Patrick Forbes (24 August 1564 – 28 March 1635) was a late 16th-century and early 17th-century Scottish churchman rising to the post of Protestant

Bishop of Aberdeen The Bishop of Aberdeen (originally Bishop of Mortlach, in Latin Murthlacum) was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Aberdeen, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics, whose first recorded bishop is an early 12th-century cleric named Nech ...

Life

Born in 1564, he was the oldest son of Elizabeth Strachan and her husband William Forbes,

laird Laird () is the owner of a large, long-established Scottish estate. In the traditional Scottish order of precedence, a laird ranked below a baron and above a gentleman. This rank was held only by those lairds holding official recognition in ...

Corse Corsica ( , Upper , Southern ; it, Corsica; ; french: Corse ; lij, Còrsega; sc, Còssiga) is an island in the Mediterranean Sea and one of the Regions of France, 18 regions of France. It is the fourth-largest island in the Mediterranean and ...

. He attended the High School of Stirling, the

University of Glasgow , image = UofG Coat of Arms.png , image_size = 150px , caption = Coat of arms Flag , latin_name = Universitas Glasguensis , motto = la, Via, Veritas, Vita , ...

and then the

University of St Andrews (Aien aristeuein) , motto_lang = grc , mottoeng = Ever to ExcelorEver to be the Best , established = , type = Public research university Ancient university , endowment ...

. At St Andrews, he came under the influence of the renowned theologian

Andrew Melville Andrew Melville (1 August 1545 – 1622) was a Scottish scholar, theologian, poet and religious reformer. His fame encouraged scholars from the European continent to study at Glasgow and St. Andrews. He was born at Baldovie, on 1 August 154 ...

. In 1598, Forbes's father died, leaving him his estate. Forbes became religiously puritanical and an avid preacher, though he was reluctant to enter the ministry.

George Gledstanes George Gledstanes (or Gladstanes; c. 1562 – 1615Alan R. MacDonald‘Gledstanes , George (c.1562–1615)’ ''Oxford Dictionary of National Biography'', Oxford University Press, 2004) was an Archbishop of St Andrews during the seventeenth ce ...

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 ...

, ordered him to enter the ministry or stop preaching, and as a result Forbes confined his preaching to his own household. At the death of his friend John Chalmers, the minister of

Keith Keith may refer to: People and fictional characters * Keith (given name), includes a list of people and fictional characters * Keith (surname) * Keith (singer), American singer James Keefer (born 1949) * Baron Keith, a line of Scottish barons ...

, in 1611, the dying Chalmers requested Forbes to take control of the parish of Keith and continue his work there. So it was that in 1612, aged forty-eight, Forbes received his ordination into the ministry and became minister of Keith, in the

diocese of Moray The Diocese of Moray was one of the most important of the medieval dioceses of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland. Its territory was in central northern Scotland. History It was founded in the early years of the 12th century by David I ...

. Forbes left a number of theological writings from this period, including ''An Exquisite Commentarie upon the Revelation of Saint John'' (1613) and ''Short Discovery of the Adversarie'' (1614). In the former, he was vehemently anti-Catholicism and argued that the Catholic Church had become corrupted by the greed of bishops even before the reign of the Emperor

Constantine the Great Constantine I ( , ; la, Flavius Valerius Constantinus, ; ; 27 February 22 May 337), also known as Constantine the Great, was Roman emperor from AD 306 to 337, the first one to Constantine the Great and Christianity, convert to Christiani ...

, becoming irrecoverable during the papacy of

Pope Boniface VIII Pope Boniface VIII ( la, Bonifatius PP. VIII; born Benedetto Caetani, c. 1230 – 11 October 1303) was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 24 December 1294 to his death in 1303. The Caetani, Caetani family was of b ...

. In the latter work, he moderated his views on

episcopacy A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

, but still declared bishoprics to be unnecessary institutions. In January 1618, Forbes was given the crown nomination to succeed Alexander Forbes as

, after receiving an unsuccessful nomination two years previously. He was elected on 24 March, obtained royal provision on 8 April and received consecration of 17 May. Forbes was apparently initially reluctant to take up the position, but cited his obedience to the king's wishes. Taking up a bishopric necessarily meant that he encountered some hostility from the anti-episcopal presbyterians in the

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland ( sco, The Kirk o Scotland; gd, Eaglais na h-Alba) is the national church in Scotland. The Church of Scotland was principally shaped by John Knox, in the Scottish Reformation, Reformation of 1560, when it split from t ...

, but Forbes was nevertheless well respected for his piety and theology. His summer residence was

Tullynessle Tower Tullynessle is a hamlet in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, three miles NNW of Alford. The settlement contains the Category A listed Terpersie Castle, a privately owned 16th-century tower house. It formerly contained Tullynessle Tower, now gone, which ...

Tullynessle Tullynessle is a hamlet in Aberdeenshire, Scotland, three miles NNW of Alford. The settlement contains the Category A listed Terpersie Castle, a privately owned 16th-century tower house. It formerly contained Tullynessle Tower, now gone, which ...

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire ( sco, Aiberdeenshire; gd, Siorrachd Obar Dheathain) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the County of Aberdeen which has substantially differe ...

. As

Chancellor Chancellor ( la, cancellarius) is a title of various official positions in the governments of many nations. The original chancellors were the of Roman courts of justice—ushers, who sat at the or lattice work screens of a basilica or law cou ...

of the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen ( sco, University o' 'Aiberdeen; abbreviated as ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; gd, Oilthigh Obar Dheathain) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Sc ...

, Forbes was responsible for much reorganisation in the university, including reconstruction of the system for education and training future ministers. Forbes began to suffer from

apoplexy Apoplexy () is rupture of an internal organ and the accompanying symptoms. The term formerly referred to what is now called a stroke. Nowadays, health care professionals do not use the term, but instead specify the anatomic location of the bleedi ...

and died on 28 March 1635. He was buried in St Machar's Cathedral in

Old Aberdeen Old Aberdeen is part of the city of Aberdeen in Scotland. Old Aberdeen was originally a separate burgh, which was erected into a burgh of barony on 26 December 1489. It was incorporated into adjacent Aberdeen by Act of Parliament in 1891. It ret ...

. The funeral service was conducted by Prof David Leitch.

Family

He married Lucretia Spens, daughter of David Spens of Wormiston and sister of James Spens, and by her fathered five children, one of whom was the noted theologian John Forbes.

References

* Keith, Robert, ''An Historical Catalogue of the Scottish Bishops: Down to the Year 1688'', (London, 1924) * * Watt, D.E.R., ''Fasti Ecclesiae Scotinanae Medii Aevi ad annum 1638'', 2nd Draft, (St Andrews, 1969)

Notes

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Forbes, Patrick 1564 births 1635 deaths Anglican saints People educated at Stirling High School Alumni of the University of Glasgow Alumni of the University of St Andrews Bishops of Aberdeen Chancellors of the University of Aberdeen People from Marr Burials at St Machar's Cathedral 17th-century Christian saints Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1621 Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1630 17th-century bishops of the Church of Scotland Scottish bishops 1560–1638