Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee - History

History

When a number of planters from Virginia and North Carolina brought their Anglicanism with them to Tennessee, they largely bypassed the rugged, mountainous terrain of the eastern part of the state, in favor of fertile lands in the middle and western parts of the state to grow tobacco and cotton. Therefore, prior to the Civil War, only a few towns in the region had Episcopal congregations. It was not until well into the 20th century that significant growth occurred in East Tennessee, facilitated in large measure by mission-minded bishops and priests.

Prior to the division of the diocese, the seat of the bishop was St. Mary's Cathedral in Memphis, over 250 miles away from most of the eastern part of the state. However, by the 1960s, the statewide diocese had offices in Memphis, Nashville, and Knoxville, staffed by a diocesan and two suffragan bishops, one of each stationed in one of the offices (although one of the bishops, Knoxville-based William E. Sanders, was actually a bishop coadjutor). When Sanders succeeded John Vander Horst as diocesan in 1977, talks began to separate the statewide diocese into three territories; the plans were approved by the General Convention in 1982. First, the western counties of the state were excised to form the Diocese of West Tennessee, in 1983. Then, two years later, the East Tennessee diocese came into existence. Bishop Sanders, having the choice to stay with the continuing mid-state diocese or become the new diocese's first bishop, chose to remain in Knoxville, where he had been stationed for years. He became the inaugural diocesan until his retirement, when he was succeeded by Robert G. Tharp. The Rt. Rev. Charles G. vonRosenberg was the third bishop of East Tennessee, until his retirement in 2011. The present bishop, George D. Young, was elected on February 12, 2011, and subsequently consecrated on June 25, 2011, in Knoxville.

Unlike some nearby Southern dioceses, the East Tennessee diocese has not undergone significant turmoil and division due to controversies stemming from the consecration of a practicing homosexual, Gene Robinson, to the episcopate of the Diocese of New Hampshire in 2003. This is largely because the main constituencies protesting the action, evangelicals and conservative Anglo-Catholics, have relatively little presence in the diocese, most of whose parishes and missions prefer a tolerant, Broad Church understanding of doctrine and practice.

There are approximately 150 clergy in the diocese, including those serving congregations, non-parochial and retired priests, and deacons. A preponderance of the diocese's communicants reside in the metropolitan areas of Knoxville and Chattanooga; however, the church is well represented in the small towns of the diocese, probably to a greater extent than the territories of the other two dioceses in the state.