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The Diocese of Moray

 

The first known bishop of Moray (Gregory) is dated c.1114 or c.1120, but there were bishops operating in Moray from very much earlier times - the famous episcopi vagantes. Communities or muinntirs of the Early Church are found at regular intervals and many of the churches that were to become Parish Churches in the 'new order' were anciently founded, during what is commonly known as the Age of Saints, by the very earliest missionaries such as St Moluag and St Drostan and their many disciples.

Unlike the dioceses of Ross and Caithness, the diocese of Moray was not coterminous with the earldom. Indeed, when one considers a map of the diocese, it can be seen that the bishopric extended somewhat to the east of the River Spey, well beyond the earldom's boundaries, whilst, in the south west, the earldom extended further than the diocese, touching the sea at Loch Linnhe and the Knoydart peninsula. Also, the western boundaries with the Diocese of Argyll and, in particular, the Diocese of Ross, were often matters of contention resulting in some bitter disputes between the dramatis personae!

Moray has extensive areas of unproductive moorland and mountains, many being of the most rugged nature in the whole nation. However, Moray is also blessed with some of the richest and most fertile agricultural land in Britain - the Laigh o' Moray. But, what is commonly overlooked in assessments of the episcopal wealth is that the Bishop, and a number of the individual parishes, owned hugely valuable fishings on some of the best rivers in the world! Time and again we see these fishings being jealously guarded by the clerics and envied by the local land-owners! Consequently, since the bishops of Moray were feudal lords and holders of extensive estates, the diocese was not poor by northern standards, although it was a long way short of being the richest in the country. However, what this also meant was that the bishops were not required to appropriate as many churches to their mensa as some of their brother bishops had had to do, and one consequence of this was that building works could be carried out on a lavish scale not equalled in the north and on a par with even the dioceses of Glasgow and St Andrews. The student has only to look at pictures to appreciate the staggering quality of the stone-mason's craft to be found in both the Cathedral in Elgin and the Episcopal Palace at Spynie. In particular, the cathedral stands as a rival to many of the English and European cathedrals of the time - a point that is often not fully appreciated!

 

 

The Early Diocese - Birnie & Kinneddar

The foundation of the Diocese was as much (if not more) a political act as an ecclesiastical one. Crown and mitre walked hand in hand in the foundation of the High Church of Moray, and the success of their association in the work was due to a complete mutual understanding of the political motive. In the twelfth-century, Scotland, as we know it now, scarcely existed. In no sense of the word was there a Scottish nation - but the desire to 'unify and tax' was a prime motivating force for all European rulers. By establishing a diocese the Crown was able to extend, and deepen, its influence over this wild northern Province. It also took advantage of the King's recent overthrow of the (in)famous 'men of Moray'¹ and, no doubt, he hoped that it would add to the future stability of the province.

It is recorded that the diocese of Moray was founded by King Alexander I in 1107, although the word might better be established than founded since the latter carries with it ideas of a 'foundation charter' and 'cathedral constitution', things that were not to appear for another hundred years. As we have seen, the first bishops of this era tended to preserve some of the peripatetic (some would say nomadic) habits of the episcopi vagantes of the Early Church. They were to be found variously at Birnie, and Kinneddar, and they used Spynie as a base as well. The idea of a cathedral only makes sense if we acknowledge that the bishop's cathedra was located wherever the bishop was at any moment in time. Consequently, in these early days, the cathedral was, like the bishop, ever on the move! However, Bishop Simon de Tosny (1171-1184), a member of the illustrious Norman family of Tosny of Conches-en-Ouche, began the establishment of a fixed cathedra at Birnie and probably built what was the earliest of the Bishops' Manors (Palaces), for which Moray became famous in later times, at the nearby Castlehill {NGR: NJ 216579}.

There had been a significant number of very old pre-parochial Christian communities (muinntirs) in Moray, some of which were considered 'old' even in the times that we are considering here - the early twelfth-century.²

There were few, if any, recognised parishes at this time. It is commonly accepted that parishes only became recognisable entities after c.1130. It is also very probable that there was no recognisable Chapter in this period either, although it is quite probable that the bishop would have had a group of chaplains serving him - his familia or paruchia.

It must be kept in mind that a Cathedral Church was never intended for congregational worship as we might understand that term today. The parish churches acted as the congregational churches. A Cathedral Church was invariably a vast building, built as it were, to demonstrate the greatness of God, and to permit the most stately and impressive ritual and processional ceremonies of the Church which in turn were intended to replicate the glorious magnificence of Heaven itself. It represented an attempt to reproduce Heaven on Earth by assaulting all of the human senses at once!

 

The First Real Cathedral - Spynie

The exact reasons that determined Bishop Bricius to establish his cathedral permanently at Spynie are not known. However, we might suggest that:

Once the 'Romish Church' was established, the Diocese of Moray was truly of major importance in the country. Bishops of Moray can be found occupying the highest offices of state as well as of the Church, such as acting as Legatus a Latere. When the Scottish Province was properly established in 1472AD, with a Metropolitan and Prelatical Archbishop at St Andrews, Moray was a faithful, if somewhat independently-minded, suffragan see of that archbishopric right up to the time of the Second Reformation (c.1560).

A great deal more information relating to the 'foundation' of Moray Diocese can be gleaned by studying the biographies of the early bishops. Suffice it to say here that, c.1222, Bishop Bricius (Brice de Douglas) moved his locus operandi from Birnie/Kineddar to Spynie and he slowly set about collecting the extensive resources necessary to enhance his new establishment.

 

The Four Deaneries

Even a cursory glance at a map of the Diocese of Moray reveals its enormous geographical extent. For the Bishop and his 'first lieutenant' - the Archdeacon - it required that the whole should be divided into smaller parts which would allow for much more efficient administration. Consequently, at a very early stage in its develpment, the Diocee of Moray was divided into four Deaneries -

Within each deanery one of the parish priests was appointed Dean of Christianty, becoming the Archdeacon's representative in that Deanery. He was tasked with convening the Deanery Synod and was often part of the process of inducting a new priest into a church. Of course, the Dean of Christianty would often be required to travel to the Cathedral to make his regular reports to the Archdeacon and the Bishop.

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References.

 

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