The Diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney is in the north-east of Scotland and comprises the City of Aberdeen, most of Aberdeenshire, a small part of Moray, and the Shetland Isles, and the ancient Diocese of Orkney, founded in 1035. The Diocese has 45 congregations and two religious communities.
The Diocese's Bishop is the Right Reverend Dr Robert (Bob) Gillies, elected in April 2007.
The Diocese's Cathedral, St Andrew's, in King Street, is notable as being the church where the first bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, Samuel Seabury, was ordained in 1784, by the then Bishop of Aberdeen Robert Kilgour. However this is not quite correct: Bishop Seabury was in fact consecrated to the episcopate in 'an upper room' of a house in Longacre, about 500 metres from the present building. The consecration effectively gave birth to the world wide Anglican Communion.
The Diocese continues to maintain strong links with the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut. Clarence Coleridge, suffragan bishop of Connecticut, was consecrated by a bishop of Aberdeen in 1981. Coleridge was elected 13th diocesan bishop of Connecticut in 1993.
Aberdeen & Orkney is also is linked with the Diocese of Umtata, in South Africa.
Diocesan office
Contact the diocesan office at:
39 King's Crescent
Aberdeen
AB24 3HP
01224 636653
More information
Links to more information about the Diocese:
- The United Diocese of Aberdeen & Orkney website »
- For more information about the Diocese, and its latest news and events, please visit the Diocesan website.
- SEC Church Directory »
- List and get contact details for all churches within the diocese using our online Church Directory.
