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A History of St. John's Episcopal Church, Dumfries

by Revd Ian Meredith

Although we are sometimes called "The English Church", our historical roots are in fact Scottish and can be traced back to Celtic Christianity.

St. Michael's and the early church in Scotland

We were at one time part of the parish church of Dumfries - St. Michael's. Though the earliest written records of this church go back to 1190, it would appear that a Christian church has stood on the present St. Michael's site for over 1300 years. Going further back, there is evidence pointing to a sanctuary having been established by St. Ninian around 390 AD as a stopping place for pilgrims travelling to and from his "Candida Casa" at Whithorn. Even further back it is believed that this was a site of Druid worship long before the Christian era. The present building is the third church built on the site.

Christianity in Scotland evolved through various stages from the primitive British church of St. Ninian, the Celtic church of St. Columba, being replaced after the Synod of Whitby in 664 AD by the Roman Catholic Church, which now dominated Christianity in the known western world. After several unsuccessful reform movements such as the followers of John Wycliffe in England (the Lollards), the western church split in two in the 16th century in what became known as the Reformation, which was formalised in Scotland by an Act of Parliament in 1560.

Just prior to the Reformation, St. Michael's would have been a place of Roman Catholic worship, a fact which has been authenticated by the discovery of the ancient altar on practically the same spot as that on which the present pulpit stands.

St Ninian

The Reformation.

John Knox

At the Reformation, St Michael's would have become a Protestant church with the very same congregation who only last week had been Roman Catholics and in many cases led by their Minister who only last week was their priest! We mention this to emphasise that the Episcopal Church is "Catholic" in that it traces its line of descent prior to the Reformation, maintaining the ancient catholic threefold ministry of bishops, priests and deacons along with much of that earlier ceremonial worship. It is also "Protestant" as having split from Rome and having embraced many of the insights of reformed worship and theology.

Presbyterians and Episcopalians

The reformed church in this country soon became known as the Church of Scotland, but contained within it two distinct groups. One group felt that the reformation had not gone far enough. Influenced by the teachings of John Calvin in Geneva, they wished to make the services even more simple. They wished to abolish the office of bishop, seeking to govern the Church by councils of elders. In time they became known as "Presbyterians" (from the Greek word presbytros meaning elder). The other party felt that the reformation had gone far enough. They wished to maintain the office of bishop and have more liturgical services and were known as "episcopalians" (from the Greek word episcopos meaning bishop or overseer).

At various periods over the next 130 years each of these groups dominated the Kirk in turn, but sadly they could not co-exist, and at the end of the 17th century, the Episcopalians left and continued as a separate Church. In the end it was actually over a political matter. The bishops, having sworn allegiance to King James II (or VII) felt that while he was alive, they could not also swear allegiance to King William (of Orange) III. This allegiance was to cost the Scottish Episcopalians dearly in the next century.

The Dumfries Episcopalian Society.

In Dumfries, in 1690, a small company of people, who wished to remain faithful to episcopalian principles, left St. Michael's Church and continued to meet as an "Episcopal Society." This society met in houses, probably Lag Hall, the home of Sir Robert Grierson of Lag, and was served by local Episcopal clergy. These included the Rev. John Learmouth who had been Minister at Mouswald. By the 1730's the Episcopalians in Dumfries had their own "meeting house."

Jacobites

Bonnie Prince Charlie

However, the political situation in Scotland was tense. Despite the House of Hanover now being on the British throne, there were some in Scotland who still held out for the Stuart family, now exiled in France. These supporters were known as Jacobites and among them were many who were Episcopalians. After the unsuccessful Jacobite Rebellion of 1715, stringent Penal Laws were enacted which forced Episcopalian clergy to either take the oath of Allegiance or suffer persecution. Those who could not in all conscience take the oath, were banished and many Episcopalian churches simply went "underground."

As Episcopalians were also involved in the second Jacobite Rebellion of 1745, it was declared illegal for any person attending an Episcopal meeting whose minister had not taken the Oaths and registered with the Sheriff, to vote in municipal or parliamentary election, nor would such a person be eligible for any post in the legislature, local or national.

We become an "English Qualified Chapel"

It has to be said that not all Episcopalians supported King James, and so not all were Jacobites. There were some who in fact, like the majority of their English counterparts, would have been happy to support William of Orange. In time, this section broke away from the jurisdiction of the Scottish bishops. They were quite happy to take the oath of Allegiance and to pray for the British (Hanoverian) Royal family in their services. Around thirty of these congregations arose in the 1740's among them, Dumfries. Although called "English" they were not in fact under the jurisdiction of the Church of England bishops - they were in fact under no bishops! (An anomalous situation pointed out by their critics). They were called English simply because they used the English Book of Common Prayer.

In 1754 the Dumfries "English Chapel" decided to build a better and more centrally situated place of worship for a membership that since "qualification" had been steadily increasing. The first Episcopal Chapel in Dumfries was built. Octagonal in shape and accommodating up to 200 worshippers, it was in Lochmabengate (now English Street. Internally the Chapel differed little from its Presbyterian contemporaries: no chancel, with large three decker pulpit, a plain communion table and a minister conducting the service wearing a black Geneva gown with bands.

Celebrations of the Holy Communion were few and far between. Private baptism was fairly common, and there was no such thing as confirmation.

St. Mary's Episcopal Church, Buccleuch Street

In 1772, an Irishman, the Rev. William Babington became the Episcopal minister in Dumfries. Mr Babington threw himself very much into the local community of Dumfries, thereby considerably raising the profile of the church among the town folk. He was one of the founders of the Royal Infirmary; the Theatre Royal, and in the raising of funds for the "Relief of the Industrious Poor" as well as other charities. He was a friend of Robert Burns, the poet.

In 1788 "Bonnie Prince Charlie" died in Italy, the Jacobite dream died with him. Thus the climate was right for the Scottish Episcopal Church to reconsider its allegiances to the British throne. There followed various pronouncements from the bishops renouncing their former Jacobite allegiance and swearing loyalty to the British monarchy. This also opened the way for the English Qualified Chapels to be re-united with the Scottish Episcopal Church, and eventually in 1812 Dumfries came back "into the fold."

In the following year, 1813, they decided it was also time to build a new church. On the corner of Buccleuch Street and Castle Street stood a Congregational Church, which was acquired. The building was demolished and a new church was built and opened in 1817. Although dedicated to St. Mary it was never so called by the general public of Dumfries, who always referred to it as "the English Chapel." It was built in the neo-classical style with galleries, and had one of the most controversial innovations in worship of the times - an organ, being the only church in Dumfries to have one.

The Rev. Archibald McEwen

In 1846, the Rev. Archibald McEwen became minister, and his ministry during the next 37 years was to see many changes. A Scotsman, he studied at Cambridge and was ordained into the Church of England. Mr McEwen implemented a series of artistic improvements to the building, along with a "generous" allocation of 30 seats for the grateful poor! With the re-opening of the building, Mr McEwen also instituted some changes in the worship including more frequent celebrations of Holy Communion. He introduced hymns in place of metrical psalms. He also began Sunday evening services at the Crichton Hospital Chapel. In 1858 he opened an Episcopal school in the town.

St. John's

Mr McEwen then "turned with unflagging energy and zeal to his next project - the building of a larger and more beautiful place of worship." In 1862 St. Mary's Chapel was sold to the Wesleyan Methodists for £800 (it is now the Robert the Bruce pub). The chosen site for the new church at Lovers Walk was in the Church of Scotland parish of St. Mary's, hence the new church had to be called something different: St. John the Evangelist.

The Church of England had in the past few decades been rocked by what became known as The Oxford Movement or "Tractarianism", after a series of tracts, written in the 1830's by John Henry Newman and others. This teaching was re-emphasising the "catholic" side of Anglicanism. It began to express itself in more ceremonial in worship, greater use of candles and crosses and priests wearing vestments at the Holy Communion. From this inspiration, a new style of church architecture was introduced - "gothic revival" with its high roofs, pointed arches, long naves and ornate chancels.

The "jewel in the crown" of this new building was the reredos behind the altar with its five arches of Prudham stone portraying in mosaic, our Lord as the good shepherd and the four Evangelists. The new church was opened in 1868.

You can take a photo tour of this church here.

With the new building, Mr McEwen introduced "innovations" into the worship, which were at first resisted as being too "popish". These included a surpliced choir, candles, a ceremonial cross and evergreen decorations at Christmas! A harvest festival was first introduced in 1871. All quite harmless by today's standards - but there was more to come though not in Mr McEwen's day.

St. Ninian's Mission

Mr McEwen's successor was the Rev. John R. Denham. One of his first tasks was the building of a new school. He introduced Guilds for men and women, a penny Bank, a Football Team and a church magazine. Mr Denham also began missionary work among the poor and became popular with the working classes. In those days, seats were not "free" in church - you rented them, and by this means the church raised money. Mr Denham wished "free seats" so that the poor could attend St. John's, but in this he was resisted by the vestry. After five years of opposition, Mr Denham at his own expense, built a mission church in which all seats were free. This church, known as St. Ninian's, was built just across the river at Maxwelltown (it is now the Brigend Theatre).

In the 1960's with the development of housing schemes on the outskirts of the town, the St. Ninian's church was closed and re-located to Lochside. Sadly the work there did not reach much beyond the next ten years, and the church was closed, the remaining congregation now attending St. John's.

The 20th century

When the Rev. Frederick Moir became rector in 1897, he found St. Johns services, according to its historian, "a simple ritual with a bare minimum of ceremonial, and with due respect for the congregation's traditional Protestantism, made no innovations .." Various festivals were observed as was Lent (an innovation!) It was during Mr Moir's time that the musical tradition of the church was developed.

The present church hall was added in 1925 for the growing number of church organisations for men, women and children. The Mothers Guild became the Mothers Union in the 1950's and continues to be a major organisation in the life of St. John's.

In 1954 the Rev. Hugh McIntosh became rector, and under his ministry, "ritualism - a ceremonial of a kind that the congregation of Mr McEwen's day would have rejected with scorn." Candles were carried in procession, six of which appeared behind the altar, and priests now wore coloured vestments at the Eucharist, which was now sung instead of said. The 1960's saw other new ideas in worship, slightly less formal "parish communions" and youth services were being experimented with, along with modern language liturgies.

The period from 1969 to 1999 was one of radical transformation. The vestry which originally just discussed matters of finance and property, has had a wider remit, looking more after the spiritual needs of the church and community.

At the beginning of this century, the Authorised Version of the Bible was used with its "thee's" and "thou's" also shaping the language of the liturgy. Since the plethora of new translations of the Bible, there have been accordingly, modern revisions of the service. After a period of experimentation the "Grey Book" was introduced in 1970. Considered innovative in its time, it has now become our more "traditional" form of worship.

The choir, under the direction of Mr Tom Carrick and now also Mr Jamie Brand has had a higher profile since the 1970's, providing some of the finest church choral music in south west Scotland. Its all male membership has also changed to include girls and women since as recently as 1996.

Several of St. John's rectors went on to "higher" things in the Church, Mr im Thurn becoming Dean and Hugh McIntosh, Provost of the Cathedral. But it was a great honour for St. John's when in 1991 their rector, Rev. John M. Taylor was appointed Bishop of Glasgow & Galloway.

St. John's has coped well with the ordination of women, first to the diaconate and then to the priesthood. In 1991 the Rev Joan Marr was ordained deacon to serve at Moffat, and in 1998 she joined the staff of St. John's.

The Methodist Connection
The Methodist Connection
In 1996, the General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church, and the Synod of the Methodist Church in Scotland, entered into a new relationship, and pledged that they would work more closely together wherever it was possible.
Following on from that, in the following year (1997) St John's in Dumfries appointed a Methodist presbyter as Associate Minister. As a number of people in the congregation were Methodists, or had been in the past, it seemed entirely appropriate that this should happen.
It was a ground-breaking appointment for both denominations, and opened the way for further commitment on both sides in other parts of Scotland. Episcopalians and Methodists have much in common, and the past seven years have been fruitful for both churches, thanks to what has happened here in Dumfries.

How The Partnership Works
Our spirituality is of a kind which traces its roots back to the Anglicanism of the Reformation. John Wesley, Anglican priest and founder of Methodism, was the epitome of the motto of the Scottish Episcopal Church - 'Evangelical Truth and Apostolic Order' (though it has to be said that he did sit somewhat lightly to both when it suited him!)
In both style and content, Methodist and Episcopalian ways of worshipping have much in common. Our ways of running the church are very similar too, with lay ministries being more and more recognised and valued. In Scotland, our ordained ministers (presbyters and deacons) train together, thus helping to draw our two denominations even closer together.

The Present and Future

The new century began when a new rector - The Rev. Lewis Shand Smith, came from Lerwick in Shetland to take up the mantle. As well as wide experience in the Episcopal Church, Lewis came with considerable community involvement, having been a local councillor and convenor of the council. Lewis has encouraged the church into mission both at home and overseas. He has been particularly keen to see the various renewal programmes of the Episcopal Church such as Mission 21 and Local Collaborative ministry, implemented at St. John's. This has meant a far greater participation of the laity than before, not just in terms of taking part in services, but in planning the very core life of the congregation.

For further reading:

"History of Dumfries" by William McDowell, Published by T.C.Farries & Co., Dumfries 1986

"St John's Church, Dumfries - Centenary Book" by Jean Maxwell, Published by Robert Dinwiddie & Co., Dumfries, 1968

"Changes and Chances: A history of St. John's Episcopal Church, Dumfries 1969-1999 by Dr Doris Hatvany, Published by the Vestry of St John's Church, 2003

These books are all available in the local studies section of the Ewart Public Library, Dumfries.