28 May 2025

In St. John’s vision of heaven as a city, there is no temple. The city itself has become the temple because it is filled with the presence of God.  The division between secular and sacred has vanished. This is not only Scriptural but also ingrained into the very DNA of the Church of Scotland.

At the Reformation, our forebears abolished the altar, the font  and the chancel, re-orientated the kirk to accommodate the pulpit, attached a basin to it for baptisms and introduced the long table for the Sacrament. There was no priest but a priesthood of believers. We were all Jock Tamsan’s bairns, all one in the Body of Christ.

Prior to the Reformation, a number of Scotland’s churches were in a poor state of repair.  In such circumstances, the Reformers had to take a very pragmatic approach to church buildings. They had very little money.

So they had to discern what was essential. In assessing the needs of the worshippers, they were very practical. If there was enough room in the parish church, the cathedral  was abandoned. Witness the Cathedral at St. Andrews!

If the cathedral was needed only a portion was used – the nave or the choir. Witness Dunblane. The rest was abandoned. If the parish church was too big, it was divided up into two or three units for smaller congregations.

They weren’t interested in preserving the historic building nor ensuring its architectural integrity. Needs must. A space for the Word to be heard and preached was the only thing that mattered. Temples were provisional! We can learn a lot from this prioritisation!

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