Diocese of Aberdeen
Encyclopedia
Diocese of Aberdeen was one of the 13 (14, after 1633) diocese
s of the Scottish church, before the abolition of the episcopacy in 1689.
of Aberdeen is in the charter of the foundation, by the Earl of Buchan
, of the Church of Deer
(c. 1152), which is witnessed by Nectan
, Bishop of Aberdeen
. The first ecclesiastical record may be found in a Papal Bull
of Pope Adrian IV
(1157), confirming to Bishop Edward the churches of Aberdeen and Saint Machar
, with the town of Old Aberdeen
and other lands.
The granite cathedral was built between 1272 and 1277. Bishop Thomas Spence
founded a Franciscan
house in 1480, and King's College
was founded at Old Aberdeen by Bishop Elphinstone, for eight prebendaries, chapter, sacristan, organist, and six choristers, in 1505. The see was transferred to Old Aberdeen about 1125 and continued there until 1577, having had in that time a list of twenty-nine bishops.
was formalised in 1560 when, by act of Parliament, papal authority and many other Catholic
beliefs were rejected, resulting in the church in Scotland being separated from the Holy See
. In 1582, the Church of Scotland
rejected episcopal government and adopted a Presbyterian model. Two years later, in 1584, King James VI
tried to bring the Church of Scotland under royal control by appointing two bishops; this met vigorous opposition and he was forced to concede that the General Assembly
should continue to run church affairs. However, after acceding to the English throne in 1603, James VI stopped the General Assembly from meeting and increased the number of Scottish bishops. In 1637, the introduction of an English-style Prayer Book into the Scottish church saw riots break out across Scotland, resulting in the abolition of the episcopacy in 1638. However, with the Restoration
of the monarchy in 1660, episcopacy was reintroduced. Following the Glorious Revolution
of 1689, the Scottish bishops refused to swear allegiance to William of Orange
leading to the abolition of the episcopacy and the Presbyterian form of church government being re-established once more.
of Scotland, which was elevated to the Vicariate Apostolic
of Scotland in 1694. That same year the Scottish Catholic clergy were incorporated into a missionary body by the Congregation of the Propaganda
. As growth took place, Scotland was divided into two Vicariate Apostolics in 1727: the Highland District (including Aberdeen) and the Lowland District. The Highland District was renamed the Northern District in 1827 and, in 1878, it became the Roman Catholic Diocese of Aberdeen
.
In 4 March 1878 Pope Leo XIII
restored the Catholic hierarchy of Scotland by proclamation of the Bull
Ex supremo Apostolatus apice and Vicar-Apostolic John MacDonald
was translated to the restored See of Aberdeen as its first post Reformation bishop.
The Bull made Aberdeen one of the four suffragan sees of the Archbishopric of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, and defined as its territory "the counties of Aberdeen
, Kincardine
, Banff
, Elgin or Moray, Nairn, Ross
(except Lewis
in the Hebrides
), Cromarty
, Sutherland
, Caithness
, the Orkney and Shetland Islands
, and that portion of Inverness
which lies to the north of a straight line drawn from the most northerly point of Loch Luing to the eastern boundary of the said county of Inverness, where the counties of Aberdeen and Banff join."
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
s of the Scottish church, before the abolition of the episcopacy in 1689.
Early history
A see was founded in 1063 at Mortlach by Blessed Beyn. The earliest mention of the SeeEpiscopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
of Aberdeen is in the charter of the foundation, by the Earl of Buchan
Earl of Buchan
The Mormaer or Earl of Buchan was originally the provincial ruler of the medieval province of Buchan. Buchan was the first Mormaerdom in the High Medieval Kingdom of the Scots to pass into the hands of a non-Scottish family in the male line. The earldom had three lines in its history, not counting...
, of the Church of Deer
Deer
Deer are the ruminant mammals forming the family Cervidae. Species in the Cervidae family include white-tailed deer, elk, moose, red deer, reindeer, fallow deer, roe deer and chital. Male deer of all species and female reindeer grow and shed new antlers each year...
(c. 1152), which is witnessed by Nectan
Nechtan of Aberdeen
Nechtan of Aberdeen is the first Bishop of Aberdeen after the seat of the bishopric had been moved to Aberdeen from Mortlach. The only contemporary sources for Bishop Nechtan are charters; he appears as "Nectan escob Abberdeon" in a Gaelic charter recorded in the notitiae on the Book of Deer, a...
, 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...
. The first ecclesiastical record may be found in a Papal Bull
Papal bull
A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....
of Pope Adrian IV
Pope Adrian IV
Pope Adrian IV , born Nicholas Breakspear or Breakspeare, was Pope from 1154 to 1159.Adrian IV is the only Englishman who has occupied the papal chair...
(1157), confirming to Bishop Edward the churches of Aberdeen and Saint Machar
Saint Machar
Machar was a 6th-century Irish Saint active in Scotland.Much of what is claimed to be known about St Machar derives from the Aberdeen Breviary, a work compiled in the late fifteenth to early sixteenth centuries, long after the traditional date of Machar's life...
, with the town of Old Aberdeen
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...
and other lands.
The granite cathedral was built between 1272 and 1277. Bishop Thomas Spence
Thomas Spence
Thomas Spence was an English Radical and advocate of the common ownership of land.-Life:Spence was born in Newcastle-on-Tyne, England and was the son of a Scottish net and shoe maker....
founded a Franciscan
Franciscan
Most Franciscans are members of Roman Catholic religious orders founded by Saint Francis of Assisi. Besides Roman Catholic communities, there are also Old Catholic, Anglican, Lutheran, ecumenical and Non-denominational Franciscan communities....
house in 1480, and King's College
King's College, Aberdeen
King's College in Old Aberdeen, Scotland is a formerly independent university founded in 1495 and an integral part of the University of Aberdeen...
was founded at Old Aberdeen by Bishop Elphinstone, for eight prebendaries, chapter, sacristan, organist, and six choristers, in 1505. The see was transferred to Old Aberdeen about 1125 and continued there until 1577, having had in that time a list of twenty-nine bishops.
Reformation
The Scottish ReformationScottish 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...
was formalised in 1560 when, by act of Parliament, papal authority and many other Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
beliefs were rejected, resulting in the church in Scotland being separated from the Holy See
Holy See
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Catholic Church in Rome, in which its Bishop is commonly known as the Pope. It is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and...
. In 1582, the 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....
rejected episcopal government and adopted a Presbyterian model. Two years later, in 1584, King James VI
James I of England
James VI and I was King of Scots as James VI from 24 July 1567 and King of England and Ireland as James I from the union of the English and Scottish crowns on 24 March 1603...
tried to bring the Church of Scotland under royal control by appointing two bishops; this met vigorous opposition and he was forced to concede that the General Assembly
General Assembly of the Church of Scotland
The General Assembly of the Church of Scotland is the sovereign and highest court of the Church of Scotland, and is thus the Church's governing body[1] An Introduction to Practice and Procedure in the Church of Scotland, A Gordon McGillivray, 2nd Edition .-Church courts:As a Presbyterian church,...
should continue to run church affairs. However, after acceding to the English throne in 1603, James VI stopped the General Assembly from meeting and increased the number of Scottish bishops. In 1637, the introduction of an English-style Prayer Book into the Scottish church saw riots break out across Scotland, resulting in the abolition of the episcopacy in 1638. However, with the Restoration
English Restoration
The Restoration of the English monarchy began in 1660 when the English, Scottish and Irish monarchies were all restored under Charles II after the Interregnum that followed the Wars of the Three Kingdoms...
of the monarchy in 1660, episcopacy was reintroduced. Following the Glorious Revolution
Glorious Revolution
The Glorious Revolution, also called the Revolution of 1688, is the overthrow of King James II of England by a union of English Parliamentarians with the Dutch stadtholder William III of Orange-Nassau...
of 1689, the Scottish bishops refused to swear allegiance to William of Orange
William III of England
William III & II was a sovereign Prince of Orange of the House of Orange-Nassau by birth. From 1672 he governed as Stadtholder William III of Orange over Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Guelders, and Overijssel of the Dutch Republic. From 1689 he reigned as William III over England and Ireland...
leading to the abolition of the episcopacy and the Presbyterian form of church government being re-established once more.
Restoration of the Diocese
In 1653, Scottish Catholics came under the Prefecture ApostolicApostolic prefect
An apostolic prefect is a priest who heads what is known as an apostolic prefecture, a missionary area where the Catholic Church is not yet sufficiently developed to have it made a diocese....
of Scotland, which was elevated to the Vicariate Apostolic
Apostolic vicariate
An apostolic vicariate is a form of territorial jurisdiction of the Roman Catholic Church established in missionary regions and countries that do not have a diocese. It is essentially provisional, though it may last for a century or more...
of Scotland in 1694. That same year the Scottish Catholic clergy were incorporated into a missionary body by the Congregation of the Propaganda
Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples
The Congregation for the Evangelization of Peoples in Rome is the congregation of the Roman Curia responsible for missionary work and related activities...
. As growth took place, Scotland was divided into two Vicariate Apostolics in 1727: the Highland District (including Aberdeen) and the Lowland District. The Highland District was renamed the Northern District in 1827 and, in 1878, it became the Roman Catholic Diocese of Aberdeen
Roman Catholic Diocese of Aberdeen
The Roman Catholic Diocese of Aberdeen is a diocese of the Latin Rite of the Roman Catholic Church in Scotland.-Foundation:The see was founded in 1063 at Mortlach by Blessed Beyn. The earliest mention of the old See of Aberdeen is in the charter of the foundation, by the Earl of Buchan, of the...
.
In 4 March 1878 Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII
Pope Leo XIII , born Vincenzo Gioacchino Raffaele Luigi Pecci to an Italian comital family, was the 256th Pope of the Roman Catholic Church, reigning from 1878 to 1903...
restored the Catholic hierarchy of Scotland by proclamation of the Bull
Papal bull
A Papal bull is a particular type of letters patent or charter issued by a Pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the bulla that was appended to the end in order to authenticate it....
Ex supremo Apostolatus apice and Vicar-Apostolic John MacDonald
John Macdonald
John Macdonald may refer to:*John S. MacDonald, co-founder of MacDonald Dettwiler*John Macdonald , New Zealand forensic psychiatrist who coined the MacDonald triad of sociopathy- Government :...
was translated to the restored See of Aberdeen as its first post Reformation bishop.
The Bull made Aberdeen one of the four suffragan sees of the Archbishopric of St. Andrews and Edinburgh, and defined as its territory "the counties of Aberdeen
Aberdeenshire
Aberdeenshire is one of the 32 unitary council areas in Scotland and a lieutenancy area.The present day Aberdeenshire council area does not include the City of Aberdeen, now a separate council area, from which its name derives. Together, the modern council area and the city formed historic...
, Kincardine
Kincardineshire
The County of Kincardine, also known as Kincardineshire or The Mearns was a local government county on the coast of northeast Scotland...
, Banff
Banffshire
The County of Banff is a registration county for property, and Banffshire is a Lieutenancy area of Scotland.The County of Banff, also known as Banffshire, was a local government county of Scotland with its own county council between 1890 and 1975. The county town was Banff although the largest...
, Elgin or Moray, Nairn, Ross
Ross-shire
Ross-shire is an area in the Highland Council Area in Scotland. The name is now used as a geographic or cultural term, equivalent to Ross. Until 1889 the term denoted a county of Scotland, also known as the County of Ross...
(except Lewis
Lewis
Lewis is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides of Scotland. The total area of Lewis is ....
in the Hebrides
Hebrides
The Hebrides comprise a widespread and diverse archipelago off the west coast of Scotland. There are two main groups: the Inner and Outer Hebrides. These islands have a long history of occupation dating back to the Mesolithic and the culture of the residents has been affected by the successive...
), Cromarty
Cromartyshire
Cromartyshire was a county in the Highlands of Scotland, consisting of a main portion between Sutherland and Ross-shire and a series of exclaves within Ross-shire. Ross-shire and Cromartyshire were combined as the single county of Ross and Cromarty by the Local Government Act 1889, and this...
, Sutherland
Sutherland
Sutherland is a registration county, lieutenancy area and historic administrative county of Scotland. It is now within the Highland local government area. In Gaelic the area is referred to according to its traditional areas: Dùthaich 'IcAoidh , Asainte , and Cataibh...
, Caithness
Caithness
Caithness is a registration county, lieutenancy area and historic local government area of Scotland. The name was used also for the earldom of Caithness and the Caithness constituency of the Parliament of the United Kingdom . Boundaries are not identical in all contexts, but the Caithness area is...
, the Orkney and Shetland Islands
Shetland Islands
Shetland is a subarctic archipelago of Scotland that lies north and east of mainland Great Britain. The islands lie some to the northeast of Orkney and southeast of the Faroe Islands and form part of the division between the Atlantic Ocean to the west and the North Sea to the east. The total...
, and that portion of Inverness
Inverness-shire
The County of Inverness or Inverness-shire was a general purpose county of Scotland, with the burgh of Inverness as the county town, until 1975, when, under the Local Government Act 1973, the county area was divided between the two-tier Highland region and the unitary Western Isles. The Highland...
which lies to the north of a straight line drawn from the most northerly point of Loch Luing to the eastern boundary of the said county of Inverness, where the counties of Aberdeen and Banff join."