The 'Tartan Kirkie'
St Mary’s Church Carden Place,
known locally as the Tartan Kirkie
because of its distinctive coloured
stonework, is one of the most
architecturally distinguished
buildings in Aberdeen.
This distinction was recognised
from the start.
At the time of its construction (1864), St Mary’s was featured in the London Illustrated News as the most interesting new building in Scotland.

St Mary’s has had a history no less chequered than its appearance, but a specially low point came during World War II when it was hit in a German bombing raid and the east end of the building completely destroyed. However, with the resilience that has marked the congregation since its foundation, people set about the major physical and financial task of restoration and completed it by 1952.

St Mary's is part of the Diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney
which is in the north-east of Scotland and comprises the City of Aberdeen, most of Aberdeenshire, a small part of
Moray, and the Shetland Isles, and the ancient Diocese of Orkney, founded in 1035. The Diocese has 43 congregations and two religious communities.

The Diocese's Bishop is the Right Reverend Dr Robert (Bob) Gillies, elected in April 2007 and consecrated Bishop on 22 September 2007.

The Diocese's Cathedral, St Andrew's, in King Street, is close to the site of the consecration of the first bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, Samuel Seabury. Seabury was ordained in 1784, by the then Bishop of Aberdeen Robert Kilgour. The consecration took place in the former St Andrew's Chapel in Longacre, a site long since lost to redevelopment which was situated between the present cathedral and the city's Marischal College. A plaque in the Marischal College quadrangle commemorates the consecration, which effectively gave birth to the world wide Anglican Communion.

The Diocese continues to maintain strong links with the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut. Clarence Coleridge, suffragan bishop of Connecticut, was consecrated by a bishop of Aberdeen in 1981. Coleridge was elected 13th diocesan bishop of Connecticut in 1993.

The Diocese of Aberdeen and Orkney