Greyfriars Kirk

About

Greyfriars Kirk (Scottish Gaelic: Eaglais nam Manach Liath) is a parish church of the Church of Scotland, located in the Old Town of Edinburgh, Scotland. It is surrounded by Greyfriars Kirkyard. Greyfriars traces its origin to the south-west parish of Edinburgh, founded in 1598.

Initially, this congregation met in the western portion of St Giles'. The church is named for the Franciscans or "Grey Friars," who arrived in Edinburgh from the Netherlands in the mid-15th century and were granted land for a Catholic friary at the south-western edge of the burgh. In the wake of the Scottish Reformation, the grounds of the abandoned friary were repurposed as a cemetery, in which the current church was constructed between 1602 and 1620.

In 1638, National Covenant was signed in the Kirk. The church was damaged during the Protectorate, when it was used as barracks by troops under Oliver Cromwell. In 1718, an explosion destroyed the church tower.

During the reconstruction, the church was partitioned to hold two congregations: Old Greyfriars and New Greyfriars. In 1845, fire ravaged Old Greyfriars. After its reconstruction, the minister, Robert Lee, introduced the first organ and stained glass windows...