He is first mentioned as minister of Little
Dunkeld in 1574. He was elected as
bishop of Ross on 14 May 1574, following the
Church of Scotland's attempted forfeiture of the Catholic bishop
John Lesley. Hepburn obtained a royal confirmation with mandate for consecration on 20 March 1575, being admitted to the
temporalities of the bishopric on 3 November; in the same year, on 22 April, the exiled Lesley had his provision renewed by the papacy. ==Family==