Ecclesiastical provinces and dioceses of the Episcopal Church

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The Episcopal Church (TEC) is governed by a General Convention and consists of 99 dioceses in the United States proper, plus eleven dioceses in other countries or outlying U.S. territories and the diocese of Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, for a total of 111 dioceses.

A diocese, which is led by a bishop, includes all the parishes and missions within its borders, which usually correspond to a state or a portion of a state. Some dioceses includes portions of more than one state. For example, the Diocese of Washington includes the District of Columbia and part of Maryland.

Overview[edit]

Map of dioceses of the Episcopal Church, colored by province

The naming convention for the domestic dioceses, for the most part, is after the state in which they are located or a portion of that state (for example, Northern Michigan or West Texas).

Usually (though not always), in a state where there is more than one diocese, the area where the Episcopal Church (or Church of England before the American Revolution) started in that state is the diocese that bears the name of that state. For example, the Church of England's first outpost in what is now Georgia was in Savannah, hence the Diocese of Georgia is based in Savannah.

There are, however, many dioceses named for their see city or another city in the diocese. A few are named for a river, island, valley or other geographical feature. The list below includes the see city in parentheses if different from the name of the diocese or unclear from its name.

The see city usually has a cathedral, often the oldest parish in that city, but some dioceses do not have a cathedral. The dioceses of Iowa and Minnesota each have two cathedrals. Occasionally the diocesan offices and the cathedral are in separate cities.

Provinces[edit]

The dioceses are grouped into nine provinces, the first eight of which, for the most part, correspond to regions of the U.S. Province IX is composed of dioceses in Latin America. Province II and Province VIII also include dioceses outside of the U.S.

Unlike in many churches of the Anglican Communion, in which provinces are helmed by a primate or presiding bishop from the clergy, provinces of TEC are led by lay executive directors or presidents. Decisions are made at each province's Synod of the Province, consisting of a House of Bishops and House of Deputies. Lay and clergy Deputies are elected, two from each diocese.

Provinces of TEC are not to be confused with provinces of the Anglican Communion, as TEC itself is one such province of the Communion.

List of provinces and their dioceses[edit]

Province Name Diocese See city Founded Parishes and missions (2022)[1] Active baptized members (2022)[2] Average worship attendance (2022)[3] Diocese Map
Province I Province of New England Diocese of Connecticut Hartford 1785 153 37,322 7,383
Diocese of Maine Portland, ME 1820 57 8,534 2,410
Diocese of Massachusetts Boston 1784 162 47,642 8,536
Diocese of New Hampshire Concord 1832 44 10,528 2,191
Diocese of Rhode Island Providence 1790 52 13,055 2,964
Diocese of Vermont Burlington 1832 45 4,542 1,361
Diocese of Western Massachusetts Springfield, MA 1901 50 11,498 2,392
Province II The International Atlantic Province

or

Province of New York and New Jersey

Diocese of Albany Albany 1868 102 9,401 2,977
Diocese of Central New York Syracuse 1868 79 8,791 2,306
Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe Paris 1859 20 2,371 734
Diocese of Cuba Havana 1901 44 1,647 725
Diocese of Haiti Port-au-Prince 1861 120 97,909 10,160
Diocese of Long Island Garden City 1868 128 36,543 7,239
Diocese of New Jersey Trenton 1785 136 31,724 7,142
Diocese of New York New York City 1787 191 42,985 8,786
Diocese of Newark Newark 1874 94 18,743 3,862
Diocese of Puerto Rico San Juan 1920 56 3,438 1,553
Diocese of Rochester Rochester 1931 48 6,807 2,004
Diocese of the Virgin Islands Charlotte Amalie 1985 13 1,989 804
Diocese of Western New York[note 1] Buffalo 1839 56 6,779 1,570
Province III Province of Washington Diocese of Bethlehem Bethlehem 1871 57 7,242 1,851
Diocese of Central Pennsylvania Harrisburg 1904 61 8,403 2,436
Diocese of Delaware Wilmington 1785 32 7,353 2,068
Diocese of Easton Easton 1888 38 6,840 1,622
Diocese of Maryland Baltimore 1780 100 27,713 5,666
Diocese of Northwestern Pennsylvania[note 1] Erie 1910 32 2,763 874
Diocese of Pennsylvania Philadelphia 1784 133 32,857 7,286
Diocese of Pittsburgh Pittsburgh 1865 34 8,536 1,493
Diocese of Southern Virginia Newport News 1892 101 20,411 5,456
Diocese of Southwestern Virginia Roanoke 1919 50 8,411 2,475
Diocese of Virginia Richmond (offices)
Orkney Springs (cathedral shrine)
1785 179 62,394 13,176
Diocese of Washington Washington, D.C. 1895 85 30,992 6,963
Diocese of West Virginia Charleston, WV 1877 60 6,139 1,529
Province IV Province of Sewanee Diocese of Alabama Birmingham 1844 88 29,511 6,533
Diocese of Atlanta Atlanta 1907 91 43,349 8,695
Diocese of Central Florida Orlando 1969 82 22,008 8,044
Diocese of the Central Gulf Coast Pensacola (offices)
Mobile (cathedral)
1970 61 17,154 3,775
Diocese of East Carolina Kinston 1863 67 15,022 4,086
Diocese of East Tennessee Knoxville 1985 46 13,233 3,539
Diocese of Florida Jacksonville 1838 66 22,924 5,517
Diocese of Georgia Savannah 1823 66 12,453 3,745
Diocese of Kentucky Louisville 1832 33 6,824 1,841
Diocese of Lexington Lexington 1896 34 6,053 1,757
Diocese of Louisiana New Orleans 1838 46 13,739 2,845
Diocese of Mississippi Jackson, MS 1850 80 17,399 4,328
Diocese of North Carolina Raleigh 1823 109 42,784 8,124
Diocese of South Carolina Charleston, SC 1785 31 7,476 2,050
Diocese of Southeast Florida Miami 1969 74 27,492 6,166
Diocese of Southwest Florida Parrish (offices)
St. Petersburg (cathedral)
1969 78 24,875 7,820
Diocese of Tennessee Nashville 1834 45 15,334 3,887
Diocese of Upper South Carolina Columbia 1922 59 21,257 4,853
Diocese of West Tennessee Memphis 1985 29 6,396 1,837
Diocese of Western North Carolina Asheville 1922 60 12,724 4,214
Province V Province of the Midwest Diocese of Chicago Chicago 1823 120 27,103 6,315
Diocese of Eastern Michigan[note 2] Saginaw 1994 43 3,803 1,174
Diocese of Eau Claire[note 3] Eau Claire 1929 19 970 380
Diocese of Fond du Lac[note 3] Fond du Lac 1875 32 3,503 1,162
Diocese of Indianapolis[note 4] Indianapolis 1849 48 8,103 2,636
Diocese of Michigan Detroit 1832 70 13,548 3,692
Diocese of Milwaukee[note 3] Milwaukee 1835 48 6,401 2,051
Diocese of Missouri St. Louis 1841 41 9,168 2,218
Diocese of Northern Indiana[note 4] South Bend 1888 32 3,068 1,113
Diocese of Northern Michigan Marquette 1895 21 968 292
Diocese of Ohio Cleveland 1818 82 14,504 3,608
Diocese of Southern Ohio Cincinnati 1875 71 15,204 4,023
Diocese of Springfield Springfield, IL 1877 33 3,434 1,000
Diocese of Western Michigan[note 2] Portage
Kalamazoo (offices)
1874 55 6,566 2,199
Province VI Province of the Northwest Diocese of Colorado Denver 1875 93 19,816 6,144
Diocese of Iowa Des Moines (offices, one cathedral)
Davenport (cathedral)
1854 58 5,288 1,573
Episcopal Church in Minnesota Minneapolis (offices, one cathedral)
Faribault (cathedral)
1859 90 15,357 3,432
Diocese of Montana Helena 1904 32 3,354 917
Diocese of Nebraska Omaha 1865 51 5,873 1,703
Diocese of North Dakota Fargo 1883 19 2,236 490
Diocese of South Dakota Sioux Falls 1971 78 6,515 1,509
Diocese of Wyoming Casper (offices)
Laramie (cathedral)
1909 44 5,776 1,314
Province VII Province of the Southwest Diocese of Arkansas Little Rock 1869 54 12,989 3,056
Diocese of Dallas Dallas 1895 63 27,685 7,752
Diocese of Kansas Topeka 1864 44 6,863 2,039
Diocese of Northwest Texas Lubbock 1958 25 4,749 1,224
Diocese of Oklahoma Oklahoma City 1937 64 13,517 3,901
Diocese of the Rio Grande Albuquerque 1881 48 9,638 2,363
Diocese of Texas Houston 1849 166 72,569 16,495
Diocese of West Missouri Kansas City, MO 1890 47 8,709 2,386
Diocese of West Texas San Antonio 1874 85 19,450 5,943
Diocese of Western Kansas Salina 1971 23 1,192 415
Diocese of Western Louisiana Pineville (offices)
Shreveport (cathedral)
1979 42 7,760 1,868
Province VIII Province of the Pacific Diocese of Alaska Fairbanks 1971 46 5,823 692
Diocese of Arizona Phoenix 1959 58 16,709 4,916
Diocese of California San Francisco 1857 75 17,930 4,416
Diocese of Eastern Oregon The Dalles 1970 20 1,651 571
Diocese of El Camino Real Salinas (offices)
San Jose (cathedral)
1980 40 6,028 2,090
Diocese of Hawaii Honolulu 1966 35 5,860 1,910
Diocese of Idaho Boise 1867 27 3,335 1,013
Diocese of Los Angeles Los Angeles
(diocesan seat in Echo Park neighborhood; pro-cathedral in downtown L.A.)
1895 128 40,328 8,041
Diocese of Micronesia[8] 2 241 72
Diocese of Navajoland Farmington 1978 10 773 136
Diocese of Nevada Las Vegas 1903 29 4,098 1,590
Diocese of Northern California Sacramento 1910 63 10,160 3,019
Diocese of Olympia Seattle 1910 90 19,143 5,334
Diocese of Oregon Portland, OR 1854 68 12,137 3,274
Diocese of San Diego San Diego 1973 41 9,869 3,254
Diocese of San Joaquin Fresno 1961 19 1,889 612
Diocese of Spokane Spokane 1892 33 3,564 1,150
Diocese of Taiwan Taipei 1954 15 1,148 614
Diocese of Utah Salt Lake City 1867 22 4,151 1,038
Province IX Province of Latin America Diocese of Colombia Bogotá 1964 33 2,696 2,530
Diocese of the Dominican Republic Santo Domingo 1960 65 4,247 1,823
Diocese of Central Ecuador Quito 1970 11 733 327
Diocese of Litoral Ecuador Guayaquil 1988 26 7,735 810
Diocese of Honduras San Pedro Sula 1978 110 27,972 3,377
Diocese of Venezuela Caracas 1972 25 577 266

Former provinces and dioceses[edit]

Military diocese[edit]

Dioceses no longer in existence[edit]

Formerly missionary districts[edit]

The following were founded as missionary districts of the Episcopal Church but are now full, independent Provinces of the Anglican Communion.

See also[edit]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b Since 2018, the dioceses of Western New York and Northwestern Pennsylvania have been in formal partnership and shared a bishop but have not merged.[4]
  2. ^ a b Since 2019, the dioceses of Eastern Michigan and Western Michigan have been in formal partnership and shared a bishop but have not merged.[5]
  3. ^ a b c Since 2021, the dioceses of Eau Claire and Fond du Lac have been in formal partnership and shared a bishop, and both have been in formal discernment about their future with the Diocese of Milwaukee, but none of the three have merged.[6]
  4. ^ a b Since 2023, the dioceses of Indianapolis and Northern Indiana have been discerning a merger.[7]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "Table of Statistics of the Episcopal Church". Parochial Report Results from 2022. The Episcopal Church. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  2. ^ "Baptized Members by Province and Diocese 2013-2022". Parochial Report Results from 2022. The Episcopal Church. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  3. ^ "Average Sunday Attendance by Province and Diocese 2013-2022". Parochial Report Results from 2022. The Episcopal Church. Retrieved 18 September 2023.
  4. ^ "Western New York, Northwestern Pennsylvania ratify partnership". Episcopal News Service. Oct 26, 2018. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  5. ^ Paulsen, David (Jun 14, 2019). "Two Michigan dioceses to share bishop, charting path forward together in spirit of innovation". Episcopal News Service. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  6. ^ Paulsen, David (Mar 16, 2021). "With Diocese of Eau Claire at a crossroads, Wisconsin's three dioceses eye greater collaboration". Episcopal News Service. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  7. ^ "Two Episcopal dioceses in Indiana begin reunification discernment". Episcopal News Service. Jan 30, 2023. Retrieved 28 February 2023.
  8. ^ "Episcopal Church in Micronesia homepage". Archived from the original on 2013-05-01. Retrieved 2012-11-09.
  9. ^ The Episcopal Church Annual, 2004, Harrisburg: Morehouse Publishing, p. 246
  10. ^ "Chicago, Quincy Dioceses To Reunite on September 1". Episcopal Diocese of Chicago. Retrieved 23 November 2013.

External links[edit]