The Presbytery of Europe covers the Church of Scotland's congregations in continental Europe.
As a Presbyterian 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 and responsible for the oversight of Kirk Sessions (at a congregational level.)
The Presbytery of Europe is one of three presbyteries operating outside Scotland (the other two are the Presbytery of England and the Presbytery of Jerusalem.) The Presbytery in its current form dates from 1974, following the union of the former Presbyteries of North Europe, South Europe and Spain & Portugal.
Most Scottish presbyteries meet monthly. Because of geography, the Presbytery of Europe meets only twice per year (March and October) for a conference-style meeting.
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As with all courts of the Church of Scotland, the Presbytery is chaired by an (annually elected) moderator. The Presbytery Clerk is the Reverend John Cowie, minister in Amsterdam.
The Presbytery has 12 congregations in Europe, 2 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:
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 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 Bochum and Regensburg in Germany, other locations are also being investigated. There is also a close link with the English-speaking congregation in Turin, which was formerly served by a Church of Scotland minister.
Whilst meeting in Rome in 1992, the Presbytery of Europe was addressed by Pope John Paul II. [1]
In 2008, the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland agreed that the congregations of Christ Church, Warwick, Bermuda and St Andrew's Church, Colombo, Sri Lanka should become part of the Presbytery of Europe. They were previously listed as "overseas charges" under the direct supervision of the World Mission Council.