A ''quoad sacra'' parish is a

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

of 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 Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

which does not represent a

civil parish In England, a civil parish is a type of administrative parish used for local government. It is a territorial designation which is the lowest tier of local government below districts and counties, or their combined form, the unitary authority ...

. That is, it had ecclesiastical functions but no

local government Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-loca ...

functions. Since the

Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 The Local Government (Scotland) Act 1929 (19 & 20 Geo 5 c. 25) reorganised local government in Scotland from 1930, introducing joint county councils, large and small burghs and district councils. The Act also abolished the Scottish poor law syst ...

, civil parishes have had no local government functions, and are of statistical and historical interest only. Typically a number of ''quoad sacra'' parishes can exist within a single civil parish, each maintaining its own

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the church which acts as the religious centre of a parish. In many parts of the world, especially in rural areas, the parish church may play a significant role in community activities, ...

. ''Quoad sacra'' translates from

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power of the ...

as "concerning sacred matters". Where a civil and an ecclesiastical parish are coterminous, the area is designated a "parish proper", a parish ''quoad omnia'' ("concerning all"), or a parish ''quoad civilia et sacra'' ("concerning the civil and the sacred"). The term appears from around 1800 in cities where rapid expansion created a demand for more church seats, without the creation of new civil parishes. Unlike a

chapel of ease A chapel of ease (or chapel-of-ease) is a church architecture, church building other than the parish church, built within the bounds of a parish for the attendance of those who cannot reach the parish church conveniently. Often a chapel of ea ...

which served a similar function, a ''quoad sacra'' church had no obligation to bury its congregation, and so these churches lack burial grounds. With the expansion of other rival denominations, especially the United Presbyterian Church and (from the

Disruption of 1843 The Disruption of 1843, also known as the Great Disruption, was a schism in 1843 in which 450 evangelical ministers broke away from the Church of Scotland to form the Free Church of Scotland. The main conflict was over whether the Church of S ...

) the Free Church of Scotland, the distinction became less and less critical, and by 1900 was used only in legal documents.

Role

The distinction between ecclesiastical and civil parishes was often blurred. Civil parishes had the duty of setting church rates, in addition to their civil roles in the provision of education, sanitation and the

poor law In English and British history, poor relief refers to government and ecclesiastical action to relieve poverty. Over the centuries, various authorities have needed to decide whose poverty deserves relief and also who should bear the cost of hel ...

Legislation

Particular

Acts of Parliament Acts of Parliament, sometimes referred to as primary legislation, are texts of law passed by the legislative body of a jurisdiction (often a parliament or council). In most countries with a parliamentary system of government, acts of parliament ...

which created ''quoad sacra'' parishes in Scotland are the New Parishes (Scotland) Act 1844, the United Parishes (Scotland) Act 1868 and the United Parishes (Scotland) Act 1876.

References

{{reflist Local government in Scotland Administrative divisions of Scotland Church parishes