The new official tartan of the Church of Scotland. PICTURE: Via Church of Scotland.
The Church of Scotland has unveiled an official five colour tartan to mark its role as Scotland’s national church.
Rev Iain Cunningham, convener of the church’s World Mission Council which commissioned the tartan on behalf of the wider church, described the design as “eye catching and well balanced”.
“The Church of Scotland Guild has its own distinct tartan but some time ago our council decided it would be an excellent idea to commission a special pattern for the church as a whole,” he said in a statement.
“We put together a design in consultation with [textile manufacturer] Lochcarron of Scotland and are very pleased with what they came up with. It is an eye catching and well balanced design. All of the colours have multiple levels of significance for the church and help to tell its rich story.”
The five colours – purple, red, blue, green and white – each have multiple meanings which the church has explained:
• Purple symbolises royalty, the sovereignty of Jesus Christ as the head of the church, divinity, the thistle and heather;
• Red represents the blood of Christ, Christian martyrs, the flames of Pentecost, the Holy Spirit, the Burning Bush from which God spoke to Moses and the Scottish Lion Rampant;
• Blue represents Mary, the mother of Christ, the sky, St Andrew, the patron saint of Scotland, and the Kirk itself;
• Green is for the earth, growth, glens, moors and mountains; and,
• White symbolises brightness, the purity of Christ, the cross in the official emblem of the Church of Scotland and the Saltire, Scotland’s national flag.
The cloth has been registered with the Scottish Register of Tartans and will be used to make a wide range of products, some of which will be available for sale.
