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== Understanding Church Organization == | == Understanding Church Organization == | ||
[[Image:United Presbyterian Church at Stonehouse, Scotland.jpg|thumb|right|197x293px]]The | [[Image:United Presbyterian Church at Stonehouse, Scotland.jpg|thumb|right|197x293px]]The Church of Scotland (a Presbyterian church) has been the recognised national church of Scotland since 1690; it is not a state or "established" church (although that latter description has found its way into various official documentation such as marriage registers) and that independence from the state was eventually acknowledged in the Church of Scotland Act 1921. The organization of the Church of Scotland is as follows: | ||
*The General Assembly is the highest organizational body and serves as the final ecclesiastical court of appeals. | *The General Assembly is the highest organizational body and serves as the final ecclesiastical court of appeals. | ||
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=== Nonconformists === | === Nonconformists === | ||
Churches which are not part of the Church of Scotland are often referred to as nonconformist although this word's correct use does not have valid application in a country with no state church and properly applies only in England where the Church of Scotland is a non-conformist church. There were two categories of so-called nonconformist churches in Scotland: | |||
*Seceders -- Those who seceded from the | *Seceders -- Those who seceded from the main church but were still Presbyterian in form. | ||
*Dissenters -- Those who were not Presbyterian in form, such as Baptist, Methodist, or Catholic. | *Dissenters -- Those who were not Presbyterian in form, such as Baptist, Methodist, or Catholic. | ||
Nonconformists had their own congregations and kept their own records. They could go to church whereever they wished and were not confined to parish boundaries. However, before 1834, nonconformist ministers were not authorized to perform marriages | Nonconformists had their own congregations and kept their own records. They could go to church whereever they wished and were not confined to parish boundaries. However, before 1834, nonconformist ministers were not authorized to perform marriages as clergyman; after 1834 they could perform marriages if the banns had first been read in the parish church. Total authority was granted in 1855.In the context of Scots Law as it applied until 1939 this only in practice affected the mode of marriage as until then any declaration of marriage in front of witnesses was valid although many might have failed to be recorded. | ||
For more background information on churches in Scotland, including a historical time-line, read the article [https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Scotland_Church_History Scotland Church History]. | For more background information on churches in Scotland, including a historical time-line, read the article [https://wiki.familysearch.org/en/Scotland_Church_History Scotland Church History]. | ||
== Identifying Churches == | == Identifying Churches == | ||
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Parish outline maps are also available online at [http://www.scotlandsfamily.com/parish-maps.htm http://www.scotlandsfamily.com/parish-maps.htm]. | Parish outline maps are also available online at [http://www.scotlandsfamily.com/parish-maps.htm http://www.scotlandsfamily.com/parish-maps.htm]. | ||
=== 1851 Census of Places of Worship <br> === | === 1851 Census of Places of Worship <br> === | ||
Popularly called the 1851 Religious Census, this is a resource for identifying what churches existed where in 1851. [[1851 Census Places of Worship|Read more...]] | Popularly called the 1851 Religious Census, this is a resource for identifying what churches existed where in 1851. [[1851 Census Places of Worship|Read more...]] | ||
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The staff of the Family History Library has compiled a resource called the [[Scotland Church Records Union Lists|Scotland Church Records Union List]] which strives to identify all pre-1855 churches in Scotland and whether they have surviving records. It also contains brief parish and congregation histories. This information, arranged by county then parish, is available through the Wiki by searching for a [[Scotland Old Counties pre 1974 and New Counties post 1974|county]] or parish of interest. | The staff of the Family History Library has compiled a resource called the [[Scotland Church Records Union Lists|Scotland Church Records Union List]] which strives to identify all pre-1855 churches in Scotland and whether they have surviving records. It also contains brief parish and congregation histories. This information, arranged by county then parish, is available through the Wiki by searching for a [[Scotland Old Counties pre 1974 and New Counties post 1974|county]] or parish of interest. | ||
== Old Parochial Registers (OPR) == | == Old Parochial Registers (OPR) == | ||
The term ''old parochial registers'' refers to the parish records kept by the Presbyterian Church (Church of Scotland) from the time the church began keeping records up to the year 1855. The records include registers of births/baptisms, marriages/proclamations, and deaths/burials. The amount of information in registers varies from parish to parish. Later records generally give more complete information than earlier ones. For more information see [[Scotland Established (Presbyterian) Church Records|Scotland Established (Presbyterian) Church Records]]. | The term ''old parochial registers'' refers to the parish records kept by the Presbyterian Church (Church of Scotland) from the time the church began keeping records up to the year 1855. The records include registers of births/baptisms, marriages/proclamations, and deaths/burials. The amount of information in registers varies from parish to parish. Later records generally give more complete information than earlier ones. For more information see [[Scotland Established (Presbyterian) Church Records|Scotland Established (Presbyterian) Church Records]]. | ||
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*[[Scotland Established (Presbyterian) Church Records|Scotland Established (Presbyterian) Church Records]]. | *[[Scotland Established (Presbyterian) Church Records|Scotland Established (Presbyterian) Church Records]]. | ||
*[[ | *[[Scotland Old Parochial Registers (OPR)|Scotland Old Parochial Registers (OPR)]] | ||
== Key Web Sites == | == Key Web Sites == | ||
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Part of the National Archives of Scotland: [http://www.scottishdocuments.com http://www.scottishdocuments.com] | Part of the National Archives of Scotland: [http://www.scottishdocuments.com http://www.scottishdocuments.com] | ||
Scottish Archive Network: [http://www.scan.org.uk www.scan.org.uk]<br> | Scottish Archive Network: [http://www.scan.org.uk www.scan.org.uk]<br> | ||
Access to British archives/catalog/documents: [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk] | Access to British archives/catalog/documents: [http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk] | ||
<br> | <br> | ||
[Go to the [[Scotland Strategies for Locating Births, Marriages and Deaths|Scotland Research Strategies]] page.] <br {{Place|Scotland}} | [Go to the [[Scotland Strategies for Locating Births, Marriages and Deaths|Scotland Research Strategies]] page.] <br {{Place|Scotland}} | ||