Comper's father moved from Sussex to Scotland as a young man in search of work as a schoolmaster with a view to becoming a priest. His lack of a degree from Oxford or Cambridge prevented him from taking holy orders in the Church of England, so he was ordained as a priest in the Scottish Episcopal Church. John Comper became a significant figure within the Scottish Church, remembered for his ministry in the slums of Aberdeen and as an important figure in the northern High Church movement.
