High-Profile Theologian Appointed Dean of the Chapel Royal

Wednesday July 3 2019

The former Principal of Edinburgh’s New College has been appointed by the Queen as the next Dean of the Chapel Royal.

The Rev Professor David Fergusson, who will also become Dean of the Order of the Thistle, said it would be ‘an honour to serve the Queen and her family in this capacity’.

The new roles will mean that he will convene the 10 Royal Chaplains who are based in Scotland, and also take part in the annual ceremony of the Order of the Thistle, which is held at St Giles’ Cathedral in Edinburgh.

Royal Chaplains date back to the 15th century, and the position is mainly a ceremonial one, with the chaplains taking part in formal state occasions and conducting services at significant national events.

Professor Fergusson, who is from Glasgow, studied in his home city as well as at the universities of Edinburgh and Oxford, before being ordained as a Church of Scotland minister.

In 1990, he was appointed Professor of Systematic Theology at the University of Aberdeen, and became Professor of Divinity at the University of Edinburgh a decade later. He was appointed Principal of New College in 2008, serving until last summer; has been a Royal Chaplain since 2015, and in 2016, he was awarded the OBE for services to arts, education and the Church of Scotland.

His most recent high-profile role in the Church was convener of the Special Commission on Structural Reform which reported to this year’s General Assembly.

He said: “I am very pleased to be succeeding Professor Iain Torrance as Dean of the Chapel Royal and Dean of the Order of the Thistle, both of which are distinguished Scottish institutions.

“It is an honour to serve the Queen and her family in this capacity, and I look forward to the time ahead.”

Post Tags: david fergusson, chapel royal

Comments

Marion Dodd - Wednesday, July 3rd, 2019

“Many congratulations, David. Such a well-deserved honour. ”

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