this, some monastic orders sought and were granted exemption from diocesan audits while others submitted themselves to the bishop's scrutiny. In the Aberdeen diocese, since the Cistercians, Templars, Hospitallers and all of the Friar orders were exempt, the bishop's visitation would have only applied to the houses at Monymusk and Fyvie. The bishop also interacted with monasteries in other limited ways. Generally, monks were not clerics but laymen so for a monastic community to function, it needed the bishop to ordain enough of its numbers into holy orders to provide for its liturgical and sacramental needs. Only the bishop could consecrate monastery churches and chapels, and bless the alters with the necessary ecclesiastical utensils. Also since many parish churches in the diocese were annexed to monasteries these appropriations had to be confirmed by the bishop who then needed to ensure that the monasteries continued to provide adequate vicarage provision for the cure of souls. Notes References Sources Aberdeen Christianity in Aberdeen 1689 disestablishments 11th-century establishments in Scotland Dioceses established in the 11th century Former Roman Catholic dioceses in Europe de:Bistum Aberdeen it:Diocesi di Aberdeen