ABSTRACT
The impact of war on Scottish worship spaces was more subtle, with the exception of the occasional dispute arising from some quarters of the English army concerning the Kirk's use of stools of repentance. Parishes, rather than Kirk leaders, solved the local problems war created for parish worship spaces. Edinburgh Presbytery claimed in early November 1647 that, for family worship, they 'suld be verie carfull That the rewles and directiones of the Laite Assemblie suld be observed', indicating other parishes. In 1648, the General Assembly pointed to those 'known to make conscience of the worship of God in their families' to have been targeted by Engagers 'as though the war had been against God'. The presence of English troops near a local church forced ecclesiastical authorities to devise new meeting places for public worship. The Kirk's desire to codify domestic worship became even more important when the presence of troops in a region disrupted parochial services.
