Diocese of Canterbury Dioecesis Cantuariensis | |
---|---|
Location | |
Ecclesiastical province | Canterbury |
Archdeaconries | Canterbury, Ashford, Maidstone |
Coordinates | 51°16′47″N1°5′0″E / 51.27972°N 1.08333°E |
Statistics | |
Parishes | 231 |
Churches | 327 |
Information | |
Cathedral | Canterbury Cathedral |
Current leadership | |
Bishop | Justin Welby, Archbishop of Canterbury |
Suffragans | Rose Hudson-Wilkin, Bishop of Dover (pseudo-diocesan) Rob Munro, Bishop of Ebbsfleet (PEV) Bishop of Richborough (PEV; vacant) |
Archdeacons | Will Adam, Archdeacon of Canterbury Darren Miller, Archdeacon of Ashford Andrew Sewell, Archdeacon of Maidstone |
Website | |
www.canterburydiocese.org |
The Diocese of Canterbury is a Church of England diocese covering eastern Kent which was founded by St. Augustine of Canterbury in 597. The diocese is centred on Canterbury Cathedral and is the oldest see of the Church of England.
The Report of the Commissioners appointed by his Majesty to inquire into the Ecclesiastical Revenues of England and Wales (1835) noted the net annual revenue for the Canterbury see was £19,182. [1] This made it the wealthiest diocese in England.
The diocesan bishop is the Archbishop of Canterbury, presently Justin Welby. However, because of his roles as metropolitan bishop of the Province of Canterbury, Primate of All England and "first bishop" of the worldwide Anglican Communion, the archbishop (whose primary residence is at Lambeth Palace in London) is often away from the diocese. Therefore, his suffragan bishop, the Bishop of Dover (presently Rose Hudson-Wilkin), is in many ways empowered to act almost as if she were the diocesan bishop.
The diocese had from 1944 to 2009 a second locally focussed suffragan bishop, the Bishop of Maidstone (this version of the post was discontinued in November 2010), who had a similar though subordinate role to that of the Bishop of Dover. [2] Two suffragans have nominal sees in the diocese — the Bishops of Ebbsfleet and Richborough, who are provincial episcopal visitors with a wider focus than the diocese.
Besides the Archbishop and the Bishop of Dover, three honorary assistant bishops supervise and officiate. Alternative episcopal oversight (for parishes in the diocese who reject the ministry of priests who are women) is provided by the provincial episcopal visitor (PEV), the Bishop suffragan of Richborough (vacant). There are three honorary assistant bishops licensed in the diocese:
For organisational purposes, the diocese is divided into three archdeaconries, [6] containing a total of sixteen deaneries, which are further subdivided into parishes: [7] Canterbury Diocese comprises 202 parishes organised in 100 legal benefices. [8]
Diocese | Archdeaconries | Rural deaneries |
---|---|---|
Diocese of Canterbury | Archdeaconry of Canterbury | Deanery of Canterbury |
Deanery of East Bridge | ||
Deanery of Reculver | ||
Deanery of Thanet | ||
Deanery of West Bridge | ||
Archdeaconry of Ashford | Deanery of Ashford | |
Deanery of Dover | ||
Deanery of Elham | ||
Deanery of Romney | ||
Deanery of Sandwich | ||
Deanery of Vineyard | ||
Archdeaconry of Maidstone | Deanery of Maidstone | |
Deanery of North Downs | ||
Deanery of Ospringe | ||
Deanery of Sittingbourne | ||
Deanery of Weald |
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justin Welby, who was enthroned at Canterbury Cathedral on 21 March 2013. Welby is the 105th person to hold the position, as part of a line of succession going back to the "Apostle to the English" Augustine of Canterbury, who was sent to the island by the church in Rome in 597. Welby succeeded Rowan Williams.
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The Diocese of London forms part of the Church of England's Province of Canterbury in England.
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A provincial episcopal visitor (PEV), popularly known as a flying bishop, is a Church of England bishop assigned to minister to many of the clergy, laity and parishes who on grounds of theological conviction, "are unable to receive the ministry of women bishops or priests". The system by which such bishops oversee certain churches is referred to as alternative episcopal oversight (AEO).
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The Diocese of York is an administrative division of the Church of England, part of the Province of York. It covers the city of York, the eastern part of North Yorkshire, and most of the East Riding of Yorkshire.
The Diocese of Gloucester is a Church of England diocese based in Gloucester, covering the non-metropolitan county of Gloucestershire. The cathedral is Gloucester Cathedral and the bishop is the Bishop of Gloucester. It is part of the Province of Canterbury.
The Diocese of Guildford is a Church of England diocese covering eight and half of the eleven districts in Surrey, much of north-east Hampshire and a parish in Greater London. The cathedral is Guildford Cathedral and the bishop is the Bishop of Guildford. Of the two provinces of the church, it is in the Province of Canterbury.
The Bishop of Dover is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the town of Dover in Kent. The Bishop of Dover holds the additional title of "Bishop in Canterbury" and is empowered to act almost as if the Bishop of Dover were the diocesan bishop of Canterbury, since the actual diocesan bishop is based at Lambeth Palace in London, and thus is frequently away from the diocese, fulfilling national and international duties. Among other things, this gives the Bishop of Dover an ex officio seat in the church's General Synod. There is another suffragan, the Bishop of Maidstone, who has different responsibilities.
The Bishop of Maidstone is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Canterbury, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the county town of Maidstone in Kent.
Trevor Willmott is a British retired bishop in the Church of England. He was the Bishop of Basingstoke from 2002 to 2009 and then Bishop of Dover from 2010 until his retirement in 2019. In retirement, he remains bishop for the Channel Islands.
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