With God

The present day Church of St John the Evangelist was consecrated on 6th May 1851. Its roots, however, can be traced back to the dawn of Christianity in Scotland and to the founding of the ancient diocese of Aberdeen in the 12th century. The first bishop of the diocese had his cathedral in Old Aberdeen, with the parish church dedicated to St Nicholas in the New Town.

In the turbulent years that followed the Reformation of 1560, the Episcopal order was temporarily lost as Presbyterianism was enforced. In the old diocese of Aberdeen, however, many were unwilling to conform. The beginning of the congregation of St John’s can be dated to 1720 when Rev Dr George Garden, ejected from the East Kirk of St Nicholas for his refusal to accept Presbyterianism, formed a church of like-minded parishioners. This small congregation met in a series of houses around the Castlegate, since no church could be built under the Penal Laws. One such meeting place was destroyed by Cumberland’s soldiers and the furniture burnt in a neighbouring street.

From the days of such humble beginnings in 1720 through the glorious days of the dedication of the present church building in 1851 to the present day, the congregation of St John’s continued to offer the sweet sacrament of prayer and praise to the glory of God.

At present the weekly worship is as follows: