page_title: History of the Scottish Episcopal Church
section_title: Reformation
hierarchical_section_title: History of the Scottish Episcopal Church / Reformation
caption_attribution_description: English: A diagram of the evolution of the Christian churches of Scotland since the Reformation, including: the Church of Scotland the Scottish Episcopal Church the Free Church of Scotland the Free Church of Scotland (Continuing) the United Free Church of Scotland the Free Presbyterian Church of Scotland the Associated Presbyterian Churches the Cameronians the Anti-Burghers Some inspiration drawn from a diagram on genuki.org and Christians Together in the Highlands &amp; Islands
context_page_description: The history of the Scottish Episcopal Church is traced by the church to ancient times. The Church today is a Christian denomination in Scotland and a member of the Anglican Communion. It has enjoyed a distinct identity and is neither Roman nor English. It is therefore not a Daughter Church in the Anglican communion.
context_section_description: The Scottish Reformation was touched off in 1560. At that point, the church in Scotland broke with Rome, in a process of Protestant reform led, among others, by John Knox. It reformed its doctrines and government, drawing on the principles of John Calvin to which Knox had been exposed while living in Switzerland. In 1560, the Scottish Parliament abolished papal jurisdiction and approved Calvin's Confession of Faith, but did not accept many of the principles laid out in Knox's First Book of Discipline, which argued, amongst other things, that all of the assets of the old church should pass to the new. The 1560 Reformation Settlement was not ratified by the crown for some years, and the question of church government also remained unresolved. In 1572 the acts of 1560 were finally approved by the young James VI, but the Concordat of Leith also allowed the crown to appoint bishops with the church's approval. John Knox himself had no clear views on the office of bishop, preferring to see them renamed as 'superintendents'; but in response to the new Concordat a Presbyterian party emerged headed by Andrew Melville, the author of the Second Book of Discipline.
  The Scottish Episcopal Church had its origins in 1582 when the Church of Scotland rejected episcopal government (by bishops), and adopted full presbyterian government (by elders) and reformed theology. Scottish monarchs made repeated efforts to introduce bishops, and two church traditions began.
caption: Timeline of Scottish Churches from 1560
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