The Church of Scotland has announced that its long-running magazine Life and Work will cease publication later this year due to financial strain and falling readership.

Speaking at the General Assembly in Edinburgh, leaders said the magazine, first published in 1879, can no longer be sustained.

Editor Lynne McNeil, who has led the publication for 23 years, noted that print media is facing “diminishing returns", especially with declining church attendance.

She explained in an interview with the BBC that “life and work lost sales every time a church closed".

Rev Jim Stewart, convener of the magazine’s advisory committee, praised its legacy, saying: “It has enhanced and strengthened the Church of Scotland's national identity.”

Although Life and Work is editorially independent, its discontinuation reflects wider pressures within the Kirk, which has warned that hundreds of churches may face closure amid financial difficulties.

Proposals for a new publication may be brought to the Assembly next year.