Scottish Catholic and Episcopalian Church Relations
Scottish Catholic Historical Association Annual Conference 2026
Marking the first anniversary of the Saint Ninian Declaration
The Scottish Catholic Historical Association’s 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.
Programme
10:00 – 10:30 Coffee and registration
10:30 – 10:45 The Most Reverend Leo Cushley, Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh
Opening remarks
10:45 – 11:15 Keynote: Professor Charlotte Methuen (University of Glasgow)
Before the Saint Ninian Declaration: Anglican-Roman Catholic Relations in 1970s Scotland
11:15 – 11:30 Questions and discussion
11:30 – 12:00 Dr Clare Loughlin (Newcastle University)
Catholics, Episcopalians and the ‘popery’ problem in early eighteenth-century Scotland
12:00 – 12:15 Questions and discussion
12:15 – 13:00 Lunch
13:00 – 13:30 The Very Reverend Stephen Holmes (Provost, St Ninian’s Episcopal Cathedral, Perth)
Fortescue, Newman, and Reparation: A Victorian Tale from the Border
13:30 – 13:45 Questions and discussion
13:45 – 14:15 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
14:15 – 14:30 Questions and discussion
14:30 – 14:45 Coffee break
14:45 – 15:15 Dr Piotr Potocki (Secretary, SCHA)
From Ethnic Enclave to Ecclesia Militans: Catholic Relations with Other Denominations and with Scottish Society in the Late Nineteenth and Early Twentieth Centuries
15:15 – 15:30 Questions and discussion
15:30 – 16:00 Keynote: Professor Scott Spurlock (University of Glasgow)
‘One perfect religion’: Catholics, Episcopalians and the Covenanted Nation in Scotland, 1560–1690