List of Church of England Dioceses

List Of Church Of England Dioceses

A diocese is an administrative territorial unit governed by a bishop, of which there are currently 44 within the Church of England. 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, and covers the whole of mainland Europe, Morocco, Turkey and the territory of the former Soviet Union.

The Anglican churches in the other constituent countries of the United Kingdom are separate entities from the Church of England, although they are full members of the worldwide Anglican Communion - see the Scottish Episcopal Church, the Church of Ireland and the Church in Wales for an explanation of their diocesan organisation.

The structure of dioceses within the Church of England was initially inherited from the western Church as part of the Reformation. During the Reformation a number of new dioceses were founded, but no more 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 most recent to be established were created in 1927. The 44 dioceses are divided into two Provinces, the Province of Canterbury (with 30) and the Province of York (with 14). The archbishops of Canterbury and York have pastoral oversight over the bishops within their province, along with certain other rights and responsibilities.