Thomas Hay was a 15th century Scottish

Kingdom of Scotland

The Kingdom of Scotland was a Sovereign state in North-West Europe that existed from 843 until 1707. It occupied the northern third of the island of Great Britain and shared a land border to the south with the Kingdom of England...

 prelate

Prelate

A prelate is a high-ranking member of the clergy who is an ordinary or who ranks in precedence with ordinaries. The word derives from the Latin prælatus, the past participle of præferre, which means "carry before", "be set above or over" or "prefer"; hence, a prelate is one set over others.-Related...

. A canon

Canon (priest)

A canon is a priest or minister who is a member of certain bodies of the Christian clergy subject to an ecclesiastical rule ....

 of the diocese

Diocese of Aberdeen

Diocese of Aberdeen was one of the 13 dioceses of the Scottish church, before the abolition of the episcopacy in 1689.-Early history:...

 and cathedral of Aberdeen

Aberdeen

Aberdeen is Scotland's third most populous city, one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas and the United Kingdom's 25th most populous city, with an official population estimate of ....

, on the translation of William Elphinstone

William Elphinstone

William Elphinstone was a Scottish statesman, Bishop of Aberdeen and founder of the University of Aberdeen.He was born in Glasgow, and educated at the University of Glasgow, taking the degree of M.A. in 1452. After practising for a short time as a lawyer in the church courts, he was ordained a...

 from Bishop of Ross

Bishop of Ross

The Bishop of Ross was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Ross, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics. The first recorded bishop appears in the late 7th century as a witness to Adomnán of Iona's Cáin Adomnáin. The bishopric was based at the settlement of Rosemarkie until the mid-13th...

 to Bishop of 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...

, Hay was provided as Elphinstone's successor in Ross, this occurring on 16 May 1483. He was probably the Thomas Hay who held the Aberdeen prebend of Turriff

Turriff

Turriff is a town and civil parish in Aberdeenshire in Scotland. It is approximately above sea level, and has a population of 5,708.Turriff is known locally as Turra in the Doric dialect of Scots...

.

It was Bishop Hay who, on 12 September 1487, with the consent of the cathedral chapter

Cathedral chapter

In accordance with canon law, a cathedral chapter is a college of clerics formed to advise a bishop and, in the case of a vacancy of the episcopal see in some countries, to govern the diocese in his stead. These councils are made up of canons and dignitaries; in the Roman Catholic church their...

 of Fortrose

Fortrose

Fortrose is a burgh in the Scottish Highlands, located on the Moray Firth, approximately ten kilometres north east of Inverness. The town is known for its ruined 13th century cathedral, and as the home of the Brahan Seer. In the Middle Ages it was the seat of the bishopric of Ross...

 and at the request of King James III of Scotland

James III of Scotland

James III was King of Scots from 1460 to 1488. James was an unpopular and ineffective monarch owing to an unwillingness to administer justice fairly, a policy of pursuing alliance with the Kingdom of England, and a disastrous relationship with nearly all his extended family.His reputation as the...

, erected the church of St Duthac at Tain

Tain

Tain is a royal burgh and post town in the committee area of Ross and Cromarty, in the Highland area of Scotland.-Etymology:...

 into a collegiate church

Collegiate church

In Christianity, a collegiate church is a church where the daily office of worship is maintained by a college of canons; a non-monastic, or "secular" community of clergy, organised as a self-governing corporate body, which may be presided over by a dean or provost...

, "for the increase of the divine worship of the chapel or collegiate church of the blessed confessor Duthac of Tain".

The new church consisted of and was to support one provost, two deacon

Deacon

Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...

s or sub-deacons, a sacrist, an assistant sacrist, and three child choristers; the five prebendary canonries where to be Cambuscurry, Dunskeath, Morangie, Newmore and Tarlogie. The erection was confirmed under the Great Seal of Scotland

Great Seal of Scotland

The Great Seal of Scotland allows the monarch to authorise official documents without having to sign each document individually. Wax is melted in a metal mould or matrix and impressed into a wax figure that is attached by cord or ribbon to documents that the monarch wishes to make official...

 on 3 December, and was confirmed by Pope Innocent VIII

Pope Innocent VIII

Pope Innocent VIII , born Giovanni Battista Cybo , was Pope from 1484 until his death.-Early years:Giovanni Battista Cybo was born at Genoa of Greek extraction...

 in 1492.

Bishop Hay was at parliament on 11 January 1488, his last appearance in any contemporary sources. Hay's episcopate therefore lasted until at least 1488; it did not last beyond early 1492, the latest possible date for the appearance of John Guthrie

John Guthrie (Bishop of Ross)

John Guthrie was a 15th century Scottish prelate, who was sometime Bishop of Ross, an office based at Fortrose on the Black Isle in Ross....

as his successor; it is unclear if Bishop Hay died, or if he resigned, or if got demoted, though death is the most likely.