The
Diocese of Moray, Ross and Caithness is one of the seven
dioceses of the
Scottish Episcopal Church. It covers
Caithness and
Sutherland (the old
Diocese of Caithness), mainland
Ross and Cromarty (the old
Diocese of Ross), and mainland
Inverness-shire,
Nairnshire,
Moray and
Banffshire (the old
Diocese of Moray). The diocesan centre is
St. Andrew's Cathedral in
Inverness. The see is currently occupied by the Right Reverend Mark Strange.
The three old dioceses united in the modern diocese were all founded during the 12th century. Moray was founded by Bishop Gregory in 1114, Ross by Bishop
Macbeth in 1131 and Caithness by Bishop
Andrew in 1146. Being more removed from the centre of political power during the
Scottish Reformation, each of the dioceses managed to continue an unbroken line of
bishops. However, its remoteness also caused problems for the appointment of new bishops under the period of the penal laws. For part of the 17th century, both Ross and Caithness were without a bishop, and, at the beginning of the 18th century, the
Diocese of Orkney was united with Caithness. In 1707, Alexander Rose,
Bishop of Edinburgh and the first
Primus, united Moray with his diocese for reason of practical oversight. John Fullarton, Rose's successor in both roles, continued to oversee Moray until 1725, when it was felt more practical to combine it with the
Diocese of Aberdeen, led by
James Gadderar. However, in 1727, the new Primus, Andrew Lumsden, appointed
William Dunbar as sole......
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