# Diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney

The Diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney is one of the seven dioceses of the Scottish Episcopal Church. Created in 1865, the diocese covers the historic county of Aberdeenshire, and the Orkney and Shetland island groups. It shares with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Aberdeen a Christian heritage that can be traced back to Norman times, and incorporates the ancient Diocese of Orkney, founded in 1035.
The diocese is considered the most conservative of the dioceses of the Scottish Episcopal Church, and was the only diocese to reject a change in the church's teaching to allow same-sex marriage in 2017.
The first female bishop of the SEC, Anne Dyer, was appointed to the diocese in November 2017 and consecrated and enthroned on 3 March 2018. Her gender, support of same-sex marriage, and the fact that she was not elected by the diocese itself (she was appointed by the College of Bishops in accordance with the SEC canonical process when a diocese fails to meet the requirements to elect its own bishop), caused some controversy, and two senior clergy, the Dean (Emsley Nimmo) and another member of the Cathedral Chapter, resigned their diocesan roles in protest. After further resignations by other clergy, the Westhill Community Church voted to leave the SEC in January 2019. Bishop Dyer was suspended from office on 10 August 2022 after allegations of misconduct were made but reinstated on 8 October 2024.
The diocese has a strong companion link with the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut and the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Samuel Seabury, the first Episcopal bishop outside the British Isles, was consecrated in 1784 by Robert Kilgour, Bishop of Aberdeen, and John Skinner, coadjutor bishop. Clarence Coleridge, suffragan bishop of Connecticut, was consecrated by a Bishop of Aberdeen in 1981; he was elected 13th diocesan bishop of Connecticut in 1993.

## Area and population

The diocese covers the historic counties of Orkney (population 21,500), Zetland (population 23,000), Aberdeenshire except the Huntly area (population 393,000), the Banff, Buckie and Cullen areas of Banffshire (population 29,500), and the Banchory and Lower Deeside areas of Kincardineshire (population 26,000).

## List of bishops

Bishops of Aberdeen and Orkney :
| From | Until | Incumbent | Notes |
| 1865 | 1883 | Thomas Suther | Died in office. |
| 1883 | 1905 | Arthur Douglas | Died in office. |
| 1906 | 1911 | Rowland Ellis | Died in office. |
| 1912 | 1917 | Anthony Mitchell | Died in office. |
| 1917 | 1943 | Frederic Deane | |
| 1943 | 1955 | Herbert Hall | Died in office. |
| 1956 | 1972 | Frederick Easson | |
| 1973 | 1976 | Ian Begg | |
| 1976 | 1991 | Frederick Darwent | |
| 1991 | 2006 | Bruce Cameron | Installed 1992, Primus 2000–2006. |
| 2006 | 2016 | Robert (Bob) Gillies |
| 2018 | Incumbent | Anne Dyer | First female bishop in the SEC |

## List of deans

The following served as Dean of Aberdeen diocese:
* bef. 1846 – 1850: John Cumming, of Longside
* 1850 – 1865: David Wilson, of Woodhead
The following have served as Dean of Aberdeen and Orkney:
* 1865 to 1880: David Wilson (title changed)
* 1880 to 1886: Arthur Ranken
* 1886 to 1887: Alexander Harper
* 1887 to 1896: William Webster
* 1896 to 1906: William Walker
* 1907 to 1909: Myers Danson
* 1910 to 1922: James Wiseman
* 1922 to 1934: Robert Mackay
* 1934 to 1948: George Bartlet
* 1948 to 1953: John Wattie
* 1953 to 1956: Frederick Easson, later bishop
* 1956 to 1969: Richard Kerrin
* 1969 to 1972: Ian Begg, later bishop
* 1973 to 1978: Frederick Darwent, later bishop
* 1978 to 1983: Alexander Adamson
* 1983 to 1988: Denis Bovey
* 1988 to 2008: Gerald Stranraer-Mull
* 2008 to 2017: Emsley Nimmo
* 2017 to 2020: vacant
* 2020 to 2021: Dennis Berk
* 2021 to present: vacant

## Churches and clergy

The diocese currently has 23 stipendiary clergy and 37 churches.
| Benefice | Churches | Founded (building) | Clergy |
| Banff | St Andrew, Banff | 1722 (1833) | J. Paisey |
| Buckie | All Saints, Buckie | c. 1689 (1876) | J. Paisey |
| Turriff | St Congan, Turriff | 1738 (1862) | - |
| New Pitsligo | St John the Evangelist, New Pitsligo | 1835 (1870s) | - |
| Strichen | All Saints, Strichen | 1861 | - |
| Fraserburgh | St Peter, Fraserburgh | 1721 (1892) | - |
| Longside | St John the Evangelist, Longside | 1716 (1854) | R. O'Sullivan |
| Old Deer | St Drostan, Old Deer | 1851 | R. O'Sullivan |
| Peterhead | St Peter, Peterhead | 1699 (1814) | R. O'Sullivan |
| Cruden Bay | St James the Less, Cruden Bay | C18th (1843) | - |
| Ellon | St Mary-on-the-Rock, Ellon | C18th (1871) | - |
| Insch | St Drostan, Insch | 1894 | A. MacDonald |
| Fyvie | All Saints, Woodhead of Fyvie | 1849 | A. MacDonald |
| Oldmeldrum | St Matthew & St George, Oldmeldrum | 1863 | - |
| Alford | St Andrew, Alford | 1869 | M. Blake |
| Auchindoir | St Mary, Auchindoir | | - |
| Inverurie | St Mary, Inverurie | 1841 | - |
| Kemnay | St Anne, Kemnay | 1938 | - |
| Whiterashes | All Saints, Whiterashes | 1858 | - |
| Aberdeen (Cathedral of St Andrew) | St Andrew's Cathedral, Aberdeen | 1817 | I. Poobalan |
| Bieldside |
| Bieldside | St Devenick, Bieldside | 1894 (1903) | G. Bowyer |
| Aberdeen (St Clement) | St Clement, Aberdeen | 1960s | J. Hobbs |
| Aberdeen (St Ninian) | St Ninian, Aberdeen | 1936 |
| Aberdeen (St James) | St James the Less, Aberdeen | 1804 | |
| Aberdeen (St John the Evangelist) | St John, Aberdeen | 1720 (1851) | |
| Aberdeen (St Margaret of Scotland) | St Margaret of Scotland, Gallowgate | 1867 (1870) | A. Nimmo |
| Aberdeen (St Mary) | St Mary, Carden Place | 1863 (1864) | T. Taggart J. Hobbs |
| Bucksburn | St Machar, Bucksburn | 1874 (1880) | D. Heddle |
| Aboyne | St Thomas, Aboyne | 1909 | V. Hancock |
| Ballater | St Kentigern, Ballater | C19th (1907) | V. Hancock |
| Ballater | St Ninian's Chapel, Braemar | 1895 | V. Hancock |
| Kincardine O'Neil | Christ Church, Kincardine O'Neil | 1866 | - |
| Banchory | St Ternan, Banchory | 1851 | L. Downs |
| Burravoe | St Colman, Burravoe | 1898 | N. Brice |
| Lerwick | St Magnus, Lerwick | 1861 (1864) | N. Brice |
| Kirkwall | St Olaf, Kirkwall | 1876 | D. Dawson |
| Stromness | St Mary, Stromness | 1885 (1888) | T. Miller |

### Former congregation

| Benefice | Church | Link | Founded (building) | Seceded from SEC |
| Westhill Community Church | Westhill Community Church | | 1972 (2014) | 2019 |

### Closed churches in the diocese area

| Name | Founded (building) | Closed |
| St Peter, Torry | | 2013 |
| St Mary the Virgin, Cove Bay | 1864 | 2020 |
| St Luke, Cuminestown | 1844 | |
| St John the Baptist, Portsoy | | 2016 |
| Chapel of Christ the Encompasser, Fetlar | | 2015 |
| St Margaret, Braemar | | 2001 |
| St Paul, Aberdeen | 1867 | 1986 |

## Membership

Between 2013 and 2023 church membership in the Diocese decreased from 4,214 to 2,419 a fall of 42.6%. According to the Scottish Episcopal Church 41st Annual Report (2023), there are 1,755 communicants in the Diocese.