Historical Development of Church of England Dioceses - Line of Descent Since St Augustine

Line of Descent Since St Augustine

There were archbishops in London, York and Caerleon and bishops in Lincoln before the 4th century. The following is a simplified breakdown of the creation of dioceses since St Augustine's 6th/7th century dioceses. It is simplified in that not every new diocese is formed from only one predecessor – they have often taken territory from two or more neighbouring dioceses. Today's dioceses are highlighted in bold type.

  • Canterbury – 597–present
  • Rochester – 604–present
    • Hertfordshire and Essex split off to form Diocese of St Albans, 1876–present
      • Essex split off to form Diocese of Chelmsford, 1914–present
  • London – 604–present
    • seat at St Paul's 604–1539
      • split into Diocese of Westminster (seat at Westminster Abbey), 1540–50
    • seats at St Paul's and Westminster Abbey, 1550–60
    • seat at St Paul's, 1560–present
      • Hertfordshire and Essex moved to Rochester, 1846
  • York – 625–present
    • Lindisfarne added (bishop of larger diocese also called "Bishop of Northumbria"), 664
    • larger diocese split in 678 to form:
      • Diocese of York
        • Archbishop, 735–present
        • split to create (with part of Lichfield-and-Coventry) the Diocese of Chester, 1541–present
          • Province of Canterbury until 1542; Province of York since
          • split to create (with part of York) new Diocese of Ripon, 1836–present (renamed Ripon and Leeds, 1999)
            • split to form Diocese of Wakefield, 1888–present
            • split to form Diocese of Bradford, 1920–present
          • split to form Diocese of Manchester, 1847–present
            • split to form Diocese of Blackburn, 1926–present
          • split to form Diocese of Liverpool, 1880–present
        • split to form Diocese of Sheffield, 1914–present
      • old Diocese of Ripon, 678 (reunited to York before 700)
      • Bernicia diocese (split 685)
        • Hexham diocese (two parts reabsorbed into York and Lindisfarne, 854)
        • Lindisfarne diocese (see below)
  • East Anglia/Norwich – c. 630–present
    • "Bishop of the East Angles", c. 630–672
      • seat at Soham, c. 630 (purportedly, briefly before transfer to Dunwich)
      • seat at Dunwich, c. 630–672
    • split into Elmham/Norwich diocese, 672–present
      • seat at Elmham, 673–1070
      • seat at Thetford, 1070–1094
      • seat at Norwich, 1094–present
    • split to form Dunwich diocese, 672–c. 950
      • suppressed and reunited to Elmham, c. 950
  • Dorchester (Wessex)/Diocese of Winchester, 634–present
    • seat at Dorchester-upon-Thames until c. 660–680
    • seat in flux c. 660–680
    • seat at Winchester since c. 660–680
    • split to form Selsey/Chichester diocese, 681–present
      • seat at Selsey, 681–685 & 706–1075
      • suppressed & absorbed by Winchester, 685–706
      • seat at Chichester since 1075
      • split off to form Sherborne/Salisbury diocese, 705–present
        • seat at Sherborne until 1075
        • seat at Old Sarum, 1075–1225
        • seat at New Sarum since 1225
        • split off to form Crediton/Exeter diocese, 905–present
          • seat at Tawton until c. 909
          • seat at Credition, c. 909–1050
          • seat at Exeter since 1050
          • absorbed Cornish see, 1027
          • split to form Diocese of Truro, 1876–present
        • split to form Ramsbury diocese, c. 909–1058
          • suppressed and reunited to Sherborne
        • split to form the Somerset diocese, c. 909–present
          • Diocese of Wells; seat at Wells, c. 909–1090
          • Diocese of Bath; seat at Bath, 1090–1197 & 1219–1245
          • Diocese of Bath and Glastonbury; seat at Glastonbury, 1197–1219
          • Diocese of Bath and Wells; equal seats at Bath and at Wells, 1245–1539
          • Diocese of Bath and Wells; seat at Wells, 1539–present
    • south London area given to Rochester, 1877–1905
      • similar area formed the Diocese of Southwark, 1905–present
    • split off to form Diocese of Portsmouth, 1927–present
    • split off to form Diocese of Guildford, 1927–present
  • Lindisfarne/Durham – 635–present
    • seat at Lindisfarne, 635–664 & 685–875
    • united to York, 664–678
    • united to Bernicia, 678–685
    • seat at Chester-le-Street, 875–995
    • seat at Durham, 995–present
    • called Prince-Bishop, c. 1071–c. 1836
    • split to form Diocese of Carlisle, 1133–present
    • split to form Diocese of Newcastle (upon Tyne), 1882–present
  • Lichfield – 656–present
    • Mercian diocese; seat at Repton, 656–669
    • Diocese of Lichfield; seat at Lichfield, 669–1075 & 1837–present
    • Archbishop of Lichfield, metropolitan over Worcester, Leicester, Lincoln, Hereford, Elmham and Dunwich, 786–796 (seized from Canterbury)
    • Old Diocese of Chester; seat at Chester, 1075–1102
      • for new Diocese of Chester, see above
    • Old Diocese of Coventry; seat at Coventry, 1102–1228 (co-cathedral at Chester 1102–?)
      • for new Diocese of Coventry, see below
    • Diocese of Coventry and Lichfield; seats both at Coventry and at Lichfield, 1228–1539
    • Diocese of Lichfield and Coventry; seat at Lichfield, 1539–1837
    • split to form Hereford diocese, 676–present
    • split to form Lindsey diocese, 678–c. 1010
      • suppressed and given to the Dorchester (Mercian) diocese, c. 1010 (see below)
    • split to form Worcester diocese, 680–present
      • split to form Gloucester diocese, 1541–present
        • Diocese of Gloucester; seat at Gloucester, 1541–1836 & 1897–present
        • Diocese of Gloucester and Bristol; seats both at Gloucester and at Bristol, 1836–1897
        • split to form Bristol diocese, 1542–present
          • suppressed and merged to Gloucester diocese, 1836–1897
      • split to form Birmingham diocese, 1905–present
      • split to form new Coventry diocese, 1918–present
    • split to form old Leicester/Dorchester (Mercian)/Lincoln diocese, 681–present
      • seat at Leicester, 681–878
      • seat at Dorchester-upon-Thames, 878–1072
      • seat at Lincoln, 1072–present
      • split to form Ely diocese, 1108–present
        • split to form the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, 1914–present
      • split to form Peterborough diocese, 1541–present
        • split to form new Leicester diocese, 1926–present
      • split to form Oxford diocese, 1542–present
        • seat at Osney, 1542
        • seat at Christ Church, 1542–present
    • some territory ceded to Worcester, 1837; some of which became Birmingham and Coventry dioceses, 1905 & 1918 (see above)
    • split to form Southwell diocese, 1884–present
      • Province of Canterbury until 1936; Province of York since
      • called Southwell and Nottingham since 2005
      • split to form Derby diocese, 1927–present
  • Old Cornish bishopric – c. 920–1027
    • See at St Germans
    • Called "Bishop of Cornwall" and "Bishop of St Germans"
    • Absorbed by Crediton (see above)
  • Glamorgan area – c522–present (Wales)
    • Bishop of (St) Teilo until before 1107
    • Under Canterbury's jurisdiction by 982
    • Bishop of Glamorgan (and Gwent), before 1107–1115
    • Diocese of Llandaff; Bishop of Llandaff; seat at Llandaff, 1115–present
    • Church in Wales since 1920
  • Bangor diocese – 546–present (Wales)
    • Under Canterbury's jurisdiction by c. 1081
    • Church in Wales since 1920
  • St David's diocese – 545–present (Wales)
    • Archbishop of St David's until 1115
    • Under Canterbury's jurisdiction by 1115
    • Church in Wales since 1920
  • St Asaph diocese – c. 583–present (Wales)
    • Under Canterbury's jurisdiction by 1143
    • Church in Wales since 1920
  • Sodor and Man diocese received from Norwegian jurisdiction – c. 1400–present
    • Province of Canterbury until 1542; Province of York since
  • Europe diocese, 1842–present
    • Diocese of Gibraltar (over southern Europe), founded 1842
    • merged with London's continental jurisdictions (over northern and central Europe) and renamed Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe, 1980

Read more about this topic:  Historical Development Of Church Of England Dioceses

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