Old High St Stephen's Church (

Scottish Gaelic Scottish Gaelic (, ; Endonym and exonym, endonym: ), also known as Scots Gaelic or simply Gaelic, is a Celtic language native to the Gaels of Scotland. As a member of the Goidelic language, Goidelic branch of Celtic, Scottish Gaelic, alongs ...

: Seann Eaglais Ard) is a

parish church A parish church (or parochial church) in Christianity is the Church (building), 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 com ...

of the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

Inverness Inverness (; ; from the , meaning "Mouth of the River Ness") is a city in the Scottish Highlands, having been granted city status in 2000. It is the administrative centre for The Highland Council and is regarded as the capital of the Highland ...

, 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 Africa * Highlands, Johannesburg, South Africa * Highlands, Harare, Zimbab ...

of Scotland. The

congregation Congregation may refer to: Religion *Church (congregation), a religious organization that meets in a particular location *Congregation (Roman Curia), an administrative body of the Catholic Church *Religious congregation, a type of religious instit ...

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 The River Ness () is a short river in the Great Glen of Scotland. It begins at Loch Dochfour, at the northern end of Loch Ness, and flows northeast towards the city of Inverness, where it empties into the Moray Firth. It runs parallel to t ...

, has been used for worship since

Celt The Celts ( , see Names of the Celts#Pronunciation, pronunciation for different usages) or Celtic peoples ( ) were a collection of Indo-European languages, Indo-European peoples. "The Celts, an ancient Indo-European people, reached the apoge ...

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

St Columba Columba () or Colmcille (7 December 521 – 9 June 597 AD) was an Irish abbot and missionary evangelist credited with spreading Christianity in what is today Scotland at the start of the Hiberno-Scottish mission. He founded the important abbey ...

, the Irish monk who first brought

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

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 is a structure of particular architectural or historic interest deserving of special protection. Such buildings are placed on one of the four statutory lists maintained by Historic England in England, Hi ...

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

Morayshire The County of Moray, ( ) or Morayshire, called Elginshire until 1919, is a historic county in Scotland. The county town was Elgin. The historic county ceased to be used for local government purposes in 1975. Since 1996 most of the historic ...

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

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christianity, Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest#Christianity, priest, often termed a parish pries ...

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, parti ...

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 (; ) 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. it has formed the core of the East Centre (ward), East Centre ward under Glasgow City Council, which ...

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

. 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

Ancient Highland church where soldiers were kept after Culloden put on the market for £150,000
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-CoS-church-stub

See also

External links