of the most populous German federal state of N ...

) *2012-13 The Rev Rhona Dunphy (

Regensburg Regensburg or is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the Danube, Naab and Regen rivers. It is capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of the state in the south of Germany. With more than 150,000 inhabitants, Regensburg is the ...

) *2013-14 The Rev Dr Andrew Gardner (Brussels) *2014-15 The Rev Aaron Stevens (Budapest) *2015-16 Mr Alec Grant (Elder, Brussels) *2016-17 Mrs Rhoda Grant (Elder, Brussels) *2017-18 The Rev Ewen MacLean (Gibraltar) *2018-19 The Rev Derek Lawson (Rotterdam) *2020-21 The Rev James Sharp (Geneva) *2021-22 *2022-23 The Rev Laurence Twaddle (Geneva)

Congregations

The Presbytery has 12 congregations in Europe, 3 outside Europe, plus associated congregations. Whilst appreciating their close links with Scotland and the Church of Scotland, all seek to provide English-language Reformed Christian worship and pastoral care to people of all nationalities. Scots are thus a minority at almost all the congregations. The Presbytery meets at one of its congregations on a six yearly cycle. The "sanctioned charges" of the Church of Scotland in continental Europe (determined by an Act of the General Assembly) are: *

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to ...

- St Andrew's Church, Brussels *

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

The Scots Kirk, Paris The Scots Kirk Paris (french: L'Église écossaise) is a Presbyterian Protestant church situated in Paris, in rue Bayard near the Champs-Elysées in the 8th arrondissement. It is the only congregation of the Church of Scotland in France, part ...

Gibraltar ) , anthem = " God Save the King" , song = "Gibraltar Anthem" , image_map = Gibraltar location in Europe.svg , map_alt = Location of Gibraltar in Europe , map_caption = United Kingdom shown in pale green , mapsize = , image_map2 = Gibr ...

St Andrew's Church, Gibraltar St Andrew's Church was a congregation of the Church of Scotland in the British overseas territory of Gibraltar and was part of the Presbytery of Europe. The church was opened in 1854. Whilst originally built primarily to serve as a garrison chur ...

Hungary Hungary ( hu, Magyarország ) is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning of the Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Cr ...

- St Columba's Church, Budapest *

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

St Andrew's Church, Rome St Andrew's Church is a congregation of the Church of Scotland in Rome, Italy, belonging to the Church's International Presbytery. Services take place every Sunday at 11:00 a.m. in Via XX Settembre, 7 00187 Rome. Rev Aaron Stevens is acti ...

Malta Malta ( , , ), officially the Republic of Malta ( mt, Repubblika ta' Malta ), is an island country in the Mediterranean Sea. It consists of an archipelago, between Italy and Libya, and is often considered a part of Southern Europe. It lies ...

- St. Andrew's Scots Church, Valletta *

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

English Reformed Church, Amsterdam The English Reformed Church is one of the oldest buildings in Amsterdam, situated in the centre of the city. It is home to an English-speaking congregation which is affiliated to the Church of Scotland and to the Protestant Church in the Neth ...

- The

Scots International Church The Scots International Church or the Scottish Church ( nl, Schotse Kerk) is located in Rotterdam, The Netherlands. An English-language Protestant church in the Presbyterian tradition, it is part of the Church of Scotland, within the Church's ...

, Rotterdam *

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic ( pt, República Portuguesa, links=yes ), is a country whose mainland is located on the Iberian Peninsula of Southwestern Europe, and whose territory also includes the Atlantic archipelagos of th ...

- St Andrew's Church, Lisbon *

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = '' Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , ...

- The Scots Kirk, Costa del Sol (

Fuengirola Fuengirola (), in ancient times known as Suel and then Suhayl, is a large town and municipality on the Costa del Sol in the province of Málaga in the autonomous community of Andalusia in southern Spain. It is located on the central coast of the p ...

) *

Switzerland ). Swiss law does not designate a ''capital'' as such, but the federal parliament and government are installed in Bern, while other federal institutions, such as the federal courts, are in other cities (Bellinzona, Lausanne, Luzern, Neuchâtel ...

- The Scots Kirk, Geneva *

- The Scots Kirk, Lausanne Most of the congregations are very long-established. Some are also joint members of the Church of Scotland and the local Reformed Church (notably in the Netherlands and Belgium.) The Scottish Reformer

John Knox John Knox ( gd, Iain Cnocc) (born – 24 November 1572) was a Scottish minister, Reformed theologian, and writer who was a leader of the country's Reformation. He was the founder of the Presbyterian Church of Scotland. Born in Giffordgat ...

was minister of the Geneva congregation prior to his return to Scotland. The Presbytery is also exploring ways of establishing links with other existing English-speaking Reformed congregations. Associated congregations have now been developed at

and

in Germany, other locations are also being investigated. There is also a close link with the English-speaking congregation in

Turin Turin ( , Piedmontese language, Piedmontese: ; it, Torino ) is a city and an important business and cultural centre in Northern Italy. It is the capital city of Piedmont and of the Metropolitan City of Turin, and was the first Italian capital ...

, which was formerly served by a Church of Scotland minister.

Papal visit

Whilst meeting in Rome in 1992, the Presbytery of Europe was addressed by

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II ( la, Ioannes Paulus II; it, Giovanni Paolo II; pl, Jan Paweł II; born Karol Józef Wojtyła ; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was the head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 1978 until his ...

Bermuda, Trinidad and Sri Lanka

In 2008, the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland agreed that the congregations of Christ Church, Warwick, Bermuda, Warwick,

Bermuda ) , anthem = "God Save the King" , song_type = National song , song = "Hail to Bermuda" , image_map = , map_caption = , image_map2 = , mapsize2 = , map_caption2 = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = , es ...

and St Andrew's Church,

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

should become part of the Presbytery of Europe. They were previously listed as "overseas charges" under the direct supervision of the World Mission Council. In 2012, a similar decision agreed to admit the Church of Scotland, Trinidad (COST) to the Presbytery of Europe.

References

{{Reflist

External links

International PresbyteryChurch of ScotlandSt. Andrew's Church, Colombo, Sri LankaChrist Church, Bermuda

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

Church of Scotland