Patrick Forbes (c.1610–1679) was a Scottish Protestant

Bishop of Caithness The Bishop of Caithness was the ecclesiastical head of the Diocese of Caithness, one of Scotland's 13 medieval bishoprics. The first referenced bishop of Caithness was Aindréas, a Gael who appears in sources between 1146 and 1151 as bishop. Ai ...

Life

Forbes was the third son of John Forbes, minister of

Alford, Aberdeenshire Alford (pronounced or , ) is a large village in Aberdeenshire, north-east Scotland, lying just south of the River Don. It lies within the Howe of Alford (also called the Vale of Alford) which occupies the middle reaches of the River Don. The ...

, and afterwards of

Delft Delft () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam, to the southeast, ...

. Patrick studied at

King's College, Aberdeen King's College in Old Aberdeen, Scotland, the full title of which is The University and King's College of Aberdeen (''Collegium Regium Aberdonense''), is a formerly independent university founded in 1495 and now an integral part of the Univer ...

of which his namesake uncle, Bishop Patrick Forbes, was both

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 ...

and Chancellor of the College, and graduated in 1631. Returning to Holland he became an army chaplain. He was in Scotland in 1638, and signed the

national covenant The National Covenant () was an agreement signed by many people of Scotland during 1638, opposing the proposed Laudian reforms of the Church of Scotland (also known as '' the Kirk'') by King Charles I. The king's efforts to impose changes on th ...

in presence of the General Assembly held at

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 ...

in that year. In 1641 he became minister of the British church at Delft, in which his father had previously officiated. He was an acquaintance and correspondent of Principal Baillie, who makes favourable mention of him in his letters of 1644, 1645, and 1646. He commends a manuscript which Forbes had written and sent him, and wishes to see it in print. He asks Spang, minister of the Scots church at Campvere, to 'keep correspondence with that young man,’ and to urge him to 'use diligence' against the British sectaries in Holland, and to 'write against the anabaptists.' After a short ministry at Delft he again became a military chaplain (apparently to the Scots brigade), and continued to officiate in that capacity till the Restoration. The king Charles II, having restored

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

in Scotland, appointed Forbes, then chaplain to Andrew Rutherford, 1st Earl of Teviot, governor of

Dunkirk Dunkirk ( ; ; ; Picard language, Picard: ''Dunkèke''; ; or ) is a major port city in the Departments of France, department of Nord (French department), Nord in northern France. It lies from the Belgium, Belgian border. It has the third-larg ...

, to the bishopric of Caithness, and with five others he was consecrated at the abbey church of Holyrood 7 May 1662 by the archbishops of St. Andrews and Glasgow and the bishop of Galloway. He had probably received presbyterian ordination in Holland, but none of the presbyterian clergy who were raised to the episcopate in Scotland were reordained. James Kirkton, referring to his appointment to the bishopric, calls him 'the degenerate son of ane excellent father.' Forbes died in 1679, and was buried in Kirkwall Cathedral.''Fasti Ecclesiae Scoticanae''; vol. 7; by Hew Scott

Family

He married twice: firstly in Holland to a daughter of Colonel Erskine, an officer of the Scots brigade, and had a family. His son John, who was commissary of Caithness, died at Craigievar, Aberdeenshire, in October 1668, and was buried at Leochel in the Craigievar aisle. He secondly married Katherine Scougal, daughter of Bishop Patrick Scougal and widow of William Scrogie.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Forbes, Patrick 1679 deaths Clergy from Aberdeenshire Bishops of Caithness 17th-century Scottish bishops Alumni of the University of Aberdeen Scottish chaplains Christian chaplains Scottish Restoration bishops Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1661–1663 Members of the Convention of the Estates of Scotland 1665 Members of the Parliament of Scotland 1669–1674 Year of birth uncertain