John Skinner (17 May 1744 – 13 July 1816) was an Episcopalian clergyman who served as the

Bishop of Aberdeen The Bishop of Aberdeen (originally Bishop of Mortlach, in Latin Murthlacum) was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Aberdeen, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics, whose first recorded bishop is an early 12th-century cleric named Nech ...

from 1786 to 1816 and Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church from 1788 to 1816.

Early life and family

He was born at Linshart, Longside,

Aberdeenshire Aberdeenshire (; ) is one of the 32 Subdivisions of Scotland#council areas of Scotland, council areas of Scotland. It takes its name from the Shires of Scotland, historic county of Aberdeenshire (historic), Aberdeenshire, which had substantial ...

on 17 May 1744, the second son of the Reverend John Skinner,

Incumbent The incumbent is the current holder of an office or position. In an election, the incumbent is the person holding or acting in the position that is up for election, regardless of whether they are seeking re-election. There may or may not be ...

Lerwick Lerwick ( or ; ; ) is the main town and port of the Shetland archipelago, Scotland. Shetland's only burgh, Lerwick had a population of about 7,000 residents in 2010. It is the northernmost major settlement within the United Kingdom. Centred ...

and Grissel Hunter., ''Scottish Episcopal Clergy'', p. 439., ''An Historical Catalogue of the Scottish Bishops'', p. 534. He was educated at

Marischal College Marischal College ( ) is a large granite building on Broad Street in the centre of Aberdeen in north-east Scotland, and since 2011 has been the headquarters of Aberdeen City Council. The building was constructed for and is on long-term lease fr ...

Aberdeen Aberdeen ( ; ; ) is a port city in North East Scotland, and is the List of towns and cities in Scotland by population, third most populous Cities of Scotland, Scottish city. Historically, Aberdeen was within the historic county of Aberdeensh ...

; obtaining a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA or AM) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Those admitted to the degree have ...

degree in 1761. He married in 1765 to Mary Robertson (1736–1807), and they had five sons and three daughters. One of their sons, John (1769–1841), became Dean of Dunkeld and Dunblane, and another son,

William William is a masculine given name of Germanic languages, Germanic origin. It became popular in England after the Norman Conquest, Norman conquest in 1066,All Things William"Meaning & Origin of the Name"/ref> and remained so throughout the Middle ...

(1778–1857), became Bishop of Aberdeen.

Ecclesiastical career

He 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 ...

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 1763 and 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 1764. His first

pastoral The pastoral genre of literature, art, or music depicts an idealised form of the shepherd's lifestyle – herding livestock around open areas of land according to the seasons and the changing availability of water and pasture. The target au ...

appointment was as the

of Ellon and Udny (1764–1775), and then the Incumbent of Aberdeen (1775–1816), a post he held until his death. Skinner was appointed coadjutor bishop of

and

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 ...

on 25 September 1782 by bishops Kilgour,

Rose A rose is either a woody perennial plant, perennial flowering plant of the genus ''Rosa'' (), in the family Rosaceae (), or the flower it bears. There are over three hundred Rose species, species and Garden roses, tens of thousands of cultivar ...

and Petrie., ''An Historical Catalogue of the Scottish Bishops'', pp. 534–535. He was one of the three bishops to consecrate

Samuel Seabury Samuel Seabury (November 30, 1729February 25, 1796) was the first American Episcopal bishop, the second Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, and the first Bishop of Connecticut. He was a leading Loyalis ...

, an American Episcopal priest as a bishop in 1784. On the resignation of Bishop Robert Kilgour, Skinner became Bishop of Aberdeen in October 1786. Two years later, he also became the Primus of the Scottish Episcopal Church. He died in office in Aberdeen on 13 July 1816, aged 72, and was buried in St Peters Cemetery in the Spital district of

Old Aberdeen Old Aberdeen is part of Aberdeen in Scotland. Old Aberdeen was originally a separate burgh, which was erected into a burgh of barony on 26 December 1489. It was incorporated into adjacent Aberdeen by Act of Parliament in 1891. It retains the sta ...

., ''An Historical Catalogue of the Scottish Bishops'', p. 535. He was succeeded by his son,

, as Bishop of Aberdeen. William Walker wrote a biography of Bishop Skinner.

References

Bibliography

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Scottish Episcopal Church History "Scottish Episcopal Church History: A Moment in the Century: Persecution and an Argument are Over."
Contains information about John Skinner. {{DEFAULTSORT:Skinner, John 1744 births 1816 deaths 18th-century Scottish Episcopalian bishops 19th-century Scottish Episcopalian bishops Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Bishops of Aberdeen Primuses of the Scottish Episcopal Church