St Mary's Cathedral

Our full title is “The Cathedral Church of St Mary in Edinburgh”. Ever since the earliest times, the Christian Church has been divided into geographical areas known as dioceses. Every Diocese has its own Bishop, whose duty it is to teach, lead and care for the clergy and people of the Diocese, acting as Christ’s primary representative to them

The Cathedral is the church where the Bishop’s throne (cathedra in Greek) resides. Hence, we are the Cathedral for the Diocese of Edinburgh, which is why you may sometimes hear us referred to as “Edinburgh Cathedral”. However, owing to the fact that the city contains two other Cathedrals (St Giles, and St Mary’s Metropolitan: the Church of Scotland High Kirk, and the Roman Catholic Cathedral, respectively), we prefer to call ourselves simply “St Mary’s Cathedral”, after our patron saint.