High Street, Old Aberdeen

Aberdeen and the consecration of the first Episcopal Bishop for America

Aberdeen shares a number of important historical links with the USA, including the consecration of Samuel Seabury, as the first Episcopal Bishop for America in 1784.

Seabury was born in Connecticut in 1729 and following the American Revolution, he was elected Bishop of the Episcopal Church in America. As there were no Anglican Bishops in the Americas to consecrate him, and the English bishops could not consecrate anyone who would not take an oath of allegiance to the British Crown, Seabury had to travel to Scotland to seek ordination by the dis-established Episcopal Communion in Scotland.

Samuel Seabury was consecrated as the first American Episcopal Bishop on 14 November 1784, close to the site of Saint Andrew’s Cathedral in Aberdeen. There is a plaque in Marischal College in the centre of Aberdeen commemorating this event.