The Churches of England and Scotland have reached an historic agreement to work more closely together, they said on Thursday, at a time when the two nations are further apart politically than for centuries.
The two churches were formed separately in the 16th century when they broke with the Catholic Church in Rome and followed different traditions on either side of a great faultline in British religious history.
The Church of Scotland is Presbyterian and has no bishops, while the Church of England is Anglican and has retained more aspects of Catholic tradition. The Columba Declaration aims to “strengthen our relationship at a time when it is likely to be particularly critical in the life of the United Kingdom,” the authors said in a statement.
Scotland, which became part of Britain in 1707, voted to remain part of the United Kingdom in an independence referendum last year.
Britain now faces another referendum on whether to stay in the European Union by the end of 2017.
The churches have already worked together to establish a credit union for families on low incomes and regularly discuss issues such as poverty and refugees. The declaration is likely to deepen the extent of that cooperation.