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

'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 historically Reformed Protestant tradition named for its form of church government by representative assemblies of elders, known as "presbyters". Though other Reformed churches are structurally similar, the word ''Pr ...

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 presby ...

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 Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

(the other two being 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 in person twice per year (March and October) for a conference-style meeting, delegating interim business to its Business Committee, which meets virtually each month. See also th
Website

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 whol ...

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

Bochum Bochum (, ; ; ; ) is a city in North Rhine-Westphalia. With a population of 372,348 (April 2023), it is the sixth-largest city (after Cologne, Düsseldorf, Dortmund, Essen and Duisburg) in North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous German federa ...

) *2012-13 The Rev. Rhona Dunphy (

Regensburg Regensburg (historically known in English as Ratisbon) is a city in eastern Bavaria, at the confluence of the rivers Danube, Naab and Regen (river), Regen, Danube's northernmost point. It is the capital of the Upper Palatinate subregion of 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 The Rev. Irene Bom (OLM Rotterdam) *2022-23 The Rev. Laurence Twaddle (Geneva) *2023-24 The Rev. Joanne Evans- Boiten *2024-25 The Rev. Betsi Tane (Malta) *2025-26

Congregations

The Presbytery has 10 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, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

St Andrew's Church, Brussels St Andrew's Church in Brussels (Ixelles) is a congregation in membership of both the Church of Scotland and the United Protestant Church in Belgium (EPUB/VPKB) (in French ''Église Protestante Unie de Belgique'' and Dutch ''Verenigde Protestantse ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

The Scots Kirk, Paris The Scots Kirk Paris () is a Presbyterianism, Presbyterian Protestantism, Protestant church situated in Paris, in rue Bayard near the Champs-Elysées in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, 8th arrondissement. It is the only congregation of the Churc ...

Hungary Hungary is a landlocked country in Central Europe. Spanning much of the Pannonian Basin, Carpathian Basin, it is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine to the northeast, Romania to the east and southeast, Serbia to the south, Croatia and ...

- St Columba's Church,

Budapest Budapest is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns of Hungary, most populous city of Hungary. It is the List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, tenth-largest city in the European Union by popul ...

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

- St Andrew's Church, Rome *

Malta Malta, officially the Republic of Malta, is an island country in Southern Europe located in the Mediterranean Sea, between Sicily and North Africa. It consists of an archipelago south of Italy, east of Tunisia, and north of Libya. The two ...

- St. Andrew's Scots Church, Valletta *

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

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 Nethe ...

- The

Scots International Church The Scots International Church or the Scottish Church () 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 International Presb ...

, Rotterdam *

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

St Andrew's Church, Lisbon St Andrew's Church is the only congregation of the Church of Scotland in Portugal. It seeks to provide English-speaking Reformed Christian worship and pastoral care to a multinational community. About An English-speaking congregation was establ ...

Switzerland Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

Church of Scotland, Geneva Church may refer to: Religion * Church (building), a place/building for Christian religious activities and praying * Church (congregation), a local congregation of a Christian denomination * Church service, a formalized period of Christian comm ...

- The

Scots Kirk, Lausanne The Scots Kirk, Lausanne, is a Protestant, presbyterian church situated in Lausanne, avenue de Rumine 24. It is part of the Church of Scotland's International Presbytery and one of two congregations of the Church of Scotland in Switzerland, the o ...

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 ( – 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 Church of Scotland. Born in Giffordgate, a street in Haddington, East Lot ...

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 ( , ; ; , then ) 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 from 1861 to 1865. The city is main ...

, 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 (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

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 Bermuda is a British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean. The closest land outside the territory is in the American state of North Carolina, about to the west-northwest. Bermuda is an ...

and

St Andrew's Church St. Andrew's Church, Church of St Andrew, or variants thereof, may refer to: Albania * St. Andrew's Church, Himarë Australia Australian Capital Territory * St Andrew's Presbyterian Church, Canberra, founded by John Walker (Presbyterian minis ...

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

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 continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

Church of Scotland