The Bishop of Brechin is the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Brechin

Diocese of Brechin

The pre-Reformation Diocese of Brechin or Diocese of Angus was one of the thirteen historical dioceses of Scotland. The diocese was believed to have been founded by Bishop Samson in 1153, and based at the cathedral in Brechin, Angus...

 or Angus

Angus

Angus is one of the 32 local government council areas of Scotland, a registration county and a lieutenancy area. The council area borders Aberdeenshire, Perth and Kinross and Dundee City...

, based at Brechin Cathedral

Brechin Cathedral

The cathedral church of the Holy Trinity in Brechin, Angus, Scotland, belongs to the 13th century. It is in the Pointed style, but suffered maltreatment in 1806 at the hands of restorers, whose work was subsequently removed during the restoration completed in 1902...

, Brechin

Brechin

Brechin is a former royal burgh in Angus, Scotland. Traditionally Brechin is often described as a city because of its cathedral and its status as the seat of a pre-Reformation Roman Catholic diocese , but that status has not been officially recognised in the modern era...

. The diocese had a long-established Gaelic

Gaels

The Gaels or Goidels are speakers of one of the Goidelic Celtic languages: Irish, Scottish Gaelic, and Manx. Goidelic speech originated in Ireland and subsequently spread to western and northern Scotland and the Isle of Man....

 monastic community which survived into the 13th century. The clerical establishment may very well have traced their earlier origins from Abernethy. During the Scottish Reformation

Scottish Reformation

The Scottish Reformation was Scotland's formal break with the Papacy in 1560, and the events surrounding this. It was part of the wider European Protestant Reformation; and in Scotland's case culminated ecclesiastically in the re-establishment of the church along Reformed lines, and politically in...

, the Presbyterian

Presbyterianism

Presbyterianism refers to a number of Christian churches adhering to the Calvinist theological tradition within Protestantism, which are organized according to a characteristic Presbyterian polity. Presbyterian theology typically emphasizes the sovereignty of God, the authority of the Scriptures,...

 Church of Scotland

Church of Scotland

The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation....

 gained control of the heritage and jurisdiction of the bishopric. However, the line of bishops has continued to this day, according to ancient models of consecration, in the Scottish Episcopal Church

Scottish Episcopal Church

The Scottish Episcopal Church is a Christian church in Scotland, consisting of seven dioceses. Since the 17th century, it has had an identity distinct from the presbyterian Church of Scotland....

.

List of known abbots

Tenure	Incumbent	Notes
fl. 1131x1150	Léot of Brechin Léot of Brechin Léot of Brechin is the first known Abbot of Brechin. He appears in three charters. The first of these is a Scoto-Latin charter recorded in the notitiae on the Book of Deer, a charter which explicitly dates to "the eighth year of the reign of David" which styles him "Léot ab Brecini"...	He was the father of the first bishop. It is very probable that the Gaelic Abbot of Brechin simply became Bishop of Brechin, so that the later bishopric of Brechin was based on the earlier monastic establishment.
fl. late 12th century	Domnall	Domnall nepos Léot, grandson of Abbot Léot, and probably son of Bishop Samson.
fl. early 13th century	Eoin mac in Aba	Grandson of Léot's son Máel Ísu. He was the father of Morgánn, Lord of Glenesk.

Known Catholic bishops

Bishops of Brechin
From	Until	Incumbent	Notes
x 1150	1165 x 1169	Samson of Brechin Samson of Brechin Samson of Brechin is the first known Bishop of Brechin. He appears as a witness in a charter granted by King David I of Scotland to the community of Deer, recorded in the notitiae in the margins of the Book of Deer. The charter dates to some point between the years 1140 and 1153, although it can...
1178	1189 x 1198	Turpin of Brechin
x 1198-1199	1212	Radulf of Brechin
1214 x 1215	1218	Hugh of Brechin	Probably from the native clerical family.
1218	1242 x 1246	Gregory of Brechin Gregory of Brechin Gregory of Brechin was a 13th-century prelate based in the Kingdom of Scotland.Gregory's name appears for the first time in an Arbroath Abbey document dating between 1189 and 1198, when he is holding the office of Archdeacon of Brechin. He is the first known archdeacon in the diocese of Brechin...
1246	1269	Albin of Brechin Albin of Brechin Albin was a 13th-century prelate of the Kingdom of Scotland. A university graduate, Albin is known for his ecclesiastical career in the diocese of Brechin, centred on Angus in east-central Scotland....
aft. 1269	bef. 1274	William de Crachin William de Crachin William de Crachin was a prelate active in the Kingdom of Scotland in the 13th century. The earliest known Dean of Brechin Cathedral, his first appearance in a surviving source comes 22 September 1248, from a document of Arbroath Abbey....	Had been the dean of Brechin; the Papal legate, Ottobone, refused to consecrate him. One source says he appealed to the Pope and was consecrated, but authorities such as John Dowden doubt this. At any rate, he died on or before the year 1274.
1275	1291 x 1297	William de Kilconcath	Also William Comyn; Dominican friar.
1296	1298	Nicholas of Brechin Nicholas of Brechin Nicholas was a Scottish churchman and prelate active at the end of the 13th century. While holding the office of sub-dean of Brechin Cathedral, he got provided bishop of Brechin by Pope Boniface VIII on 21 January 1297....
1298	1323 x 1327	John de Kininmund
1328	1349	Adam de Moravia
1350	1351	Philip Wilde
1351	1373 x 1383	Patrick de Leuchars Patrick de Leuchars Patrick de Leuchars [also de Locrys or de Lochrys] was a 14th century administrator and prelate in the Kingdom of Scotland. He first appears in the records in 1344 holding a church in East Lothian, and in 1351 attains national prominence as the new Bishop of Brechin...
1383	1404 x 1405	Stephen de Cellario
1407	1425 x 1426	Walter Forrester Walter Forrester Walter Forrester , bishop of Brechin, was an administrator and prelate in later medieval Scotland. Originating in Angus, he came from a family of English origin who by the end of the 14th century had become well established in Scottish society...
1426	1453	John de Crannach John de Crannach John de Crannach was a 15th century Scottish scholar, diplomat and prelate. Originating in the north-east of Lowland Scotland, he probably came from a family associated with the burgh of Aberdeen. Like many of his relatives, he flourished in the 15th-century Scottish church...	Had previously been Bishop of Caithness Bishop of Caithness The Bishop of Caithness was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Caithness, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics. The first referenced bishop of Caithness was Aindréas, a Gael who appears in sources between 1146 and 1151 as bishop. Aindréas spent much if not all of his career outside his... .
1454	1462x1463	George Shoreswood George Shoreswood George Shoreswood or Schoriswood , was a prelate active in the Kingdom of Scotland during the 15th century. He appears to have been of English-speaking origin, from the family of Bedshiel in Berwickshire....
1463	1465	Patrick Graham	Translated to St Andrews.
1465	1488	John Balfour John Balfour (bishop) John Balfour was a 15th-century Scottish prelate. He was vicar of Linlithgow and rector of Conveth, before being provided as bishop of Brechin on 29 November 1465...
1488	1514 x 1516	William Meldrum William Meldrum William Meldrum was a prelate in the late 15th- and early 16th-century kingdom of Scotland. He appears to have come from the Meldrum family of Seggie, as suggested by the otters on his arms....
1516	1557	John Hepburn
1557	1559	Donald Campbell Donald Campbell (abbot) Donald Campbell was a 16th-century Scottish noble and churchman. He was the son of Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll and Elizabeth Stewart, daughter of John Stewart, 1st Earl of Lennox. From 1522, he was a student of St Salvator's College, at the University of St Andrews...	He had been the Abbot of Coupar Angus Coupar Angus Coupar Angus is a town in Perth and Kinross, Scotland, situated eight kilometres south of Blairgowrie.The name Coupar Angus serves to differentiate the town from Cupar, Fife... , and was the son of Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll Gillespie Archibald Campbell, 2nd Earl of Argyll was a Scottish nobleman and politician.-Biography:Archibald was the eldest son of Colin Campbell, 1st Earl of Argyll and Isabel Stewart, daughter of John Stewart, 2nd Lord Lorn. He was made Master of the Royal Household of James IV of Scotland on 24... . He was unable, despite the help of powerful patrons, to secure the bishopric.

Church of Scotland bishops

Bishops of Brechin
From	Until	Incumbent	Notes
1565	1566	John Sinclair
1566	1607	Alexander Campbell Alexander Campbell of Carco Alasdair Caimbeul or Alexander Campbell of Carco was a Scottish noble and prelate. Coming from a branch of Clan Campbell in the allegiance of the Earl of Argyll, his career began in the 1560s still only a minor, serving the Earl of Argyll's interest...	Provided while a minor; resigned 1607.
1607	1619	Andrew Lamb Andrew Lamb Andrew Lamb , bishop of Brechin and bishop of Galloway, was probably son or relative of Andrew Lamb of Leith, a lay member of the general assembly of 1560...	Translated to Galloway Bishop of Galloway The Bishop of Galloway, also called the Bishop of Whithorn, was the eccesiastical head of the Diocese of Galloway, said to have been founded by Saint Ninian in the mid-5th century. The subsequent Anglo-Saxon bishopric was founded in the late 7th century or early 8th century, and the first known... .
1619	1634	David Lindsay	Translated to Edinburgh Bishop of Edinburgh The Bishop of Edinburgh is the Ordinary of the Scottish Episcopal Diocese of Edinburgh.The see was founded in 1633 by King Charles I. William Forbes was consecrated in St. Giles' Cathedral as its first bishop on 23 January 1634 though he died later that year... .
1634	1635	Thomas Sydserf Thomas Sydserf Thomas Sydserf [Sydserff] was a 17th century Scottish prelate. The eldest son of an Edinburgh merchant, Sydserf graduated from the University of Edinburgh in 1602 before travelling to continental Europe to study at the University of Heidelberg. After returning to Scotland, he entered the...	Translated to Galloway.
1635	1638	Walter Whitford Walter Whitford Walter Whitford was a seventeenth-century Scottish minister, prelate and Royalist. After graduating from the University of Glasgow in 1604, he began a career in the Church of Scotland taking a variety of posts until being appointed Bishop of Brechin in 1635.As a bishop, Whitford was already a...	Deprived on 13 December 1638, along with other Scottish bishops in a general abolition of episcopacy which lasted until 1661.
1638	1661	Vacant	Episcopacy suspended.
1662	1671	David Strachan David Strachan David Strachan was a seventeenth-century Church of Scotland prelate. Originating in a branch of the house of Thorntoun in the Mearns, he opted for a career in the church and became parson of Fettercairn. In 1662, after the Restoration of the monarchy, episcopacy was restored in the Church of...	Episcopacy restored.
1671	1677	Robert Laurie Robert Laurie (bishop) Robert Laurie , the son of Joseph Laurie, was a seventeenth-century Church of Scotland prelate. He was minister of Stirling before becoming, after the Restoration and the reinstitution of episcopal order in Scotland, Dean of Edinburgh....
1678	1682	George Haliburton	Translated to Aberdeen Bishop of Aberdeen The Bishop of Aberdeen 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 Nechtan... .
1682	1684	Robert Douglas Robert Douglas (bishop) Robert Douglas was a seventeenth- and early eighteenth Scottish churchman. Son of Robert Douglas of Kinmonth, a relative of the Earls of Angus, he was educated at King's College, Aberdeen, before beginning life as a preacher around 1650...	Translated to Dunblane Bishop of Dunblane The Bishop of Dunblane or Bishop of Strathearn was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Dunblane/Strathearn, one of medieval Scotland's thirteen bishoprics. It was based at Dunblane Cathedral, now a parish church of the Church of Scotland. The bishopric itself certainly derives from an older... .
1684	1684	Alexander Cairncross	Translated to Glasgow Archbishop of Glasgow The Bishop of Glasgow, from 1492 Archbishop of Glasgow, was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Glasgow and then, as Archbishop of Glasgow, the Archdiocese of Glasgow... .
1684	1688	James Drummond James Drummond (bishop) James Drummond was a seventeenth-century Scottish prelate. The third son of the Reverend James Drummond, minister of Foulis in Strathearn, he began his church career in 1650 as minister of...
1688	1689	Episcopacy abolished in the state Church of Scotland Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland, known informally by its Scots language name, the Kirk, is a Presbyterian church, decisively shaped by the Scottish Reformation.... .
1689	1709	Alexander Rose Alexander Rose Alexander Rose of Edinburgh was a wood and ivory turner, following in the footsteps of his father, John, who came from Cromarty. He developed an interest in minerals and began a mineral collection, becoming a dealer in minerals... , Bishop of Edinburgh Bishop of Edinburgh The Bishop of Edinburgh is the Ordinary of the Scottish Episcopal Diocese of Edinburgh.The see was founded in 1633 by King Charles I. William Forbes was consecrated in St. Giles' Cathedral as its first bishop on 23 January 1634 though he died later that year...	Episcopal bishop Scottish Episcopal Church The Scottish Episcopal Church is a Christian church in Scotland, consisting of seven dioceses. Since the 17th century, it has had an identity distinct from the presbyterian Church of Scotland....  over the area.

Episcopal bishops

Today the bishop is the Ordinary

Ordinary

In those hierarchically organised churches of Western Christianity which have an ecclesiastical law system, an ordinary is an officer of the church who by reason of office has ordinary power to execute the church's laws...

 of the Scottish

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

 Episcopal

Scottish Episcopal Church

The Scottish Episcopal Church is a Christian church in Scotland, consisting of seven dioceses. Since the 17th century, it has had an identity distinct from the presbyterian Church of Scotland....

 Diocese of Brechin

Diocese of Brechin (Episcopalian)

The Diocese of Brechin is in the east of Scotland, and is the smallest of the seven dioceses of the Scottish Episcopal Church. It covers the City of Dundee, Angus and southern Aberdeenshire. It stretches from Muchalls in the north east down to Dundee in the south, and across to Glencarse in the...

.

Bishops of Brechin
From	Until	Incumbent	Notes
1848	1875	Alexander Forbes	Died in office.
1875	1903	Hugh Jermyn	Primus Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church The Primus, 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 David Chillingworth who became Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church on 13 June 2009... , 1886–1901; died in office.
1904	1934	Walter Robberds	Primus from 1908.
1935	1943	Kenneth Mackenzie Kenneth Mackenzie (Bishop of Brechin) The Rt Rev Kenneth Donald Mackenzie was an eminent Anglican priest and author in the middle third of the 20th century....	Previously vicar of St Mary's Church, Selly Oak.
1944	1959	Eric Graham Eric Graham The Rt Rev Eric Graham was an eminent Anglican priest in the mid 20th century.He was born into an ecclesiastical family, educated at Cheltenham College and Oriel College, Oxford, and ordained after a period of study at Wells Theological College in 1913. He was Vice-Principal of Salisbury...
1959	1975	John Sprott	Previously Provost of Dundee.
1975	1990	Lawrence Luscombe	Primus from 1985.
1990	1996	Robert Halliday Robert Halliday (bishop) The Rt. Rev. Robert Taylor Halliday , MA, BD was an eminent Anglican priest in the second half of the 20th century He was born on 7 May 1932 and educated at the High School of Glasgow and the University of Glasgow and ordained in 1958...
1997	2005	Neville Chamberlain Neville Chamberlain (bishop) The Rt. Rev. Neville Chamberlain , MA, BA was an eminent Anglican priest in the late 20th and early 21st centuries.He was born on 24 October 1939 and educated at Salford Grammar School and the University of Nottingham and ordained in 1964. He was Assistant Curate at St Paul’s, Balsall Heath and...
8 October 2005	October 2010	Dr John Mantle	Retired due to ill health; died November 2010.
8 October 2011	present	Nigel Peyton	Born 1951

External links

• Dauvit Broun's list of 12th century Scottish Bishops