TheBishop of Orkney was the ecclesiastical head of theDiocese of Orkney, one of thirteen medieval bishoprics of Scotland. It included bothOrkney andShetland. It was based for almost all of its history atSt Magnus Cathedral,Kirkwall.
The bishopric appears to have been suffragan of theArchbishop of York (with intermittent control exercised by theArchbishop of Hamburg-Bremen) until the creation of theArchbishopric of Trondheim (Niðaros) in 1152. Although Orkney itself did not unite with mainland Scotland until 1468, theScottish kings and political community had been pushing for control of the islands for centuries. The see, however, remained under the nominal control of Trondheim until the creation of theArchbishopric of St Andrews in 1472, when it became for the first time an officially Scottish bishopric.
The Bishopric's links with Rome ceased to exist after theScottish Reformation. The bishopric continued, saving temporary abolition between 1638 and 1661, under the episcopalChurch of Scotland until theGlorious Revolution of 1688. Episcopacy in the established church in Scotland was permanently abolished in 1689, but aScottish Episcopal Church bishopric encompassing Orkney was created in 1865, as theBishopric of Aberdeen and Orkney. In 1878, theCatholic Church in Scotland re-established the bishopric system, and Orkney came under the resurrected and reformattedDiocese of Aberdeen.
Source:[1]
| Bishops of Orkney | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Tenure | Incumbent | Notes | |
| From | Until | ||
| 1035 (?) | ? | Henry of Lund | Keeper of the treasury of KingCnut; probably the latter's appointee. Name unusual for an Englishman; may have been a German or a Frenchman. |
| fl. 1043–1072 | Thorulf of Orkney | Sent as bishop by ArchbishopAdalbert of Hamburg. | |
| fl. 1043–1072 | John(I) | Appointee of theArchbishop of Bremen. Perhaps the same asJohannes Scotus, bishop of Glasgow. | |
| fl. 1043–1072 | Adalbert | Sent as bishop to Iceland, Greenland and Orkney, by Adalbert, Archbishop of Hamburg. | |
| fl. 1073 | Radulf | ||
| fl. 1100–1108 | Roger | ||
| 1109 | 1114–1147 | Radulf Novell | He was consecrated byThomas,Archbishop of York. There is no evidence that Radulf ever took possession of his see, nor that he ever visited Orkney. Subordinate of theArchbishop of York. Served as the vicar of theBishop of Durham. |
| c. 1112–1168 | William the Old(I) | ||
| 1168 | 1188 | William(II) | |
| 1188 | 1194–1223 | Bjarni Kolbeinsson Skald | |
| 1223 | 1224–1246 | Jofreyrr | Jofreyrr is Godfrey. |
| 1247 | 1269 | Henry/Hervi | |
| 1270 | 1284 | Peter | |
| 1286 | 1309 | Dolgfinnr | |
| 1309 | 1339–1340 | William(III) | |
| bef. 1369 | 1382–1383 | William(IV) | |
| 1384 | 1394 | John(II) | The Roman bishop. He was elected by the cathedral chapter. His election was declared null and void byPope Urban VI, but the latter provided him to the see in 1384.Pope Boniface IX translated him to the Bishopric ofGarðar, Greenland. |
| 1383 | 1391 | Robert Sinclair | The Avignon bishop, in contrast to John, the candidate of the Roman Pope. The doubling of bishops was a product of theWestern Schism. His election drew hesitancy from the Avignon PopeClement VII, but had been confirmed by 27 January 1384. He was translated to theBishopric of Dunkeld sometime before March 1391. |
| 1394 | Henry(II or III) | Second Roman bishop. Previously Bishop ofGreenland, he exchanged bishoprics with Bishop John. | |
| 1396 | 1397–1418 | John Pak | The third Roman bishop of the Western Schism. He had been a monk ofColchester.[2] He appears as "Johannes Anglus, bishop of Orkney" in theUnion Treaty of Kalmar. |
| 1398 | 1407–1414 | Alexander Vaus | Second Avignon bishop. Provided byPope Benedict XIII, but was not consecrated within the canonical time. He was translated to theBishopric of Caithness in 1414. |
| 1415 | 1419 | William Stephani | Third Avignon bishop, provided by Pope Benedict XIII. He was translated to theBishopric of Dunblane in 1419. |
| 1418 | 1461 | Thomas Tulloch | Fourth Roman bishop. He was accepted by both sides after the recognition of the "Roman" Popes by the Scottish king. |
| 1461 | 1477 | William Tulloch | |
| 1477 | 1503–1506 | Andrew Pictoris | It is not known what Andrew's surname was. Scottish historians have assumed, wrongly, that he was a Scot called Painter. Andrew was German, and his illegitimate son was called Henry Phankouth. |
| 1503–1506 | 1524–1525 | Edward Stewart | Coadjutor since 1498–1500. |
| 1523 | 1525–1526 | John Benston | |
| 1526 | 1540–1541 | Robert Maxwell | |
| 1541 | 1558 | Robert Reid | O. Cist. |
| 1559 | 1593 | Adam Bothwell | He became aProtestant, and in 1568 exchanged the temporalities of the see (which went toRobert Stewart, 1st Earl of Orkney) forHolyrood Abbey. He died in 1593, still styling himself "Bischop of Orkney, Commendatair of Halyrudhous". He was an uncle of the mathematicianJohn Napier. |
| 1605 | 1615 | James Law | BecameArchbishop of Glasgow. |
| 1615 | 1638 | George Graham | Translated fromBishopric of Dunblane. |
| 1638 | 1638 | Robert Baron | Unable to take up his position |
| 1638 | 1662 | Between 1638 andthe Restoration, Episcopacy in Scotland was temporarily abolished. | |
| 1662 | 1663 | Thomas Sydserf | Translated fromBishopric of Galloway. |
| 1664 | 1676 | Andrew Honeyman[3] orHonyman | |
| 1677 | 1688 | Murdoch MacKenzie | Translated from theBishopric of Moray. |
| 1688 | 1688 | Andrew Bruce | Episcopacy abolished in Scotland. Bruce died in 1700. |
Senior churchmen ofMedieval Scotland (post-1100)  | |
|---|---|
| Archbishops | |
| Bishops | |
| Archdeacons | |
| Abbots | |
| Priors | |
