13. Alexander P. Forbes

Dates of Rectorship: 1846 – 1846
Dates of Life: 1817 – 1875

Before –
Before 1831: Schooling at the Edinburgh Academy and under Rev. Thomas Dale in Kent
1831: Session at Glasgow University
1831-1835: Attended East India Company College, Hertfordshire
1836-1839: Worked for Indian Civil Service in Madras. Took ill and returned to England.
1840-1844: Attended Brasenose College, Oxford
1841: Obtained Boden Sanskrit Scholarship
1844: B.A. in Sanskrit
””: Ordained Deacon
1845: Ordained Priest
Before 1846: Curacies at Ss. Peter and Paul’s, Aston Rowlant and St. Thomas’, Oxford

After –
1846: Vicar, St. Saviour’s, Leeds
1847: Elected, Consecrated, and Enthroned as Bishop of Brechin. Remained in office until death.

Birth –
Full Name: Alexander Penrose Forbes
Date: 16th June 1817
Place: Edinburgh
Father: John Hay Forbes, Lord Medwyn, Court of Session Judge
Mother: Louisa Cumming

Death –
Date: 8th October 1875
Place: Castlehill House, Dundee

Additional Information –
Commonly believed to have married Eleanor Wemyss, but this is untrue. Eleanor Wemyss was actually married to his younger brother, George Hay Forbes. Buried in St. Paul’s Cathedral, Dundee.
On the face of it, especially seeing how quickly he ascended to the heights of the episcopate, it would seem that Forbes had a privileged life and was handed appointments and preferrments on a plate. This is not true. He was born into privilege, but he had many hardships to suffer in his life.

The number of his ancestors and relatives who have distinguished themselves in the annals of Episcopalian history are almost too many to count, so here we will simply mention that his brother was also a priest. George Hay Forbes, the rector at Burntisland for many years, a scholar, and founder of St. Drostan’s Church, Tarfside, built to comemmorate his older brother, Alexander Penrose.

By all accounts, Forbes was a rather humble man, to his dying day living in a flat in Dundee. In spite of personal illnesses including repeated fevers, gout, pleursy and depression, a tireless worker and churchman. This is the source of his rapid ascent of the church hierarchy. Of course, it should be noted that whilst at Oxford he met and befriended many of the leaders of the Oxford Movement (of which he was decidedly an adherent), including Pusey and Keble. Indeed, his work as Bishop of Brechin has earned him the epithet “the Scottish Pusey”.

He spent less than a year at Stonehaven, but made a significant impact upon the town and the congregation. This said, he did not particularly like the town itself, and was drawn to Scotland initially only due to a desire to be near to his ill mother. Later in his life, the consecration of our present building was his last act as bishop before his death. He is one of the figures on our pulpit, and it is a rather good likeness we understand.

Amongst his illnesses, the darkest time in his life was likely being prosecuted by church courts for heresy. The heresy in question was declaring that “the bread of the Eucharist is nothing less than the flesh of Our Lord”. Stonehaven, as well as Rev. Robert Thom of Drumlithie (later Dean of the Diocese, and the priest who first proposed Forbes as the successor to Bishop Moir), also a former rector of St. James’, were very vocal supporters of him in his trial.

Like his Aberdonian contemperory (once again, also a former rector here), John Comper, his trial became a cause celebre amongst the High Church faction of the S.E.C., and was watched with interest by English Tractarians. Unlike John Comper, Forbes won his trial absolutely (Comper was forced to make concessions, though he was acquitted).

Before and after this tribulation, he set to work in Dundee. He is sometimes referred to as the “founder” of Brechin Diocese, and whilst this is incorrect, he was certainly the architect of the diocese as we find it today. He performed countless baptisms personally, as well as the confirmations of the same. He founded schools and houses for the destitute and for women struggling with prostitution. Poverty, and the role that the Episcopal Church could play in alleviating it was one of his major concerns.
Much like his ancestors, his deeds are far too numerous for this account to do justice to. Amongst those things already mentioned, he founded the church of St. Paul (which he partially designed) in Dundee. This church is now the cathedral. He also, alongside his friend William Gladstone (of Prime Ministerial fame) helped found Glenalmond College. Initially intended as a seminary, it is now a public school. Also of note, as bishop he founded St. Philip’s at Catterline. He also found the time to write several books, including a short novel which features a thinly disguised Stonehaven as its setting. The rest of his books are on matters of church doctrine.
As a final note, and yet another similarity to his friend, John Comper; he did all of this without a theological degree.

All of these works have earned him a place in the liturgical calendar, (causing some people to append the title of “Saint” to him), as well as continued high esteem in the diocese to this day.

For further reading “Alexander Penrose Forbes: Bishop of Brechin, the Scottish Pusey” by William Perry is recommended.