King Stephen vs. Empress Matilda
The 19-year reign of King Stephen (c.1097-1154) was the last of the House of Normandy. Born in France, he was raised as […]
Read MoreAuthor: Purple Brolly
My aim is to give a flavour of these precious islands we call 'the UK'. All research is based on a minimum of two publicly available sources, usually more.
‘Watch with Mother’
London-born Freda Lingstrom, OBE (1893-1989) was a pioneer of radio and television programming for pre-school children. She launched BBC radio’s ‘Listen with […]
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Party Conferences
Party Conferences take place annually, with the larger political parties choosing late September/early October and the smaller ones opting for February/March/April. The […]
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The Queen’s Honours List
The honours system recognises long-term service to the nation in the fields of charity, industry, the professions, entertainment, sport or science; or […]
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David Bellamy, environmentalist
Dr David Bellamy, OBE (1933-2019) grew up in London but moved to Durham in 1960, where he lectured in the University’s Botany […]
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Trading Standards
Since the 10th century there have been laws on weights and measures to minimise differences from one town to another in, for […]
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The London Underground
The London Underground, or ‘the Tube’, was the world’s first subterranean railway network and without it and its 270 stations, London would […]
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Garden-themed literature
Many of the common themes used in English fiction can be played out in a garden setting. The circle of life, coming […]
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Parkinson’s Disease
Dr. James Parkinson (1755-1824) from London was quite the polymath, making strides not only in medicine but also geology and paleontology. He […]
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The Grand National
The Grand National is an annual horse race many would like to see banned on animal welfare grounds, or at least greatly […]
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The Scottish Episcopal Church
When the Church of Scotland (CofS) was confirmed as that nation’s Established Church in the early 1700s, the other main branch of […]
Read MoreWhen the Church of Scotland (CofS) was confirmed as that nation’s Established Church in the early 1700s, the other main branch of Scottish Reform Christianity set itself up formally as the Scottish Episcopal Church (SEC). Like the presbyterian CofS, it conducts baptism and communion, but it also offers confirmation, holy matrimony, confession, ordination and healing, in a similar way to the Church of England, Church in Wales and Church of Ireland, .
‘Episcopus’ is Latin for ‘bishop’ and an episcopal church is run by its bishops, who are the authority figures. The SEC has seven of these and each has a region, or diocese, of Scotland. Each diocese has one cathedral, but Argyll & The Isles diocese has two; one for Argyll and one for The Isles. The bishops elect a top bishop, called the Primus (inter pares) ~ first among equals.
Every SEC service has the same timetable in accordance with the Common Book of Prayer. The SEC maintains that it enjoys and benefits from its independence from a national tie and this is seen in the occasional policy difference with its Anglican neighbours. It is also regarded as straddling the divide between Protestantism and Catholicism, a position that encourages “lively debate”.
(Top image: Bill Harrison at geograph.org.uk / CC BY-SA 2.0)
St. Piran’s Day
The story of the man named Piran, Pyran, Perran or even Ciarán is debatable but the date he died seems to be […]
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