Andreas de Moravia (or Andrew of Moray) was a 13th-century Scottish

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

. He was a younger son of

Hugh de Moravia Hugh de Moravia (died c. 1219), Lord of Duffus, Strathbrock and Sutherland, was a Scottish noble. He was the eldest son of William, the eldest son of Freskin, a Flemish settler who arrived in Scotland in the reign of King David I of Scotland. ...

, from the family of Flemish origin who were lords of

Duffus Duffus () is a village and parish in Moray, Scotland. The local shop and Post Office and Duffus Village Hall provide a focal point for the community. Nearby are the remains of Duffus CastleSt. Peters' Kirk and Spynie Palace. Name The name of ...

and other areas in the Greater

Moray Moray ( ; or ) is one of the 32 council areas of Scotland. It lies in the north-east of the country, with a coastline on the Moray Firth, and borders the council areas of Aberdeenshire and Highland. Its council is based in Elgin, the area' ...

region in this period. In the time of Bishop Bricius' episcopate (1203–1222), there was a man called "Andreas" who was rector of the church of St. Peter at Duffus, and this may well have been this Andreas. He may also have been a native Scot. Andreas was elected as Bishop of Ross in 1213. However, he refused to accept the election, and obtained the consent of

Pope Innocent III Pope Innocent III (; born Lotario dei Conti di Segni; 22 February 1161 – 16 July 1216) was head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 8 January 1198 until his death on 16 July 1216. Pope Innocent was one of the most power ...

to resign this position. The reasoning can only be speculated. In 1222 though, Andreas did accept election when, after the death of Bricius the same year, he was elected

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 ...

. Andreas was in Rome before April 1224 when he is styled "Bishop" and it is probable that he was confirmed and consecrated during this period in the curia. One of Andreas' first acts as bishop must have been to submit a request to the Pope asking to move the seat ( Latin: ''cathedra'') of the bishopric from Spynie to Elgin, for on 10 April 1224, the Pope sent Andreas his permission. Andreas' greatest legacy would be

Elgin Cathedral Elgin Cathedral, a historic ruin in Elgin, Moray, northeast Scotland, was dedicated to the Holy Trinity. It was established in 1224 on land granted by King Alexander II of Scotland, Alexander II and stood outside the burgh of Elgin, close to ...

, where all medieval bishops of Moray would have their cathedral (although the bishops themselves kept Spynie Palace as their chief personal residence.) On 19 July 1224, the foundation stone of the new Elgin Cathedral was ceremoniously laid with completion sometime after 1242. Andreas, as head of one of Scotland's more important bishoprics, also played a role in Scotland's larger political and religious life. For instance, he witnessed charters of king Alexander II and was the principal consecrator of

William de Bondington William de Bondington († 1258) was a 13th-century Chancellor of Scotland and a bishop of Glasgow. Biography Before becoming bishop, William was rector of Eddleston, a prebendary of Glasgow, and archdeacon of Lothian. From the year 1231, Wil ...

Bishop of Glasgow The Archbishop of Glasgow is an archiepiscopal title that takes its name after the city of Glasgow in Scotland. The position and title were abolished by the Church of Scotland in 1689; and, in the Catholic Church, the title was restored by Pope ...

. A letter from

Pope Gregory IX Pope Gregory IX (; born Ugolino di Conti; 1145 – 22 August 1241) was head of the Catholic Church and the ruler of the Papal States from 19 March 1227 until his death in 1241. He is known for issuing the '' Decretales'' and instituting the Pa ...

, dated to 13 April 1231, instructs the dean and chapter of Moray that elections to the bishopric should be free. This suggests that the clergy of Moray had some reason to fear Bishop Andreas death, and that perhaps Andreas was ill. No death occurred for another decade, because the bishop died late in the year 1242. He was buried in the south side of the choir under a large blue marble stone.Keith, ''Historical Catalogue'', p. 138.

Notes

References

Dowden, John John Dowden /d͡ʒɒn ˈdaʊdən/ (29 June 1840 – 30 January 1910) was an Irish-born bishop and ecclesiastical historian. He served in the Scottish Episcopal Church as the Bishop of Edinburgh. Life He was born in Cork on 29 June 1840, ...

, ''The Bishops of Scotland'', ed. J. Maitland Thomson, (Glasgow, 1912) * Fawcett, Richard & Oram, Richard, ''Elgin Cathedral and the Diocese of Moray'', Historic Scotland (Edinburgh, 2014), * Keith, Robert, ''An Historical Catalogue of the Scottish Bishops: Down to the Year 1688'', (London, 1924) * Tabraham, Chris, (ed.) ''Elgin Cathedral'', (Historic Scotland, 1999) {{DEFAULTSORT:Moravia, Andreas De 12th-century births 1242 deaths Nobility from Moray Bishops of Moray Bishops of Ross (Scotland) Medieval Gaels from Scotland 13th-century Scottish Roman Catholic bishops

Andreas Andreas () is a name derived from the Greek noun ἀνήρ ''anēr'', with genitive ἀνδρός ''andros'', which means "man". See the article on Andrew for more information. The Scandinavian name is earliest attested as antreos in a runeston ...