St Columba's Church is a

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 ...

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 ...

that used to serve a Gaelic congregation in

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 ...

until its closure in 2021.

History

The

congregation of St Columba in

dates back to 1770. It was established to cater for the spiritual needs of the large number of Gaelic speakers from the

Highlands and Islands The Highlands and Islands is an area of Scotland broadly covering the Scottish Highlands, plus Orkney, Shetland, and the Outer Hebrides (Western Isles). The Highlands and Islands are sometimes defined as the area to which the Crofters' Act o ...

of Scotland settling in Glasgow in search of employment. Until 2020, the church still had a weekly Sunday service in Gaelic, as well as weekly services in English. Shortly before leaving Scotland to permanently emigrate to

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

in 1903, Mull-born Gaelic poet Duncan Livingstone carved the inscription ''Tigh Mo Chridhe, Tigh Mo Gràidh'' ("House of My Heart, House of My Love") on the lintel of the main door of the church. The church building in Glasgow's St Vincent Street was opened on Saturday 17 September 1904, and is built in the

Gothic Revival Gothic Revival (also referred to as Victorian Gothic or neo-Gothic) is an Architectural style, architectural movement that after a gradual build-up beginning in the second half of the 17th century became a widespread movement in the first half ...

style. It was designed by architects Tennant and Burke and was protected as a category B listed building starting in 1970. In 2022, its listing was upgraded to category A. Because of its size and association with Gaeldom and the Gaelic language it is also popularly known as the Highland Cathedral. Past ministers have included two former Moderators of the General Assembly: the Very Rev. Dr. Norman MacLeod (minister 1835-1862) and husband of poetess Agnes Maxwell MacLeod, in 1836; and the Very Reverend Dr Alexander MacDonald (minister 1929-1954) in 1948. On 16 February 2023 the congregation of St. Columba Church of Scotland was linked with the congregation of Blawarthill Parish Church of Scotland, with all future services to be held at Blawarthill Parish Church. The church building had not been in use since 2021 because of safety concerns. It was put up for sale by the

in 2022.

References

External links

* {{commonscat-inline
Official website.
Saint Columba Church, Glasgow

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 ...

Category A listed buildings in Glasgow Listed churches in Glasgow 1770 establishments in Scotland Churches completed in 1904 20th-century Church of Scotland church buildings Religious organizations established in 1770 Gothic Revival church buildings in Scotland

History

See also

References

External links