WITH its nostalgic evocation of England’s “green and pleasant land”, it has become a favourite at rugby internationals and the last night of the Proms.

However, Jerusalem — William Blake’s hauntingly Anglophile anthem — has fallen foul of the Church of Scotland hierarchy because it is seen as too much of a homage to the Auld Enemy.

Kirk leaders have ruled that the hymn is not relevant in a devolved Scotland and have dropped it from the new edition of their hymn book.

The fourth edition of the hymnary, to be published on St Andrew’s Day, is said to be the most Scottish yet with more than 100 hymns by Scottish composers, compared with only a few in the current edition.

Church leaders have spent the past eight years revising the hymnary to reflect new social and political circumstances. Efforts have been made to feminise its content and to cover issues such as environmental damage and domestic abuse.

The Rev Charles Robertson and his wife Alison, who were on the committee to revise the hymnary, said there had been heated debate over which hymns to ditch. Some churches reported that Jerusalem had not been requested for 50 years.

“This book will contain, for the first time, substantial Scottish material,” said Alison Robertson, who wrote some of the new hymns included in the book. “It will be the church’s most Scottish hymn book ever. As a result it was not felt appropriate to include Jerusalem talking of England’s green and pleasant land.”

Critics have accused the church of being parochial and short-sighted in omitting the hymn, written by the visionary poet who was well known for his concern with social equality. Blake claimed that the poem was concerned with the “brotherhood of man”, which he said was the solution to the world’s problems, a sentiment shared by Robert Burns, his Scottish contemporary.

“Jerusalem is a great visionary anthem which got stolen and used for the wrong reasons,” said Michael Russell, SNP leadership candidate and the party’s former culture spokesman.

“The church should look beyond the spin and see Blake’s true meaning. Jerusalem is an anthem of Christian socialism. People need to ignore its misuse at things like the last night of the Proms and see Blake’s real significance.”

A spokesman for the Saltire Society said: “I think it is short-sighted. Jerusalem, as Blake wrote about it, is a reference to the centre of Christianity.

“Their decision should be informed by its original theological and religious meaning. It is a shame that many people don’t understand that. It is a popular hymn and it means people will need to look elsewhere when they want to use it.”

Written in 1804, the hymn’s enigmatic lyrics have been a source of as much fascination as its stirring music, written by Charles Parry in 1916. They recount a legend that, as a boy, Jesus visited Cornwall with his uncle Joseph of Arimathea who was on a trip to buy tin.

In Somerset there is an old saying, “As sure as our Lord was at Priddy”, and various place names are connected with the legend, including Jesus’s Well, near Padstow, and Market Jew Street in Penzance.

The “dark, satanic mills” mentioned in the hymn are thought by some to be the tin mines of the West Country, where conditions were appalling.

Blake, aware of the legend, posed the question in the opening line: “And did those feet in ancient times walk upon England’s mountains green?” The Rev Donald Allister, vicar of Cheadle parish church in Stockport, sparked controversy by banning the hymn from wedding services in his church because he felt it was too nationalistic.

The new hymnary, which contains 700 entries, was last changed in 1973. The kirk’s committee to revise the hymnary considered about 10,000 entries before approving 200 new hymns. They include contributions from Africa, South America, Russia and Australia to reflect the worldwide community of the church.

The committee felt the current edition was not female-friendly enough, particularly as it contained so many references to God as a man. “Some of the words were too male-dominated, but the revisions have not been taken to the point of political correctness,” said Alison Robertson.

“We received hundreds of representations over which hymns to leave out and include and all have been sung through by the committee and many tested among congregations.”

The author Alan Massie said: “To omit Jerusalem strikes me as pathetic. I don’t think that anyone could object to the revision of the hymnary — it should be updated regularly to reflect the times.

“However, this could go too far. Should we start to worry whether we are fair on the hobgoblins in To Be a Pilgrim?”

Times Recommends

• Time-worn Freddie gives up Test matches
• Brighton company 'involved in cyber attack'
• The art of survival: it’s all in the mind