The Scottish Episcopal Church is the representative of the Anglican Communion in Scotland. It is the result of a history in the Scottish Church of struggles throughout the 16th and 17th centuries between congregational and episcopal forms of liturgy and government. When the dust finally settled, in 1689, Scotland was left with an established church, the Church of Scotland, which is Presbyterian and has no bishops, and an unestablished, independent, Scottish Episcopal Church, which retained the traditional episcopal (meaning, with bishops) forms, and the traditional liturgy. This Church, while closely related to the Church of England in liturgical, structural, and many other ways, nevertheless was often at odds with the English government, as may be seen in the history of one of its parishes, Old St. Paul's in Edinburgh.

The Scottish Episcopal Church was thus the first of the many Churches in the Anglican Communion to be independent of the Church of England.

The Scottish Episcopal Church is important to the history of the Episcopal Church in the U. S., as its independent nature allowed the consecration of the first Episcopal bishop, Samuel Seabury, in 1784, without his having to swear allegiance to the British crown. As a result, the Communion rite adopted by the Episcopal Church in 1790 was closely based on the Scottish liturgy, rather than the English.

We present here the first Scottish Book of Common Prayer, as adopted in 1912. As noted below, this book is essentially the English 1662 BCP with the addition of the Scottish Communion Office, along with certain other relatively minor additions and perrmissible deviations. It was replaced by a more extensive revision in 1929.

Prior to this time, the individual Scottish parishes would generally use the English 1662 BCP, along with the Scottish Communion Service, if desired. Books of Common Prayer printed in Scotland prior to this time were identical to those printed in England (see below).

This text is also available from the Internet Archive in PDF and plain text formats.

  The Preface
  Concerning the Service of the Church
  Of Ceremonies, why some be abolished, and some retained
  The Order how the Psalter is appointed to be read
  The Order how the rest of the Holy Scripture is appointed to be read
  Tables of Proper Lessons and Psalms
  Additional Proper Lessons
  The Kalendar, with the Table of Lessons
  Tables and Rules for the Feasts and Fasts through the whole Year
  The Order for Morning Prayer
  The Order for Evening Prayer
  The Creed of St Athanasius
  The Litany
  Prayers and Thanksgivings upon seveal occasions
  The Collects, Epistles and Gospels to be used at the Ministration of the Holy Communion, throughout the Year
  The Order of the Ministration of the Holy Communion both Scottish and English
  The Order of Baptism both Public and Private
  The Order of Baptism for those of Riper Years
  The Catechism
  The Order of Confirmation both English and Scottish
  The Form of Solemnization of Matrimony
  The Order for the Visitation of the Sick, and the Communion of the Sick
  The Order for the Burial of the Dead
  The Thanksgiving of Women after Child-birth
  A Commination, or denouncing of God’s anger and judgements against sinners
  The Psalter
  Forms of Prayer to be used at Sea
  The Form and Manner of Making, Ordaining, and Consecrating of Bishops, Priests, and Deacons
  Forms of Prayer for the Anniversary of the day of Accession of the reigning Sovereign
  A Table of Kindred and Affinity
  Articles of Religion