The Bishop of Edinburgh, or sometimes the Lord Bishop of Edinburgh is the ordinary of the

Scottish Episcopal The Scottish Episcopal Church ( gd, Eaglais Easbaigeach na h-Alba; sco, Scots Episcopal(ian) Kirk) is the ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion in Scotland. A continuation of the Church of Scotland as intended by King James VI, and ...

Diocese of Edinburgh The Diocese of Edinburgh is one of the seven dioceses of the Scottish Episcopal Church. It covers the City of Edinburgh, the Lothians, the Borders and Falkirk. The diocesan centre is St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh. The Bishop of Edinburgh is ...

. Prior to the Reformation, Edinburgh was part of the

Diocese of St Andrews The Archdiocese of St Andrews (originally the Diocese of St Andrews) was a territorial episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in early modern and medieval Scotland. It was the largest, most populous and wealthiest diocese of the mediev ...

, under the

Archbishop of St Andrews The Bishop of St. Andrews ( gd, Easbaig Chill Rìmhinn, sco, Beeshop o Saunt Andras) was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of St Andrews in the Catholic Church and then, from 14 August 1472, as Archbishop of St Andrews ( gd, Àrd-easbaig ...

and throughout the mediaeval period the episcopal seat was St Andrew's Cathedral. The line of Bishops of Edinburgh began with the creation of the See of Edinburgh in 1633: the

See See or SEE may refer to: * Sight - seeing Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Television * ...

was founded in 1633 by King

Charles I Charles I may refer to: Kings and emperors * Charlemagne (742–814), numbered Charles I in the lists of Holy Roman Emperors and French kings * Charles I of Anjou (1226–1285), also king of Albania, Jerusalem, Naples and Sicily * Charles I of ...

. William Forbes was consecrated at

St Giles' Cathedral St Giles' Cathedral ( gd, Cathair-eaglais Naomh Giles), or the High Kirk of Edinburgh, is a parish church of the Church of Scotland in the Old Town, Edinburgh, Old Town of Edinburgh. The current building was begun in the 14th century and extended ...

as the first bishop on 23 January 1634 though he died later that year. The General Assembly of 1638 deposed David Lindsay and all the other bishops, so the next, George Wishart, was consecrated in 1662 after the

Stuart Restoration The Restoration of the Stuart monarchy in the kingdoms of England, Scotland and Ireland took place in 1660 when King Charles II returned from exile in continental Europe. The preceding period of the Protectorate and the civil wars came to be ...

. In 1690, it was Alexander Rose (bishop 1687–1720) whose unwelcome reply to

King William III William III (William Henry; ; 4 November 16508 March 1702), also widely known as William of Orange, was the sovereign Prince of Orange from birth, Stadtholder of Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel in the Dutch Republic from the ...

( and II) led to the

disestablishment The separation of church and state is a philosophical and jurisprudential concept for defining political distance in the relationship between religious organizations and the state. Conceptually, the term refers to the creation of a secular stat ...

of the Scottish Episcopalians as Jacobite sympathisers, and it was he who led his congregation from St Giles' to a former wool store as their meeting house, on the site now occupied by Old St Paul's Church. After the break with the Church of Scotland in 1689, Bishops of Edinburgh were ''ex officio''

metropolitan bishop In Christian churches with episcopal polity, the rank of metropolitan bishop, or simply metropolitan (alternative obsolete form: metropolite), pertains to the diocesan bishop or archbishop of a metropolis. Originally, the term referred to the b ...

s until this rank was abolished by a concordat of 1731. Since then, the Episcopal Church has been led by a

Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church The Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church, styled "The Most Reverend the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church", is the presiding bishop of the Scottish Episcopal Church. The current Primus is the Most Revd. Mark Strange who became primus on ...

elected from among any of the Scottish dioceses. After the repeal of the penal laws in 1792 and the reuniting of Episcopal and " Qualified" congregations, the diocese grew under the leadership of bishops Daniel Sandford, James Walker,

Charles Terrot Charles Hughes Terrot FRSE (19 September 1790 – 2 April 1872) was a Scottish Episcopalian minister, theologian and mathematician. He served as Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church from 1857 to 1862. Life Charles Terrot was born on 19 Se ...

and Henry Cotterill. The high point of the 19th century was the consecration of St Mary's Cathedral in 1879. The Bishop of Edinburgh is entitled to the

style Style is a manner of doing or presenting things and may refer to: * Architectural style, the features that make a building or structure historically identifiable * Design, the process of creating something * Fashion, a prevailing mode of clothing ...

Lord Bishop "Lord Bishop" is a traditional form of address used for bishops since the Middle Ages, an era when bishops occupied the feudal rank of 'lord' by virtue of their office. Today it is sometimes still used in formal circumstances for any diocesan bis ...

, as a diocesan bishop in the Anglican Communion. The Lord Bishop of Edinburgh is

ex-officio An ''ex officio'' member is a member of a body (notably a board, committee, council) who is part of it by virtue of holding another office. The term ''ex officio'' is Latin, meaning literally 'from the office', and the sense intended is 'by right ...

the

Gentleman Usher of the White Rod A gentleman (Old French: ''gentilz hom'', gentle + man) is any man of good and courteous conduct. Originally, ''gentleman'' was the lowest rank of the landed gentry of England, ranking below an esquire and above a yeoman; by definition, the ra ...

in the Estates of Parliament of Scotland. The current bishop is

John Armes John Andrew Armes (born 10 September 1955) is an Anglican bishop. He is the current Bishop of Edinburgh in the Scottish Episcopal Church. Education Armes was educated at Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge ( BA, 1977, proceeding MA, 1981), befo ...

. He became Bishop-elect of Edinburgh on 11 February 2012 and was consecrated and installed as bishop on 12 May 2012.

Church of Scotland Protestant Bishops

:Church of Scotland bishops: *Jan–Apr 1634

William Forbes Billy, Willie or William Forbes may refer to: Financiers *Sir William Forbes, 6th Baronet (1739–1806), Scottish banker *William Forbes of Callendar (1756–1823), Scottish coppersmith and landowner *William Howell Forbes (1837–1896), American b ...

*1634–1638: David Lindsay *1638–1661: ''see abolished'' *1662–1671:

George Wishart George Wishart (also Wisehart; c. 15131 March 1546) was a Scottish Protestant Reformer and one of the early Protestant martyrs burned at the stake as a heretic. George Wishart was the son of James and brother of Sir John of Pitarrow, ...

*1672–1679:

Alexander Young Alexander Young may refer to: * Alexander Young (bishop) (died 1684), 17th century Scottish prelate *Alexander Young (engineer) (1833–1910), Scottish engineer and businessman who became a citizen of the Kingdom of Hawaii *Alexander Young (musicia ...

*1679–1687: John Paterson *1687–1689: Alexander Rose (became a non-juring bishop)

Scottish Episcopal Church bishops

see *1689–1720: Alexander Rose (also exercised Metropolitan authority 1704–1720) *1720–1727:

John Fullarton John Fullarton (c.1645 – 1727), of Greenhall, Argyll, was a Scottish clergyman and nonjurant Episcopal Bishop of Edinburgh between 1720 and 1727. Origins Fullarton was the son of James McCloy, alias Fullarton, of Ballochindryan and Jean Ste ...

(also Primus 1720–1727) *May–Oct 1727:

Arthur Millar Arthur Millar (1649 – 9 October 1727) was an Anglican bishop in the first third of the 18th century. Millar was born in 1649 and educated at the University of Aberdeen. He was the incumbent at Dumbarton, Musselburgh then Leith. He was consec ...

(also Primus May–Oct 1727) *1727–1733: Andrew Lumsden (also Primus 1727–1731) *1733–1739:

David Freebairn David Freebairn, M.A. (1653–1739) was a Scottish clergyman who served as a minister in the Church of Scotland, before becoming a prelate in the Scottish Episcopal Church, and in which he was Bishop of Galloway (1731–1733), Primus of the ...

(also Primus 1731–1738) *1739–1776: ''See vacant:'' following disagreements over church polity and the failure of the

Jacobite rising of 1745 The Jacobite rising of 1745, also known as the Forty-five Rebellion or simply the '45 ( gd, Bliadhna Theàrlaich, , ), was an attempt by Charles Edward Stuart to regain the Monarchy of Great Britain, British throne for his father, James Franci ...

, there was an extend vacancy. *1776–1784: William Falconer (also Primus 1762–1782) *1784–1788: ''See vacant'' *1788–1805: William Abernethy Drummond *1806–1830: Daniel Sandford *1830–1841: James Walker (also Primus 1837–1841) *1841–1872:

(also Primus 1857–1862) **1863–1869:

Thomas Baker Morrell Thomas Baker Morrell FRSE (4 September 18155 November 1877) was a British Episcopalian minister who served as Bishop of Edinburgh. Life He was born in 1815, the fifth son of Baker Morrell (1779–1854) of Oxford and his wife, Mary Elizabeth Chapm ...

bishop-coadjutor A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic Church, Catholic, Anglican Communion, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the dio ...

*1872–1886: Henry Cotterill *1886–1910:

John Dowden John Dowden /d͡ʒɒn ˈdaʊdən/ (29 June 1840 – 30 January 1910) was an Irish-born bishop and ecclesiastical historian. He served in the Scottish Episcopal Church as the Bishop of Edinburgh. Life He was born in Cork on 29 June 1840, a ...

*1910–1929:

Somerset Walpole George Henry Somerset Walpole (9 November 1854 – 4 March 1929), known as Somerset Walpole was an Anglican priest, bishop, teacher and author. After early service in the west of England he moved first to Auckland, New Zealand, and then to New Y ...

*1929–1939:

Harry Reid Harry Mason Reid Jr. (; December 2, 1939 – December 28, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Nevada from 1987 to 2017. He led the Senate Democratic Caucus from 2005 to 2017 and was the Sena ...

*1939–1946:

Logie Danson Ernest Denny Logie Danson (14 June 18809 December 1946) was an Anglican bishop in the first half of the 20th century. Biography He was born into a distinguished clerical family — his father was Myers Danson, Dean of Aberdeen and Orkney — ...

(also Primus 1943–1946) *1947–1961:

Kenneth Warner Kenneth Charles Harman Warner (6 April 1891 – 18 March 1983) was Bishop of Edinburgh from 1947 to 1961. Biography Warner was born on 6 April 1891 and educated at Tonbridge School and Trinity College, Oxford. His first career as a solicitor w ...

*1961–1975: Kenneth Carey *1975–1985:

Alastair Haggart Alastair Iain Macdonald Haggart (10 October 1915 – 11 January 1998) was an eminent Anglican priest. Biography Haggart was born on 10 October 1915 and brought up in Fort William, Highland, Fort William. He was raised in the Free Church of Scotl ...

(also Primus 1977–1985) *1986–2000:

Richard Holloway Richard Holloway Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh, FRSE (born 26 November 1933) is a Scottish writer, Television presenter, broadcaster and cleric. He was the Bishop of Edinburgh from 1986 to 2000 and Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Ch ...

(also Primus 1992–2000) *2001–2011: Brian Smith *2012–present :

Assistant bishops

Among those who served as assistant bishops of the diocese were: *1938–1939:

, Provost of St Mary's Cathedral and former

Bishop of Labuan and Sarawak The Bishop of Kuching is the Ordinary (officer), ordinary of the Anglicanism, Anglican Diocese of Kuching in the Church of the Province of South East Asia. The bishop exercises episcopal authority over Anglican churches in the Malaysian state of ...

; elected diocesan bishop, 1939 *1968–1982: Neil Russell, priest of

Rosslyn Chapel Rosslyn Chapel, formerly known as the Collegiate Chapel of St Matthew, is a 15th-century chapel located in the village of Roslin, Midlothian, Scotland. Rosslyn Chapel was founded on a small hill above Roslin Glen as a Catholic collegiate churc ...

and former assistant bishop for Zanzibar Island (

Zanzibar Zanzibar (; ; ) is an insular semi-autonomous province which united with Tanganyika in 1964 to form the United Republic of Tanzania. It is an archipelago in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of the mainland, and consists of many small islands ...

)

References

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links