The Diocese of Brechin said farewell to its bishop, the Rt Rev Neville Chamberlain, at a special service in St Paul’s Cathedral, Dundee, last night.

He is retiring after serving the diocese since September 1997. Before his consecration he was rector of St John’s, Princes Street, Edinburgh, for 15 years.

The cathedral was packed, members of all the diocese’s congregations being joined by representatives of political, civic and university life as well as friends of the bishop and his wife Diana from around Scotland and beyond.

The service began with Bishop Chamberlain installing as honorary canons of St Paul’s the Rt Rev Meshack Mabuza, bishop of Swaziland, and the Rt Rev Alan Scarfe, bishop of Iowa. The diocese of Brechin has been twinned with Swaziland and Iowa for some years and the installation is a way of recognising the importance of the link to all three dioceses.

The music during the service was a mixture of traditional and modern, some of it from Africa, the United States and Scotland. At the request of Bishop Chamberlain, a lover of jazz, a jazz band played in the cathedral for an hour before the service to welcome worshippers.

At the end of the service presentations were made to Bishop Chamberlain and his wife by Lord Provost John Letford, former diocesan chancellor Alistair Cruickshank and Mrs Margaret Knox. One of the gifts was a specially made jute bag containing items symbolic of the diocese of Brechin, including oatcakes from Stonehaven, Arbroath smokies, jam from Carnoustie and a copy of The Courier.

After the service Dundee City Council hosted a reception for all those who attended.

The process of finding a new bishop begins almost immediately.

A series of meetings of all the clergy and one lay representative from each of the congregations should culminate in an election around late May and the new bishop’s consecration or installation in early September.