David Robert Chillingworth (born 23 June 1951) is an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

bishop. He was Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane between 2004 and 2017, until his retirement. He was also the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church from 2009 to 2016.

Early life and education

Chillingworth was born in

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

in 1951 but grew up in

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ; ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, part of the United Kingdom in the north-east of the island of Ireland. It has been #Descriptions, variously described as a country, province or region. Northern Ireland shares Repub ...

. He was educated at Portora Royal School and the Royal Belfast Academical Institution. He studied

classics Classics, also classical studies or Ancient Greek and Roman studies, is the study of classical antiquity. In the Western world, ''classics'' traditionally refers to the study of Ancient Greek literature, Ancient Greek and Roman literature and ...

at Trinity College, Dublin, and graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

(BA) degree in 1973. He then studied

theology Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

at Oriel College, Oxford, and graduated from the

University of Oxford The University of Oxford is a collegiate university, collegiate research university in Oxford, England. There is evidence of teaching as early as 1096, making it the oldest university in the English-speaking world and the List of oldest un ...

with a BA degree in 1975. That year, he entered Ripon College Cuddesdon, an

theological college A seminary, school of theology, theological college, or divinity school is an educational institution for educating students (sometimes called seminarians) in scripture and Christian theology, theology, generally to prepare them for ordinatio ...

, to undertake one year of training for ordained ministry.

Who's Who A Who's Who (or Who Is Who) is a reference work consisting of biographical entries of notable people in a particular field. The oldest and best-known is the annual publication ''Who's Who (UK), Who's Who'', a reference work on contemporary promin ...

2008: London, A & C Black

Ordained ministry

Chillingworth was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

in the Church of Ireland as a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian denominations, such as the Cathol ...

in 1976 and as a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deity, deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in parti ...

in 1978. His parish ministry was consistently focused on issues of conflict and reconciliation, particularly in relation to

sectarianism Sectarianism is a debated concept. Some scholars and journalists define it as pre-existing fixed communal categories in society, and use it to explain political, cultural, or Religious violence, religious conflicts between groups. Others conceiv ...

. He also served as the Church of Ireland Youth Officer from 1979 to 1983. Before moving to Scotland in 2005 he was the rector for 19 years of Seagoe Parish Church in

Portadown Portadown ( ) is a town in County Armagh, Northern Ireland. The town is based on the River Bann in the north of the county, about southwest of Belfast. It is in the Armagh City, Banbridge and Craigavon Borough Council area and had a population ...

and Archdeacon of Dromore and from 1995 to 2002 the Dean of Dromore.

Episcopal ministry

On 5 March 2004, Chillingworth was consecrated as a

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 ...

at St Ninian's Cathedral, Perth. He then became the bishop of the Diocese of St Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane, making him one of the seven diocesan bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church. Although it is not uncommon for the Scottish Episcopal Church to elect bishops from outside the boundaries of

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, the choice of Chillingworth was unusual in that he was elected from the Church of Ireland. He had never previously worked in Scotland and had lived most of his life in

. On 13 June 2009, Chillingworth was elected the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church by the other bishops. The post of primus is held in addition to being a diocesan bishop. He supported same sex marriage and this was introduced to the church following a successful vote to remove the definition of marriage as between a man and a woman from the Canon on Marriage in 2017. He stepped down as Bishop of St Andrews, Dunkeld & Dunblane and as Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church at the end of July 2017. Since 2018, he has held permission to officiate in the Diocese of Edinburgh.

Personal life

Chillingworth is married to Alison. Together, they have three children: one daughter, and two sons.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chillingworth, David Living people 1951 births Christian clergy from Dublin (city) People from Portadown Alumni of Oriel College, Oxford Archdeacons of Dromore Deans of Dromore Bishops of Saint Andrews, Dunkeld and Dunblane Alumni of Trinity College Dublin Primuses of the Scottish Episcopal Church People educated at Portora Royal School People educated at the Royal Belfast Academical Institution 20th-century Irish Anglican priests 21st-century Irish Anglican priests