Ternan

Saint Ternan is venerated as the Bishop of the Picts in Scotland, in the fifth or sixth century. He is commemorated on 12 June. Not much is known of his life, and historians place him either in the mid-⁠fifth century, when he is associated with Palladius, or toward the end of the sixth.

He is believed to have been born at Fordoun in Aberdeenshire and may have been converted by the followers of Ninian. He was educated at Candida Casa in Whithorn and baptised by a Celtic cleric named Paulinus. A contemporary of Saint Serf according to Alban Butler, he was a monk at Culross, which Serf had founded. He established a small monastery on the north side of the River Dee near the graveyard in what is now Banchory. As well as preaching the Gospel, he and his followers taught the local people farming, arts and crafts. Churches in Banchory and the surrounding area bear his name.

He became bishop of the southern Picts and lived at Abernethy; he ordained Irchard, who assisted him in his mission. Two objects feature in his story: his copy of Matthew's Gospel, mentioned in the Aberdeen Martyrology, and his bell, called the Ronnecht, which hangs today on the front wall of Banchory Ternan East Church. His feast on 12 June is still marked at Banchory by St Ternan's Fair, held on the nearest Saturday.