The Scots Kirk, Paris 2.33

The Scots Kirk is the only English-speaking Presbyterian church in France and the only congregation of the Church of Scotland in France.The church building is modern and somewhat inconspicuous from the street, although it is very centrally located at 17 rue Bayard, near the Champs-Elysées in the 8th arrondissement of Paris, and directly facing the RTL studios.The closest métro stations areFranklin D. Roosevelt or Champs-Elysées-Clémenceau .HistoryThe origins of the congregation date back to the 1850s, but the current church building is modern. The congregation has worshipped on the same site since 1885, when they purchased the former American Episcopal Church building in Rue Bayard.The congregation is particularly well known for their former minister Donald Caskie, who became known as the "Tartan Pimpernel" for his exploits during World War II.Three church buildings on the same siteFollowing World War II (when the church was unoccupied), the lack of maintenance led to structural problems and the church had to be rebuilt in the late 1950s. The rebuilding work, however, proved to be unsatisfactory. Major structural faults were soon discovered and by the 1980s the building was again in urgent need of replacement or major repairs. It was decided to completely rebuild, albeit with flats above the new church building. The current church building was opened by the then Moderator of the General Assembly, John Miller, in 2002.