Holy Trinity, Elgin

Holy Trinity Church, Elgin was consecrated in 1826; it was originally a simple Greek cross with the altar under the window in the North Transept. As the congregation grew the church was extended, firstly to the East with the building of the choir and Apse and then to the West with an extension to the nave. If you look closely outside you can see where the new stonework was joined to the old building.

There is a memorial brass to Hugh Buchan, who was Rector when the church was built; this is under the West window. Externally the main feature is the Gothic entrance gable and porch, built to finish the view down North Street, sadly ruined by the building of Alexandra Road, please note also the wonderful gargoyles and carvings that adorn the East end of the church. Internally the church is fairly sparse, leading our eye to the decorated and central Altar, this is deliberate as the main service in this church is focused upon that Altar.

Half way along the north wall of the nave there is space where out of service times one can meditate and pray. A small table supports meditation resources and prayers, some in Polish, and also a box to leave requests for prayers. There is a rack for votive candles and above it is a small framed fragment of an altar piece taken from a French church destroyed in the First World War; it is marked by both British and German bullets.

The North Transept is dedicated to St Columba, and has an informal chapel and prayer corner. The church organ was built by Wadsworth of Salford and has recently been restored.

The small Lady Chapel in the South Transept was created in memory of Dean Robertson a former rector and the wall plaques are memorials to local families.

The sanctuary is beautifully light and contains some fine woodwork and a tiled pavement, this is the heart of the church and the focus for Sunday Worship, a special place for the congregation.

The Stained glass windows are particularly fine with the sanctuary windows depicting the life of Christ, the North Transept the resurrection and the West Window the good shepherd.

The church also has in it’s possession an historic chalice given to the congregation by Simon Gray it’s inscription reading “To the afflicted church at Keams(Duffus) S. Gray being minister 1765”, this chalice is still used every Sunday at our main service.

The congregation of Holy Trinity can trace its continuous history from the reformation in Scotland, through the troubled times of the covenant and the arrival of William of Orange, the divisions of the Jacobite period until the present day.

In 1621 Rev John Gordon was deposed for refusing to sign the covenant and later Rev Alexander Todd was forced to resign as minister of St Giles when Presbyterianism was finally established in Elgin, the Episcopal congregation continued to worship in the walled up Sanctuary of Old St Giles until after the 1715 rising when we were evicted, finding temporary homes in the old Greyfriars church, (Now a Convent) and a small chapel near Thunderton lane, this is the building closed down by the Duke of Cumberland on his way to Culloden. Following the tragedy of Culloden the Episcopal church suffered many years of persecution and we became but a remnant of our former selves, yet the church survived thanks to the dedication of loyal members and when we were able to worship freely again we bought the land in North Street and began to build our present church. We are often called the English church but this is an error, we are proud of our Scottish heritage, and thankful to all those who through the centuries have kept the faith and built up our church.

The church is used for worship every day of the year and has an active and spiritual fellowship within it; we have a strong youth programme and a broad cross section of people in the congregation. Our worship is centred on the Eucharist and we welcome people of all denominations and those of none.