St Moluag's Cathedral, Lismore

St. Moluag's Cathedral is located on the Scottish island of Lismore just off the coast of Oban. As a congregation of the Church of Scotland, which is Presbyterian, the present-day parish church of 1749 stands on the site of the choir of the abandoned 13th-century cathedral, incorporating much of its material, but wrapped in 18th-century design.

"Lismore Cathedral" redirects here. For the Church of Ireland cathedral, see Lismore Cathedral, Ireland.

St Moluag's Cathedral in 2017

History
Stained glass of Dorcas within the church

Saint Moluag (Old Irish Mo-Luóc) (d. 592), founded a monastery on the island. It was a major centre of Christianity in Scotland, and the seat of the later medieval bishopric of Argyll or the Isles. To modern eyes it seems an isolated location for such a centre, but in an era when the fastest and most reliable transport was by water, Lismore was ideally situated.[1]

The Diocese of Argyll was Scotland's most impoverished diocese, and the fourteenth century Cathedral was very modest in scale.[2] In 1749, the choir was converted to a parish church. For this purpose, the building was lowered and got new windows. The nave and western tower of the cathedral were reduced to their foundations. The chief surviving medieval features are three doorways, one blocked, another originally the entrance through the pulpitum, a piscina and the triple-arched sedilia. Several late medieval grave slabs are preserved in the church or adjoining graveyard.[3]

Parish

The building is in use as the parish church of Lismore, a congregation of the Church of Scotland. It is also linked with Appin Parish Church on the mainland. The minister. is Rev Dr Iain Barclay ; previous minister is Rev Roderick D. M. Campbell, formerly of St Andrew's and St George's Church in Edinburgh;

See also

References
  1. History from Isle of Lismore retrieved 24 May 2013
  2. History from Scottish Episcopal Church Diocese of Argyll and The Isles retrieved 24 May 2013
  3. Site Record from Royal Commission on the Ancient and Historical Monuments of Scotland retrieved 24 May 2013
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