Alexander Douglas (1561–1623) was a

Church of Scotland The Church of Scotland (CoS; ; ) is a Presbyterian denomination of Christianity that holds the status of the national church in Scotland. It is one of the country's largest, having 245,000 members in 2024 and 259,200 members in 2023. While mem ...

minister and served as

Bishop of Moray The Bishop of Moray or Bishop of Elgin was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Moray in northern Scotland, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics. If the foundation charter of the monastery at Scone is reliable, then the Bishopric of Mor ...

Life

He was born in 1561 the son of Alexander Douglas, Provost of

Elgin Elgin may refer to: Places Canada * Elgin County, Ontario * Elgin Settlement, a 19th-century community for freed slaves located in present-day North Buxton and South Buxton, Ontario * Elgin, a village in Rideau Lakes, Ontario * Elgin, Manit ...

, and his wife Agnes Leslie. In September 1573 he was appointed minister of

Alves Alves is a surname that appears to originate both from Portugal and Scotland (in Scotland where a variation of the name can appear as ''Alvis''). It is debatable whether the surname appeared first in one country or the other, since it is more prev ...

but moved only a few weeks later to

Spynie Spynie was a seaport, burgh and ancient parish in Moray, Scotland, that survives as a small hamlet and Civil parishes in Scotland, civil parish. It is the location of the ruins of Spynie Palace, which was the principal residence of the Bishop of Mo ...

parish. In 1580 he translated to Keith and from there to

in 1581. Minister at

for 17 years, he was elevated to the bishopric of Moray, receiving crown provision on 30 November 1602. He was not

consecrated Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

, for over eight years, eventually undergoing a ceremony at

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

on 15 March 1611.''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae''; vol. 7; by Hew Scott He died 11 May 1623, at Elgin. He was buried in his cathedral, the church of St Giles, Elgin, in a vault by a window. The structure is now ruinous.

References

* Keith, Robert, ''An Historical Catalogue of the Scottish Bishops: Down to the Year 1688'', (London, 1924) * Watt, D.E.R., ''Fasti Ecclesiae Scotinanae Medii Aevi ad annum 1638'', 2nd Draft, (St Andrews, 1969) 1561 births 1623 deaths Bishops of Moray Year of birth unknown Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1612 Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1617 {{Scotland-RC-bishop-stub