Bishop David Chillingworth has been elected Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church. In accepting, he said an open and secular society was one in which smaller churches could make a distinct and constructive contribution.

The annual meeting of the General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church (Anglican) opened yesterday in Palmerston Place Church in Edinburgh - with the election of a new Primus one of the key issues on its agenda.

Dr Idris Jones, the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church - the 55,000 strong Anglican church in Scotland - has announced that he will retire at the end of July 2009. He is also Bishop of Glasgow & Galloway.

The Scottish Episcopal Church has welcomed new Prime Minister Gordon Brown's call for a greater international effort to combat global poverty and his reminder to other world leaders of the promises made on development in 2000.