Historical Development of Church of England Dioceses

Historical Development Of Church Of England Dioceses

This article traces the historical development of the dioceses and cathedrals of the Church of England. It is customary in England to name each diocese after the city where its cathedral is located. Occasionally, when the bishop's seat has been moved from one city to another, the diocese may retain both names, for example Bath and Wells. More recently, where a cathedral is in a small or little-known city, the diocesan name has been changed to include the name of a nearby larger city: thus the cathedral in Ripon now serves the diocese of Ripon and Leeds, and Southwell Cathedral is in Southwell and Nottingham. Cathedrals, like other churches, are dedicated to a particular saint or holy object, or Christ himself, but are commonly referred to by the name of the city where they stand. A cathedral is, simply, the church where the bishop has his chair or "cathedra".

The dioceses of the Church of England are administrative territorial units governed by a bishop, of which there are currently 44. These cover all of England, and also the Isle of Man, the Channel Islands, the Isles of Scilly, and a small part of Wales. The Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe is also a part of the Church of England (rather than a separate Anglican church such as the Church in Wales), and covers the whole of mainland Europe, Morocco, Turkey and the territory of the former Soviet Union.

The structure of diocese within the Church of England was initially inherited from the Roman Catholic Church as part of the English Reformation. During the Reformation, a number of new dioceses were founded. No new dioceses were then created until the middle of the 19th century, when dioceses were founded mainly in response to the growing population, especially in the northern industrial cities.

The last dioceses were created in 1927. The 44 dioceses are divided into two Provinces, the Province of Canterbury (with 30 dioceses) and the Province of York (with 14 dioceses). The archbishops of Canterbury and York have pastoral oversight over the bishops within their province, along with certain other rights and responsibilities.