Old High St Stephen's Church (

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic ( gd, Gàidhlig ), also known as Scots Gaelic and Gaelic, is a Goidelic language (in the Celtic branch of the Indo-European language family) native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a Goidelic language, Scottish Gaelic, as well as ...

: Seann Eaglais Ard) is a

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, ...

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 ...

Inverness Inverness (; from the gd, Inbhir Nis , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness"; sco, Innerness) is a city in the Scottish Highlands. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highlands. Histori ...

, the capital city of the

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia *Sou ...

of Scotland. The

congregation A congregation is a large gathering of people, often for the purpose of worship. Congregation may also refer to: *Church (congregation), a Christian organization meeting in a particular place for worship *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administra ...

was formed on 30 October 2003 by a union of the congregations of Inverness Old High and Inverness St Stephen's Unusually in a union of Church of Scotland congregations, both buildings were retained for worship. In January 2022, regular worship ended at Old High. Since then, the Sunday service takes place at St Stephen's Church at 10:30am The Old High congregation was the oldest congregation in Inverness. The church—the historic town church of Inverness—mainly dates from the eighteenth century. Its site, overlooking the banks of the River Ness, has been used for worship since

Celt The Celts (, see pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples () are. "CELTS location: Greater Europe time period: Second millennium B.C.E. to present ancestry: Celtic a collection of Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient ...

ic times. Thus the congregation can claim to have been founded by

St Columba Columba or Colmcille; gd, Calum Cille; gv, Colum Keeilley; non, Kolban or at least partly reinterpreted as (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is toda ...

, the Irish monk who first brought

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

to Inverness. Among many notable features is a

Father Willis Henry Willis (27 April 1821 – 11 February 1901), also known as "Father" Willis, was an English organ player and builder, who is regarded as the foremost organ builder of the Victorian era. His company Henry Willis & Sons remains in busin ...

organ, restored in 2010. The Old High Church is a category A

listed building In the United Kingdom, a listed building or listed structure is one that has been placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Historic Environment Scotland in Scotland, in Wales, and the Northern Irel ...

. St Stephen's was founded as a 'daughter church' of the Old High in 1897. It is a gothic building in

Morayshire Moray; ( gd, Moireibh ) or Morayshire, called Elginshire until 1919, is a historic county, registration county and lieutenancy area of Scotland, bordering Nairnshire to the west, Inverness-shire to the south, and Banffshire to the east. It ...

freestone, designed by WL Carruthers. St Stephen's is a category B listed building. The

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 ...

area includes the city centre, part of the

Crown A crown is a traditional form of head adornment, or hat, worn by monarchs as a symbol of their power and dignity. A crown is often, by extension, a symbol of the monarch's government or items endorsed by it. The word itself is used, partic ...

area, and the southern suburbs of the city, including Drummond and Lochardil. The Old High Church is on the market for offers over £150,000 The first minister of the united charge was the Reverend Peter W Nimmo, who was inducted in August 2004. He had previously been minister of High

Carntyne Carntyne ( gd, Càrn an Teine) is a suburban district in the Scottish city of Glasgow. It is situated north of the River Clyde, and in the east end of the city. Since 2007 it has formed the core of the East Centre ward under Glasgow City Coun ...

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 ...

. Rev James Bissett, an Ordained Local Minister, is currently serving as locum for the united charge.

External links

Old High St Stephen's Parish Church, InvernessOld High St Stephen's - Church organ restoration appealPresbytery of Inverness

Churches in Inverness Church of Scotland churches in Scotland Category A listed buildings in Highland (council area) Category B listed buildings in Highland (council area) Listed churches in Scotland {{Scotland-church-stub

See also

External links