The General Assembly replies to the letter from His Majesty The King

The General Assembly has replied to the letter from His Majesty King Charles III, which reaffirmed the King's pledge to "preserve and uphold the rights and privileges of the Church of Scotland", acknowledging "with Gratitude to Almighty God, the Church's steadfast witness to the Christian faith and its services to our people in Scotland and in many lands overseas".

The letter reads:

21 May 2025

REPLY TO HIS MAJESTY'S MOST GRACIOUS LETTER

TO THE KING'S MOST EXCELLENT MAJESTY

May it please Your Majesty We, Your Majesty's loyal subjects convened in General Assembly, have received with pleasure Your Majesty's most gracious letter to us. We greatly value Your Majesty's continuing pledge to maintain the historic rights and privileges of the Church of Scotland. We regard those rights to consist principally in the right to worship a gracious and merciful God and to a life of service for the sake of the other, particularly the most vulnerable and marginalised people in Scotland and beyond, all in and through the name of Jesus Christ.

We thank you for Your own example of Christian duty and service in this past year. We have continued to pray for Your Majesty's health at this time and for that of Her Majesty the Queen as we have also for the health of the Duchess of Rothesay.

The appointment of the Rt Hon Lady Elish Angiolini as Your Majesty's Lord High Commissioner to our General Assembly has been welcomed throughout the Church of Scotland, and within the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland and beyond. Your Majesty will recall the signing of the Saint Margaret Declaration by the Church of Scotland and the Catholic Bishops' Conference in Scotland in 2022, in the presence of HRH The Princess Royal. We regard Lady Elish's willingness to accept Your Majesty's gracious invitation to serve as Lord High Commissioner as symbolic of a new era within Scottish society in which that which unites us is greater than that which divided us in former years.

We are grateful for Your Majesty's understanding of the present challenges which the Church of Scotland is facing and the recognition, nevertheless, that the central work of the Church takes place on a daily basis in the diverse communities in which we serve. We echo your words in regarding the local Church as the beacon of light and hope in the midst of darkness for so many people. The work of CrossReach embodies the presence of Christ for the most vulnerable within our society and exemplifies what it is to love God and to love our neighbours in the name of Jesus Christ. In like fashion, the ministry of chaplaincy embodies that presence in varied and diverse communities.

We join with Your Majesty in affirming the ongoing significance of ecumenical engagement and inter-faith relationships in a broken and divided world. We give thanks for Your Majesty's support for such engagement and Your Majesty's evident desire to foster healing and to bring about reconciliation at this particular moment in the history of our world. The willingness to reach out beyond boundaries is not to disown our past. Rather, it is to discover the future which is held in the hands of a gracious and merciful God.

Finally, we commend Your Majesty and Her Majesty The Queen to the unfailing grace and protection of Almighty God, and we pray that God will bestow favour upon Your Majesty, as you continue to reign over us.

Your Majesty's most faithful and loyal servants.

THE MINISTERS, ELDERS AND DEACONS OF THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND CONVENED IN GENERAL ASSEMBLY

Signed in our name, in our presence and at our appointment by the Right Reverend Rosie Frew, Moderator of the General Assembly on this 21st day of May 2025.