On Tuesday (27 June) the Episcopal Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church elected the Rt Rev Mark Strange, Bishop of Moray, Ross and Caithness as Primus. Bishop Mark says “I am humbled by the confidence shown in me by my colleagues and I will seek to serve the church as Primus with love and strength.”

“I am deeply privileged to be the Bishop Moray, Ross and Caithness and am very aware that it has been 82 years since a Bishop of Moray became Primus. I pray that I may be worthy of this trust. I will continue to serve in my beloved highlands while I also step out into new and exciting journeys of faith in both Scotland and the wider international church.”

Bishop Mark (56 ), who will now be referred to as The Most Rev Mark Strange, is the youngest member of the College of Bishops and was consecrated Bishop of Moray, Ross and Caithness in 2007. Bishop Mark succeeds the Most Rev David Chillingworth.

Brought up in Aberdeen, where he was both a choirboy and server at St Andrew’s Cathedral, Bishop Mark studied Divinity at the University of Aberdeen, attended Theological College in Lincoln and has served in both the Diocese of Worcester and in the Diocese of Moray, Ross and Caithness. For a number of years Bishop Mark was also Convener of the church’s Youth Committee and ran the annual summer youth camps at Glenalmond.

Bishop Mark takes up this role as a Primate within the Anglican Communion at a point where the General Synod of the Scottish Episcopal Church has voted to permit same sex marriage, a decision which is expected to be on the agenda of the forthcoming Primates Meeting in Canterbury, a meeting which Bishop Mark will attend.

published in Inspires Online