In 1300, the country which today is called Scotland was still struggling to assert a national identity. Leaderless after the execution of Wallace, the Scots found a champion in King Robert Bruce whose victory in 1314 at the battle of Bannockburn consolidated his kingdom.

Coinciding with the emergence of this new nation on the European scene, the vast cathedral on the east coast at St. Andrews was nearing completion, a monument to the pretensions of this small medieval town which soon became the ecclesiastical capital of Scotland. Today, despite its ruined state, St. Andrews cathedral has become a paradigm of Scots religion.

For 700 years, Christianity, of both Catholic and Protestant varieties, has sustained the state of Scotland - but no longer does so. That is the bleak reality as the churches of Scotland approach the millennium. The reasons' for this can be debated, the suggested remedies are various, but the sad reality is that the territory which the tide of secularism has eroded is unlikely to be reclaimed.

However, the 17 essays collected in St. Andrews Rock do not attempt to balance Christianity and other religions in Scotland, but look pre­dominantly at the Protestant picture and the self critical debate which is going on as the Kirk contemplates the 21st century.

Stewart Lamont has been a leading commentator on the religious scene in Scotland for twenty years as broadcaster, journalist and author. He is ideally placed to bring together influential thinkers and churchmen to provide a portrait of Scottish Christianity at the close of the twentieth century.