St Giles' Cathedral

St Giles' Cathedral
St Giles' Cathedral
High Kirk of Edinburgh
Cathair-eaglais Naomh Giles
	West façade of the church building
	55°56′58″N 03°11′27″W / 55.94944°N 3.19083°W
Location	Royal Mile, Edinburgh
Country	Scotland
Denomination	Church of Scotland
Previous denomination	Roman Catholic
Website	www.stgilescathedral.org.uk
History
Status	Parish church
Founded	12th century
Dedication	Saint Giles
Consecrated	6 October 1243
Past bishop(s)	Bishop of Edinburgh
Architecture
Functional status	Active
Heritage designation	Category A listed building
Designated	14 December 1970
Style	Gothic
Specifications
Length	196 feet (60 metres)
Width	125 feet (38 metres)
Height	52 feet (16 metres)
Spire height	145 feet (44 metres)
Bells	3
Administration
Presbytery	Edinburgh
Clergy
Minister(s)	Vacant
Assistant	Sam Nwokoro
Laity
Organist/Director of music	Michael Harris
Listed Building – Category A
Official name	High Street and Parliament Square, St Giles (High) Kirk
Designated	14 December 1970
Reference no.	LB27381

St Giles' Cathedral (Scottish Gaelic: Cathair-eaglais Naomh Giles), or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in the Old Town of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended until the early 16th century; significant alterations were undertaken in the 19th and 20th centuries, including the addition of the Thistle Chapel.^[4] St Giles' is closely associated with many events and figures in Scottish history, including John Knox, who served as the church's minister after the Scottish Reformation.^[5]

Likely founded in the 12th century^[6]^[7]^[8]^[a]^[b] and dedicated to Saint Giles, the church was elevated to collegiate status by Pope Paul II in 1467. In 1559, the church became Protestant with John Knox, the foremost figure of the Scottish Reformation, as its minister. After the Reformation, St Giles' was internally partitioned to serve multiple congregations as well as secular purposes, such as a prison and as a meeting place for the Parliament of Scotland. In 1633, Charles I made St Giles' the cathedral of the newly created Diocese of Edinburgh. Charles' attempt to impose doctrinal changes on the presbyterian Scottish Kirk, including a Prayer Book causing a riot in St Giles' on 23 July 1637, which precipitated the formation of the Covenanters and the beginnings of the Wars of the Three Kingdoms.^[8] St Giles' role in the Scottish Reformation and the Covenanters' Rebellion has led to its being called "the Mother Church of World Presbyterianism".^[12]

St Giles' is one of Scotland's most important medieval parish church buildings.^[13] The first church of St Giles' was a small Romanesque building of which only fragments remain. In the 14th century, this was replaced by the current building which was enlarged between the late 14th and early 16th centuries. The church was altered between 1829 and 1833 by William Burn and restored between 1872 and 1883 by William Hay with the support of William Chambers. Chambers hoped to make St Giles' a "Westminster Abbey for Scotland" by enriching the church and adding memorials to notable Scots. Between 1909 and 1911, the Thistle Chapel, designed by Robert Lorimer, was added to the church.^[4]^[14]

Since the medieval period, St Giles' has been the site of nationally important events and services; the services of the Order of the Thistle take place there. Alongside housing an active congregation, the church is one of Scotland's most popular visitor sites: it attracted over a million visitors in 2018.^[15]

^ Cite error: The named reference GMW441 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Cite error: The named reference R28 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ RCAHMS 1951, p. 29.
^ ^a ^b "'HIGH STREET AND PARLIAMENT SQUARE, ST GILES (HIGH) KIRK: LB27381'". historicenvironment.scot. Retrieved 4 July 2020.
^ Gordon 1958, p. 31.
^ Marshall 2009, pp. 2–4.
^ ^a ^b McIlwain 1994, p. 4.
^ ^a ^b "'History – St GILES' CATHEDRAL'". stgilescathedral.co.uk. 27 November 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2019.
^ Cite error: The named reference MR419 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Gray 1940, p. 14.
^ Cite error: The named reference lees2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ "'Welcome'". stgilescathedral.org.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2020.
^ Cite error: The named reference Hannah159 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Gifford, McWilliam, Walker 1984, pp. 103–118.
^ Cite error: The named reference Record was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

Cite error: There are <ref group=lower-alpha> tags or {{efn}} templates on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=lower-alpha}} template or {{notelist}} template (see the help page).

[GMW441-1] Cite error: The named reference GMW441 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[R28-2] Cite error: The named reference R28 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[R29-3] RCAHMS 1951, p. 29.

[HES-4] "'HIGH STREET AND PARLIAMENT SQUARE, ST GILES (HIGH) KIRK: LB27381'". historicenvironment.scot. Retrieved 4 July 2020.

[Gordon31-5] Gordon 1958, p. 31.

[6] Marshall 2009, pp. 2–4.

[mcilwain4-7] McIlwain 1994, p. 4.

[SGH-8] "'History – St GILES' CATHEDRAL'". stgilescathedral.co.uk. 27 November 2017. Retrieved 26 August 2019.

[MR419-9] Cite error: The named reference MR419 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[10] Gray 1940, p. 14.

[lees2-12] Cite error: The named reference lees2 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Welcome-14] "'Welcome'". stgilescathedral.org.uk. Retrieved 28 June 2020.

[Hannah159-15] Cite error: The named reference Hannah159 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[16] Gifford, McWilliam, Walker 1984, pp. 103–118.

[Record-17] Cite error: The named reference Record was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]

[7]

[8]

[a]

[b]

[12]

[13]

[14]

[15]