An Introduction to the Diocese

Welcome to the website of the Diocese of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane, one of the seven dioceses of the Scottish Episcopal Church. It is centred on St Ninian’s Cathedral in Perth, and covers Fife, Perth and Kinross, Clackmannanshire, and eastern and central Stirling (western Stirling is in the Diocese of Glasgow and Galloway).

The Bishop of St Andrews is the Most Rev David Chillingworth, who was also elected Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church in June 2009.

The Diocese is currently engaged upon an ambitious programme of renewal and growth, Casting the Net, launched in 2009 following an extensive Diocesan review.

A brief history of the Diocese

The diocese continues the titles of three ancient Scottish dioceses. The Diocese of Saint Andrews was founded in 906 and was raised to an archdiocese in 1465. Throughout the Scottish Reformation the diocese continued under the auspices of moderate, Episcopalian reformers. From 1704 till 1726, the archbishopric was vacant, until it was recreated as the Diocese of Fife. In 1842, the Diocese, no longer an archdiocese, was moved back to Saint Andrews and united with the Diocese of Dunkeld and Dunblane.

The Diocese of Dunkeld is thought to have begun in the 9th century, but the first reliable date is that of the consecration of Cormac as bishop in 1114. The line of bishops continued with only a few breaks until, in 1842, the Diocese was united with Saint Andrews. In 1878, the Roman Catholic Church revived the Diocese of Dunkeld as part of its structures in Scotland.

The Diocese of Dunblane was founded in 1162. Its line of bishops continued with a few breaks until it was united with the Diocese of Dunkeld in 1776.