Alexander Emsley Nimmo, (born 28 February 1953) is a Scottish

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 ...

priest and historian. He has been Rector of St Margaret of Scotland, Aberdeen since 1990. He was also

Dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean * Dean Sw ...

of the

Diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney The Diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney is one of the seven dioceses of the Scottish Episcopal Church. Created in 1865, the diocese covers the historic county of Aberdeenshire, and the Orkney and Shetland island groups. It shares with the Roman Ca ...

from 2008 to 2017.

Early life and education

Nimmo was born on 28 February 1953 in

Glasgow Glasgow is the Cities of Scotland, most populous city in Scotland, located on the banks of the River Clyde in Strathclyde, west central Scotland. It is the List of cities in the United Kingdom, third-most-populous city in the United Kingdom ...

, Scotland.'NIMMO, Very Rev. Dr Alexander Emsley', ''

Who's Who 2017 ''Who's Who'' is a reference work. It has been published annually in the form of a hardback book since 1849, and has been published online since 1999. It has also been published on CD-ROM. It lists, and gives information on, people from around ...

'', A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc, 2017; online edn, Oxford University Press, 2016; online edn, Nov 201
accessed 7 Sept 2017
/ref> He studied

divinity Divinity (from Latin ) refers to the quality, presence, or nature of that which is divine—a term that, before the rise of monotheism, evoked a broad and dynamic field of sacred power. In the ancient world, divinity was not limited to a single ...

at the

University of Aberdeen The University of Aberdeen (abbreviated ''Aberd.'' in List of post-nominal letters (United Kingdom), post-nominals; ) is a public university, public research university in Aberdeen, Scotland. It was founded in 1495 when William Elphinstone, Bis ...

, graduating with a

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD, DB, or BDiv; ) is an academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology or, rarely, religious studies. ...

(BD) degree in 1976. From 1976 to 1978, he trained for

Holy Orders In certain Christian denominations, holy orders are the ordination, ordained ministries of bishop, priest (presbyter), and deacon, and the sacrament or rite by which candidates are ordained to those orders. Churches recognizing these orders inclu ...

Edinburgh Theological College The Edinburgh Theological College was founded in 1810 to train Anglican clergy to serve in the Scottish Episcopal Church. In 1891 the college moved to Coates Hall in Rosebery Avenue where it gradually expanded to include residential accommodation ...

. Nimmo has continued his academic studies following ordination. He studied at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh (, ; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in Post-nominal letters, post-nominals) is a Public university, public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Founded by the City of Edinburgh Council, town council under th ...

, graduating with a

Master of Philosophy A Master of Philosophy (MPhil or PhM; Latin ' or ') is a postgraduate degree. The name of the degree is most often abbreviated MPhil (or, at times, as PhM in other countries). MPhil are awarded to postgraduate students after completing at leas ...

(MPhil) degree in 1983. His master's thesis was titled "Charles Wordsworth, Bishop of St. Andrews 1853–1892: reconciler or controversialist?". He undertook

postgraduate research Postgraduate research represents a formal area of study that is recognized by a university or institute of higher learning. The notion of "postgraduate" refers to studies following a undergraduate degree. Postgraduate research either occurs within ...

at the University of Aberdeen, completing his Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) in 1997. His doctoral thesis was titled "Bishop John Skinner and the resurgence of Scots Episcopacy".

Ordained ministry

Nimmo 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

Scottish Episcopal Church The Scottish Episcopal Church (; ) is a Christian denomination in Scotland. Scotland's third largest church, the Scottish Episcopal Church has 303 local congregations. It is also an Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, ecclesiastical provi ...

(SEC) 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 1978 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 1979 during services at

Inverness Cathedral Inverness Cathedral (Scottish Gaelic: Cathair-Eaglais Inbhir Nis), also known as the Cathedral Church of Saint Andrew (1866–69), is a cathedral of the Scottish Episcopal Church situated in the city of Inverness in Scotland close to the banks of ...

by George Sessford. For his

curacy A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' () of souls of a parish. In this sense, ''curate'' means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy who are ass ...

, he served as

Precentor A precentor is a person who helps facilitate worship. The details vary depending on the religion, denomination, and era in question. The Latin derivation is ''præcentor'', from cantor, meaning "the one who sings before" (or alternatively, "first ...

of Inverness Cathedral between 1978 and 1981. He then joined St Peter's Church,

Stornoway Stornoway (; ) is the main town, and by far the largest, of the Outer Hebrides (or Western Isles), and the capital of Lewis and Harris in Scotland. The town's population is around 6,953, making it the third-largest island town in Scotlan ...

Isle of Lewis The Isle of Lewis () or simply Lewis () is the northern part of Lewis and Harris, the largest island of the Western Isles or Outer Hebrides archipelago in Scotland. The two parts are frequently referred to as if they were separate islands. The t ...

in the Diocese of Argyll and the Isles: he served as

priest in charge A priest in charge or priest-in-charge (previously also curate-in-charge) in the Church of England is a priest in charge of a parish who is not its incumbent; they will normally work on a short-term contract and have less freedom to act within the ...

from 1981 to 1983, and as rector in 1984. He then moved to the

Diocese of Edinburgh The Diocese of Edinburgh is one of the seven dioceses of the Scottish Episcopal Church. It covers the City of Edinburgh, the Lothians, the Scottish Borders, Borders and Falkirk (council area), Falkirk. The diocesan centre is St Mary's Cathedra ...

to become rector of St Michael and All Saints, Edinburgh. He was additionally a chaplain at

HM Prison Edinburgh HMP Edinburgh is located in the west of Edinburgh on the main A71, in an area now known as Stenhouse, and, although never named as such, has commonly been known as Saughton Prison from the old name for the general area. The prison is situat ...

, between 1987 and 1990. In 1990, Nimmo moved to the

to become rector of St Margaret of Scotland, Aberdeen. He has also been chaplain of His Majesty's Theatre, Aberdeen since 1990 and was Episcopal visiting chaplain to HM Prison Peterhead from 2004 to 2007. He was made a

Canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the material accepted as officially written by an author or an ascribed author * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western canon, th ...

of St Andrew's Cathedral, Aberdeen in 1996 and an honorary canon of Christ Church Cathedral,

Hartford, Connecticut Hartford is the List of capitals in the United States, capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The city, located in Hartford County, Connecticut, Hartford County, had a population of 121,054 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 ce ...

, United States. On 21 April 2008, he was installed as

of the Diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney: he held this appointment in addition to his parish and other ministries. He resigned as dean in November 2017; this followed the appointment of

Anne Dyer Anne Catherine Dyer (born February 1957) is a British Anglican bishop, and previously an academic administrator. In 2018, she became Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney in the Scottish Episcopal Church. Subject to a report process, with a recommenda ...

, who supports same-sex marriage, as the next Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney and the first female bishop in the SEC.

Honours

In 1993, Nimmo was elected a

Fellow of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland The Society of Antiquaries of Scotland is the senior antiquarian body of Scotland, with its headquarters in the National Museum of Scotland, Chambers Street, Edinburgh. The Society's aim is to promote the cultural heritage of Scotland. The usu ...

(FSA Scot). During the period 2011–2012, he served as Chairman of the 1745 Association.

Selected works

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Nimmo, Emsley 1953 births Living people 20th-century Scottish Episcopalian priests 21st-century Scottish Episcopalian priests Scottish Anglo-Catholics Deans of Aberdeen and Orkney 21st-century Scottish historians Clergy from Glasgow Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Alumni of Edinburgh Theological College Alumni of the University of Edinburgh Fellows of the Society of Antiquaries of Scotland