Old High St Stephen's

About

Old High St Stephen's Church (Scottish Gaelic: Seann Eaglais Ard) is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in Inverness, the capital city of the Highlands of Scotland. The congregation was formed on 30 October 2003 by a union of the congregations of Inverness Old High (57.4801°N 4.2289°W / 57.4801; -4.2289 (Old High Church)) and Inverness St Stephen's (57.4730°N 4.2186°W / 57.4730; -4.2186 (St Stephen's Church)). Unusually in a union of Church of Scotland congregations, both buildings were retained for worship.

In January 2022, regular worship ended at Old High. Since then, the Sunday service takes place at St Stephen's Church at 10:30am The Old High congregation was the oldest congregation in Inverness. The church—the historic town church of Inverness—mainly dates from the eighteenth century.

Its site, overlooking the banks of the River Ness, has been used for worship since Celtic times. Thus the congregation can claim to have been founded by St Columba, the Irish monk who first brought Christianity to Inverness. Among many notable features is a Father Willis organ, restored in 2010.

The Old High Church is a category A listed building. St Stephen's was founded as a 'daughter...