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Collegiate Church of St Matthew
Rosslyn Chapel
Roslin, EH25 9PU

‘As commanded by Jesus, changing curiosity into wonder at the loving purposes of God
and caring for all His people through prayer, worship & service’

Services:
Sunday: Holy Eucharist 10.30am (by candlelight, with plainsong Psalm, Gospel, Sermon and Hymns)
Holy Communion 5pm (1st Sunday only - Scottish Prayer Book); Evensong 5pm (2nd/3rd/4th/5th Sunday, by candlelight, with Psalm and Readings)
Weekdays: Prayers at 12noon on Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday (prayers for Peace of the world, Healing, and in response to visitor prayer requests)

Priest in Charge: Vacancy

To find us: Take any of the exits towards the south of the city of Edinburgh and join the City Bypass A720. Look out for exits marked in brown for Rosslyn Chapel and the A701, A702, A703 and B7003, Straiton or Lothianburn.

About this historic church . . .
Rosslyn Chapel has been a place of Christian Pilgrimage since the building of a large Collegiate Church was started here in 1446. The death of its Patron, Sir William St. Clair, in 1484 brought the work to an end when only the Choir had been completed, which became the Chapel. It was used for Roman Catholic worship until the Reformation when the stone High Altar and twelve large statues of the Apostles were removed and the building closed.
In 1862 it was re-consecrated by the then Bishop of Edinburgh of the Scottish Episcopal Church and worship has been held in it continually since then.

It was the Bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church who consecrated the Bishops of the United States of America after the War of Independence in 1776 when the English Crown refused to do so. There have been close links between the American and the Scottish Episcopal Churches since that time.
Now, the Chapel draws its Congregation not only from the village of Roslin itself but also from Edinburgh and the Lothians as well as welcoming many visitors from around the world who come to share in our worship.

The Chapel is particularly popular with young couples who wish to be married here and who come from as far away as Australia and Hong Kong for the ceremony.

The Congregation is responsible for the organising of worship in the Chapel and the employment of a non-stipendiary Priest. The Congregation also has an Outreach Project in the village. The Christian life and work of the Congregation are entirely self-funded and receive no subsidy from either Church or State authorities.

The Chapel is owned by the Earls of Rosslyn and managed by the Rosslyn Chapel Trust who are responsible for the upkeep of the building. In 1995 a major project was started to preserve and secure the Chapel with the support of local and national government and European Union funds. The first stage of this project has been to erect a canopy over the Chapel in order to dry out the stonework.

In the early Scottish Celtic Church of the 7th Century AD, Christian missionaries far out across the land at their task of evangelising the People of God, would turn towards their mother Church at certain times of the day when they knew that their community would be at prayer. In the 12th Century AD, prayer lay at the heart of the lives of the monks and nuns of the great monastic houses of Europe as they went about their daily work. When the Monastery or Abbey bell rang out across their Domains, all those out in the fields turned towards the Church buildings to join in prayer.

Later, great kings and princes endowed their own Chapels with gifts of land and money so that prayers could be said regularly on their behalf. This might have been when they undertook an important but risky journey and wished prayers to be said for their safe return. Often, such places were built to commemorate in prayer someone close to them who had died and for whom they wished prayers to be said for their immortal souls.

St Matthew’s, Rosslyn Chapel is one such place. Its founder, a rich, powerful and successful man, settled down after a lifetime of service to build a Christian place of worship to record his life, his comrades in arms and his family and endowed a College of Canons to pray for himself and them. These Canons, lay and ordained, lived in the Collegiate Foundation’s lodgings close to the newly built Chapel and entered it regularly to fulfil their prayer duties.

This historic prayer tradition is honoured today by our Worshipping Community when members of our regular Congregation drawn from all over Edinburgh and the Lothians come to the Chapel at 12 Midday through the week to offer back to God the hundreds of Prayer Requests entered by visitors into our prayer request books and to give thanks for all His Blessings in the name of Our Lord Jesus Christ.

We welcome all visitors of whatever denomination to share in our worship with us.