Bishop of Edinburgh

The Bishop of Edinburgh is the Ordinary of the Scottish Episcopal Diocese of Edinburgh.

The see was founded in 1633 by King Charles I. William Forbes was consecrated in St. Giles' Cathedral as its first bishop on 23 January 1634 though he died later that year. The General Assembly of 1638 deposed Bishop David Lindsay and all the other bishops, so the next, George Wishart, was consecrated in 1662 after the Restoration. In 1690 it was Bishop Alexander Rose (1687–1720) whose unwelcome reply to King William III led to the disestablishment of the Scottish Episcopalians as Jacobite sympathisers, and it was he who led his congregation from St. Giles to a former wool store as their meeting house, on the site now occupied by Old Saint Paul's Church.

After the repeal of the penal laws in 1792 and the reuniting of Episcopal and 'Qualified' congregations, the Diocese grew under the leadership of Bishops Daniel Sandford, James Walker, C.H. Terrot and Henry Cotterill. The high point of the 19th Century was the consecration of St Mary’s Cathedral in 1879.

The current Bishop is The Right Revd Dr John Armes. He became Bishop-elect of Edinburgh on 11th February, 2012 and was consecrated and installed as Bishop on 12th May, 2012.