This article records tradition as it has been passed down and reported. Its sources are not yet part of the atlas's verified catalogue.
On 23 May 2022, the Church of Scotland's General Assembly voted 274 to 136 to change its standing law and allow a minister or deacon to apply to become an authorized celebrant for a same-sex marriage. A majority of the church's presbyteries, twenty nine to twelve, had already approved the change before the Assembly's own vote.
No minister or deacon is required to participate in the solemnization of, or the arrangements for, a same-sex marriage against their own wishes. An applicant celebrant must register with the Principal Clerk's office and the Registrar General for Scotland and renew that status every three years.
Moderator of the General Assembly the Right Reverend Dr Iain Greenshields said the decision followed lengthy, prayerful debate at every level of the church, and that celebrants would be expected to weigh the peace, unity and pastoral needs of their own congregation in deciding whether to conduct such a marriage.
What the May 2022 vote changed for the Church of Scotland was creating a path for ministers and deacons to apply to conduct same-sex marriages, built on a presbytery level majority already in place before the General Assembly voted and bounded by a conscience protection for any minister or deacon who chooses not to participate, registered and renewed through the same civil channels as any other authorized celebrant.