St Giles' Cathedral, Edinburgh

St Giles' Cathedral is a Gothic church, and its story reaches far beyond worship. The present building grew over centuries, with work beginning in the fourteenth century and continuing into the early sixteenth; later alterations added the Thistle Chapel. John Knox served here as minister after the Scottish Reformation, linking this place directly to a defining religious upheaval in Scotland.

The church then took on remarkably varied roles: after the Reformation, its interior was divided among congregations and used for secular purposes, including a prison and meetings of the Parliament of Scotland. In 1637, an attempt to introduce a new Prayer Book provoked a riot here, helping set the Covenanters' movement and the Wars of the Three Kingdoms in motion. That history explains why St Giles' is known as the Mother Church of World Presbyterianism.

Its dedication is to Saint Giles, the patron saint of lepers, and the building remains an active Church of Scotland congregation as well as a major visitor site. The services of the Order of the Thistle are held here, continuing the cathedral's role in national ceremonies.