Religious leaders from faiths across Scotland have united to offer prayers for the new King.
A statement from senior clergy in the Scottish Church Leaders’ Forum thanked the Queen, who was the UK’s longest serving monarch, for her “faithful service as sovereign”.
With Charles III now King following her death on Thursday, they added that they joined with “people of good faith everywhere in offering our prayers for His Majesty King Charles III and the Royal family at this time”.
It came after he was formally declared the nation’s new monarch at a meeting of the Accession Council in London.
The statement was issued by a total of 14 senior clergy in Scotland, including the Rt Rev Dr Iain Greenshields, the Moderator of the General Assembly, Church of Scotland, and the Most Rev Leo Cushley, the Archbishop of St Andrews and Edinburgh on behalf of the Roman Catholic Church.
It was also signed by the Most Rev Mark Strange, Primus, on behalf of the College of Bishops, Scottish Episcopal Church, the Rev Archie Ford, Moderator, United Free Church of Scotland, the Rev Iver Martin, Moderator, Free Church of Scotland, the Rev Paul Whittle, Moderator, United Reformed Church (Scotland), the Rev Martin Hodson, general director, Baptist Union of Scotland, the Rev Mark Slaney, district chair, Methodist Church (Scotland), the Rev Thomas R Wilson, chair, Congregational Federation in Scotland, Lt Col Carol Bailey, secretary for Scotland, Salvation Army, Adwoa Bittle, of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers), Bishop Raphael of Ilion, Ecumenical Patriarchate, Archdiocese of Thyateira and Great Britain, Pastor Chris Gbenle, Redeemed Christian Church of God (Scotland Province), and Bishop Kenneth Nowakowski, of the Ukrainian Catholic Church.
They stated: “We join with the Nation in offering our thanks to God for the life of Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth and for her faithful service as sovereign throughout these last 70 years.
“We give thanks for her evident Christian faith and recall that in her first Christmas broadcast as Queen in 1952 she asked us to pray for her ‘that God may give me wisdom and strength to carry out the solemn promises that I shall be making, and that I may faithfully serve Him and you, all the days of my life.’
“In her faithful service of God and of the Nation she has surely fulfilled the promises that she made.
“We join with people of good faith everywhere in offering our prayers for His Majesty King Charles III and the Royal Family at this time.”
