Scottish Catholic and Episcopalian Church Relations

The Scottish Catholic Historical Association annual conference for 2026 takes as its theme the long and complex relationship between Roman Catholics and Scottish Episcopalians, from the religious divisions of the early eighteenth century to the ecumenical developments of the modern era.

This year’s event marks the first anniversary of the St Ninian Declaration, the historic declaration of friendship between the Catholic Church in Scotland and the Scottish Episcopal Church, signed in Edinburgh on the Feast of St Ninian, 16 September 2025.

The conference sets this important ecumenical development in its wider historical context.

The papers deal with relations between Catholics and Episcopalians across three centuries, from the problem of ‘popery’ in early eighteenth-century Scotland, through nineteenth-century encounters in scholarship, liturgy and the movement for Christian reunion, to the changing ecumenical landscape of the twentieth century and the circumstances that ultimately made the St Ninian Declaration possible.

The event will be of interest to historians, clergy, students, members of both Churches, and anyone with an interest in Scottish religious history, ecumenism, liturgy, and the history of relations between Scotland’s Christian communities.

All are warmly welcome. Register here.

A number of speakers will present their research, and the day will run 10:00am-4:00pm. Lunch is included in the ticket price. Please inform the Association via email (scha1950@gmail.com) of any dietary requirements.

Programme

• Professor Charlotte Methuen (University of Glasgow): Before the Saint Ninian Declaration: Anglican–Roman Catholic Relations in 1970s Scotland
• Dr Clare Loughlin (Newcastle University): Catholics, Episcopalians and the ‘popery’ problem in early eighteenth-century Scotland
• The Very Reverend Stephen Holmes (Provost, St Ninian’s Episcopal Cathedral, Perth) Fortescue, Newman, and Reparation: A Victorian Tale from the Border
• Dr John Reuben Davies (University of Glasgow/Editor, The Innes Review) Liturgical Scholarship as Ecumenical Gesture: Scottish Episcopalians and Roman Catholics in the Age of Reunion
• Dr Piotr Potocki (Secretary, SCHA) Title to be confirmed
• Professor Scott Spurlock (University of Glasgow) Title to be confirmed

This event is organised and hosted by the Scottish Catholic Historical Association.