The Church of Scotland has formally apologized for its historical role in slavery, with the apology adopted during the church’s General Assembly in Edinburgh on Saturday.
Before the abolition of slavery across the British Empire in the 1830s, some members of the church provided theological justification for chattel slavery. The Kirk also acknowledged that historically some members benefited directly and indirectly from participation in the slave trade.
In the statement adopted by the assembly, the church said it was “grieved beyond telling by the extraordinary suffering we have inflicted – through our actions and our inaction – on our brothers and sisters.”
The apology continued: “We repent, committing ourselves to changing course and bearing fruit worthy of repentance.”
The Very Rev. Sally Foster-Fulton, who presented the apology, said the history being addressed continues to influence the modern world.
“Its consequences touch communities near and far, influencing the structures, attitudes and inequalities that persist around us,” Foster-Fulton said.
She added that “the legacy of slavery stretches like a shadow over our local, national and global landscape,” saying that acknowledging the past was necessary for healing and reconciliation.
Rose Wedderburn, general secretary of the United Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands, welcomed the apology and praised the church’s efforts toward “truth-telling and honest engagement.”
The Church of Scotland joins a growing list of Scottish institutions confronting historical links to slavery. In 2022, the councils of Edinburgh and Glasgow also issued formal apologies over their historical connections to slavery and the transatlantic slave trade.
