Bishop of Edinburgh | |
|---|---|
| Bishopric | |
| Anglican | |
| Incumbent: John Armes | |
| Location | |
| Ecclesiastical province | Scotland |
| Information | |
| First holder | William Forbes |
| Established | 1633 |
| Diocese | Diocese of Edinburgh |
| Cathedral | St Mary's Cathedral, Edinburgh |
The Bishop of Edinburgh, or sometimes the Lord Bishop of Edinburgh, is the ordinary of the Scottish Episcopal Diocese of Edinburgh.[1]
Prior to the Reformation, Edinburgh was part of the Diocese of St Andrews, under the Archbishop of St Andrews 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 was founded in 1633 by King Charles I. William Forbes was consecrated at St Giles' Cathedral 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.
In 1690, it was Alexander Rose (bishop 1687–1720) whose unwelcome reply to King William III (and II) led to the disestablishment 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 bishops 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 elected from among any of the Scottish dioceses.[2]
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 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 Lord Bishop, as a diocesan bishop in the Anglican Communion.
The Lord Bishop of Edinburgh is ex-officio the Gentleman Usher of the White Rod in the Estates of Parliament of Scotland.[3]
The current bishop is John Armes. He became Bishop-elect of Edinburgh on 11 February 2012[4] and was consecrated and installed as bishop on 12 May 2012.[5]