Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney bids fond farewell after almost 10 years

Right Rev Dr Robert (Bob) Gillies
Right Rev Dr Robert (Bob) Gillies

Today, the Bishop of Aberdeen and Orkney will hang up his cassock and mitre and heads for pastures greener.

Having just turned 65, The Right Reverend Dr Bob Gillies believes it is the perfect moment to bid a fond farewell to the 45 congregations across the diocese.

However, as he embarks on a new chapter, he admits that leaving his role as the figurehead of the Scottish Episcopal Church in the north will leave a big hole in his life.

Elected to the post in April 2007, Rt Rev Gillies was consecrated at Aberdeen’s St Andrew’s Cathedral on September 22 that year.

From the outset, he said his top priority for the diocese was growth in the depth and quality of faith.

Now he can look back with pride at the headways the church has made.

“We have seen growth in quite a number of our churches over the past nine years,” he said.

“The Westhill community is a great example – what they have done is absolutely superb.

“We have also seen growth at Inverurie, Rhynie, Insch, Stromness in Orkney and Lerwick in Shetland.

“It has been fantastic.”

Right Rev Dr Robert (Bob) Gillies
Right Rev Dr Robert (Bob) Gillies

The father-of-three said quality leadership was the main reason for these success stories.

He added: “The only alternative to growth is decline, it is not the status quo.

“If you have good quality leadership, you expect things to happen.”

As well as the opening of Westhill’s brand new church, Rt Rev Gillies has also overseen the opening of CAF4E at Bridge of Don, which has been touted as a “fresh expression” of the church.

He said: “It is a group of people who meet at tables, rather than sitting on pews.

“Many churches are laid out in a Victorian fashion with hard wooden pews for people to sit on.

“No-one, in these days, wants to go to a building that is not that warm and sit on a hard wooden bench for an hour.

“People expect a level of comfort and warmth and welcome.

“What they are doing in Bridge of Don is just that – welcoming and comfortable, not bleak and stark and cold.

“That is growth on the ground.”

Rt Rev Gillies is also proud of the church’s involvement in Aberdeen Street Pastors – a project in which church members work alongside police and emergency services to help late night weekend revellers in the city centre.

He said: “When Street Pastor started working the streets, crime levels fell. It is about the church being out and about in the community helping people.”

However, despite these advancements, Rt Rev Gillies believes now is the right time to go.

As the church enters a new era of change in terms of funding and training new clergy, he said: “If I stay I would need to be here for another five or 10 years so it is best that I go and let someone fresh and vigorous come in.

“It is one of those perfect moments in time.”

The process of selecting his successor will take between six and nine months, so it will be early next summer before a new bishop is appointed.

In the meantime, the Right Reverend Mark Strange, Bishop of Moray, Ross and Caithness, will temporarily take care of the diocese.

Rt Rev Gillies admits he will miss the job.

“I will particularly miss the congregations,” he said.

“It is the people up here and contacts I have made in the north-east and the Northern Isles that really will leave a big hole in my life.”

But it is unlikely he will take up the pipe and slippers lifestyle as he and wife Liz set up home in Ceres, near St Andrews.

He said: “I need to get fit and I want to start hillwalking again.

“I have also been awarded a research fellowship at Glasgow University on theology so I will be working on one medium-sized book and one small one.”

Asked if he would return to the north-east to visit, he said: “When you leave, you are expected to leave.

“You are not really supposed to come back and haunt your successor so I will probably follow that advice.

“It seems right.”