THE CLAIMS OF
YORK & EVENTUAL CREATION OF A
METROPOLITAN ARCHDIOCESE IN SCOTLAND
When Queen Margaret and her sons Alexander
I, and David I(the 'Sair Sanct' to the
Croun),to whom St.David of Scotland
church in Plains near Airdrie is dedicated,
the only church in Scotland to bear
that dedication), sought to bring the
Scottish church fully into line with
western Christendom, the setting up
of an effective diocesan system was
of crucial importance. David I, and
his grandson, Malcolm IV wished to have
St.Andrews recognised as the metropolitan
church of their realm, but this request
was refused. Rome’s reluctance
to give official approval to a distinct
identity for the Scottish church sprang
from their apparent attachment to a
plan of Pope Gregory the Great as reported
in Bede's Ecclesiastical History of
the English People. This provided for
the division of Britain into two provinces
each of twelve dioceses, headed respectively
by bishops at London and York. Although
never implemented, the Gregorian plan
was attractive to the Norman conquerors
of England, their successor monarchs,
and their archbishops because it related
to their claimed overlordship of Scotland.
A council at Windsor in 1072 actually
assigned the whole of Scotland as far
as the Pentland Firth (and probably
the Northern Isles as well) to York
province. Nevertheless, Alexander I
and David I continued to resist any
interference by York or Canterbury in
the government of the Scots church,
except in the case of Galloway whose
'special relationship' of dependence
on York was not only allowed but lasted
until the fourteenth century.
John, former tutor of
Earl David, and nominated by him as bishop
of Glasgow and consecrated by Pope Paschal
II sometime not later than 1118, his episcopate
was marked by his refusal to acknowledge
the metropolitan authority of the archbishop
of York, although ordered by the Pope
to do so.
On 30 April 1175, confirmed
by a rescript dated 30 July 1176, one
of John's successors, Bishop Jocelyn,
secured from Pope Alexander III the freedom
of Glasgow from the metropolitan claims
of York, and the diocese also received
the title 'Special Daughter of the Roman
Church'.
In 1192,Pope Celestine
III in the bull 'Cum Universi' declared
that all the Scottish sees except Galloway
were collectively the 'special daughter'
of the Roman church; and this bull was
reissued by Popes Innocent III and Honorius
III.
Scotland's unique position
as an ecclesiastical province without
an archbishop came to an end with the
establishment of St.Andrews as an archdiocese
and metropolitan in 1472. Patrick Graham,
the then bishop, had formerly been bishop
of Brechin, and had succeeded his half-brother,
Bishop Kennedy, to the see of St.Andrews
in 1466.
The new archdiocese had
twelve suffragan sees: Glasgow, Dunkeld,
Aberdeen, Moray, Brechin, Dunblane, Ross,
Caithness, Galloway(formerly subject to
York), Argyll, the Isles(formerly subject
to Trondheim), and Orkney(also formerly
subject to Trondheim). But the appointment
was unpopular, and the bishops of Moray,
Aberdeen, and Glasgow, succeeded in obtaining
exemptions from the jurisdiction of St.Andrews.
George Neville, Archbishop of York and
brother of Warwick the 'king-maker' also
objected, eiterating the claim of York
to supremacy over the Scottish church.
Forty years later, Henry VIII's appeal
to Pope Leo X to recognise the supremacy
of York was unsuccessful.
As neither Scottish king
nor episcopate had been consulted about
the new dignity for St.Andrews, both monarch
and bishops vigorously opposed it. Graham
was eventually replaced as Archbishop
in 1478, by William Schevez. On 27 March
1487, Schevez was granted, by Pope Innocent
VIII, the dignity of primate of all Scotland,
and papal legate, with the same privileges
as those enjoyed by the Archbishop of
Canterbury.
Glasgow, supported by
the Scottish Parliament and King, continued
to protest about the pre-eminence given
to St.Andrews, claiming that Glasgow had
always been immediately subject to the
Apostolic See. To allay contentions which
had arisen between Archbishop Schevez
and Bishop Blacader, Pope Innocent VIII
on 25 May 1488 exempted Glasgow and its
bishop from all jurisdiction, visitation,
and rule of the archbishop during the
lifetime of the former. But Glasgow was
not satisfied with this temporary concession,
and its cause was warmly supported by
James IV who happened to be an honorary
canon of Glasgow. In a charter of 1488-9
confirming and extending to Bishop Blacader
and his successors the liberties and privileges
of the See, the King referred to the singular
devotion which he bore to the church 'wherein
we are a canon' and to the favour and
love he had for the bishop 'and his renowned
chapter, which holds the chief place among
the secular colleges of our kingdom'.
Letters were dispatched
by the King urging the Pope that Glasgow
should be raised to a primacy like that
of York; and in a parliament held on 14th
June 1488-9, it was enacted that for the
honour and public good of the realm the
see of Glasgow should be created an archdiocese
with such privileges and dignities as
York enjoyed. The Chancellor of the Kingdom
wrote to inform the Pope of the passing
of the law, and King James IV repeatedly
petitioned the Pope to create Glasgow
an archdiocese, expressing his astonishment
at the Pope's delay in complying with
his request.
On 9 January 1492, by
a Bull of Pope Innocent VIII, Glasgow
was made an archdiocese, although the
dignities of primate remained with St.Andrews.
By another Bull of the same date,the Sees
of Galloway, Argyle, the Isles, Dunblane,
and Dunkeld,were made suffragans to the
new metropolitan archdiocese.
Glasgow's temporary exemption
from the jurisdiction of St.Andrews continued,
but the compromise proved unsatisfactory
to both Archbishops. An Act of Parliament
dated 26 June 1493 declared that if the
two archbishops did not cease their strife
and stop litigation at Rome, and seek
a lasting settlement, the King would confiscate
their revenues. King James IV also endeavoured
to obtain for the Archbishop of Glasgow
the dignity of Cardinal, but although
his request was supported by Ferdinand
and Isabella of Spain, it was not approved
by the Pope.
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