Archdeacon of Galloway

Last updated

The Archdeacon of Galloway was the only archdeacon in the medieval Diocese of Galloway (Whithorn), acting as a deputy of the Bishop of Galloway. The following is a list of archdeacons:

An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Syriac Orthodox Church, Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that of most clergy and below a bishop. In the High Middle Ages it was the most senior diocesan position below a bishop in the Catholic Church. An archdeacon is often responsible for administration within an archdeaconry, which is the principal subdivision of the diocese. The Oxford Dictionary of the Christian Church has defined an archdeacon as "A cleric having a defined administrative authority delegated to him by the bishop in the whole or part of the diocese." The office has often been described metaphorically as that of oculus episcopi, the "bishop's eye".

Diocese of Galloway historical diocese of the Scottish church

The Diocese of Galloway was one of the thirteen dioceses of the pre-1689 Scottish Church. The Diocese was led by the Bishop of Galloway and was centred on Whithorn Cathedral.

The Bishop of Galloway, also called the Bishop of Whithorn, was the eccesiastical head of the Diocese of Galloway, said to have been founded by Saint Ninian in the mid-5th century. The subsequent Anglo-Saxon bishopric was founded in the late 7th century or early 8th century, and the first known bishop was one Pehthelm, "shield of the Picts". According to Anglo-Saxon ecclesiastical tradition, the bishopric was founded by Saint Ninian, a later corruption of the British name Uinniau or Irish Finian; although there is no contemporary evidence, it is quite likely that there had been a British or Hiberno-British bishopric before the Anglo-Saxon takeover. After Heathored, no bishop is known until the apparent resurrection of the diocese in the reign of King Fergus of Galloway. The bishops remained, uniquely for Scottish bishops, the suffragans of the Archbishop of York until 1359 when the pope released the bishopric from requiring metropolitan assent. James I formalised the admission of the diocese into the Scottish church on 26 August 1430 and just as all Scottish sees, Whithorn was to be accountable directly to the pope. The diocese was placed under the metropolitan jurisdiction of St Andrews on 17 August 1472 and then moved to the province of Glasgow on 9 January 1492. The diocese disappeared during the Scottish Reformation, but was recreated by the Catholic Church in 1878 with its cathedra at Dumfries, although it is now based at Ayr.

Contents

List of archdeacons of Galloway

Thomas de Buittle [Butil, Butill, Butyll, Butyl, Bucyl] was a Scottish prelate, clerk and papal auditor active in the late 14th and early 15th centuries. Probably originating in Galloway, Scotland, Thomas took a university career in canon law in England and France, before taking up service at the court of Avignon Pope Benedict XIII. He obtained a number of benefices in the meantime, including the position of Archdeacon of Galloway, and is the earliest known and probably first provost of the collegiate church of Maybole. The height of his career came however when the Pope provided him to the bishopric of Galloway, a position he held from 1415 until his death sometime between 1420 and 1422.

Gilbert Cavan was a cleric based primarily in Galloway in the early 15th century, a servant of the earls of Douglas and briefly Bishop of Galloway-elect. His name is also written Caven, Cawan, Caben, with other variants, perhaps representing Gaelic or Irish Cabhan, although the name is not locational, it is a dictus rather than a de name.

Henry Wemyss was a prelate from the 16th century Kingdom of Scotland. He appears in the sources in the bishopric of Galloway for the first time in 1517, and rose to become Bishop of Galloway in 1526, a position he held until his death in 1541.

Bibliography

See also

Related Research Articles

Abbot of Melrose Wikimedia list article

The Abbot and then Commendator of Melrose was the head of the monastic community of Melrose Abbey, in Melrose in the Borders region of Scotland. The abbots of the earlier Northumbrian foundation from Lindisfarne are not included here. The second abbey was founded in 1136 on the patronage of David I, King of Scots, by Cistercian monks from Rievaulx Abbey, Yorkshire. Control of the abbey was secularized in the 16th century and after the accession of James Stewart, the abbey was held by commendators. The last commendator, James Douglas of Lochleven, resigned the abbacy to William Douglas, 6th Earl of Morton in December 1606, and the abbey itself to the king in 1608. The abbey was then erected into a secular lordship for viscount Haddington, John Ramsay, who in 1609 was created "Lord Melrose". Lochleven however resumed the title of commendator in 1613 until his death in 1620.

The Abbot of Glenluce was the head of the monastic community of Glenluce Abbey, Galloway. The monastery was founded in 1192 by monks from Dundrennan Abbey with the patronage of Lochlann (Roland), Lord of Galloway. In the 16th century the monastery increasingly came under the control of secular warlords. In 1560 the monastery was occupied by James Gordon of Lochinvar, and the monks were expelled. However, soon after, Thomas Hay, a follower of the earl of Cassillis, was installed in the monastery as commendator and the monks were allowed to return. However, monastic life seems to have disappeared by the end of the century. In 1602 parliament granted the lands of the monastery to Lawrence Gordon as a secular lordship. The abbey was finally given to the bishop of Galloway in 1619. The following is a list of abbots and abbot-commendators:

The Prior of Fyvie was the head of the medieval Tironensian monastic community of Fyvie Priory, located in modern Aberdeenshire, Scotland. The following is a list of priors and commendators:

The Archdeacon of Lothian was the head of the Archdeaconry of Lothian, a sub-division of the Diocese of St Andrews. The position was one of the most important positions within the medieval Scottish church; because of his area's large population and high number of parish churches, the Archdeacon of Lothian may have exercised more power than many Scottish bishops before the decline in archdiaconal powers after the 13th century.

The Archdeacon of Teviotdale was the head of the Archdeaconry of Teviotdale, a sub-division of the Diocese of Glasgow. He was one of two archdeacons serving the Bishop of Glasgow. As the name describes, this archdeacon was responsible for the Teviotdale region of the Scottish Borders region. The position was an important position within the medieval Scottish church; because of the high number of parish churches in the archdeaconry.

The Archdeacon of Dunkeld was the only archdeacon in the Diocese of Dunkeld, acting as a deputy of the Bishop of Dunkeld. The following is a list of archdeacons:

The Prior of Coldingham was the head of the Benedictine monastic community of Coldingham Priory in Berwickshire. Coldingham Priory was founded in the reign of David I of Scotland, although his older brother and predecessor King Edgar of Scotland had granted the land of Coldingham to the Church of Durham in 1098, and a church was constructed by him and presented in 1100 AD. The first prior is on record by the year 1147, although an earlier foundation is almost certain. The monastic cell was a dependent of Durham until the 1370s, and in 1378 King Robert II of Scotland expelled the Durham monks; for the following century the cell had two priors, one chosen by Durham and one chosen by the Scots. It became a dependent of Dunfermline Abbey. It was subject to increasingly secular control from the late 15th century into the 16th century. The following is a list of priors and commendators:

The Archdeacon of Dunblane was the only archdeacon in the Diocese of Dunblane, acting as a deputy of the Bishop of Dunblane. The first archdeacon, Andrew (Aindréas), was called "Archdeacon of Modhel" (Muthill); archdeacons Jonathan, Gilbert and Luke were styled "Archdeacon of Dunblane", while John and Duncan were called "Archdeacon of Strathearn". It is only from Augustine of Nottingham that the title settles at "of Dunblane". The following is a list of archdeacons:

The Archdeacon of Aberdeen was the only archdeacon in the Diocese of Aberdeen, acting as a deputy of the Bishop of Aberdeen. The archdeacon held the parish church of Rayne as a prebend since 1256. The following is a list of known historical archdeacons:

The Archdeacon of Moray was the only archdeacon in the Diocese of Moray, acting as a deputy of the Bishop of Moray. The archdeacon held the parish churches of Forres and Edinkillie as a prebends since 1207. The following is a list of known historical archdeacons:

The Archdeacon of Brechin was the only archdeacon in the diocese of Brechin, acting as a subordinate of the Bishop of Brechin. The archdeacon held the parish church of Strachan as a prebend from at least 1274.

The Archdeacon of Argyll was the only archdeacon in the diocese of Argyll, acting as a subordinate of the Bishop of Argyll. Regarding his supporting churches, it is known that archdeacon held a quarter of parish church of Eilean Munde as a prebend.

Dean and Chapter of St Pauls

The Dean and Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral was the titular corporate body of St Paul's Cathedral in London up to the end of the twentieth century. It consisted of the dean and the canons, priests attached to the cathedral who were known as "prebendaries" because of the source of their income. The Dean and Chapter was made up of a large number of priests who would meet "in chapter", but such meetings were infrequent and the actual governance was done by the Administrative Chapter headed by the dean, made up of several senior "residentiary canons", who were also known as the "Dean and Canons of St Paul’s" or simply "The Chapter".

This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.