Anglican Diocese of Niagara

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Diocese of Niagara Coat of Arms

The Diocese of Niagara is one of thirty regional divisions (29 dioceses and one former diocese) in the Anglican Church of Canada. The see city of the diocese is Hamilton with the Bishop's seat being located at Christ's Church Cathedral on James Street North. Located within the eccleisastical province of Ontario, it borders the Dioceses of Huron and Toronto. The area enclosed by the Diocese of Niagara includes much of the Golden Horseshoe, and moves north to include Erin and Orangeville as far as Whitfield. Moving sharply south the line includes Mount Forest and widens, south-westerly to include Elora and Guelph. Skirting Brantford and the Territory of the Six Nations Confederacy, the line then travels, again, south-westerly to Nanticoke and Lake Erie to include the entire Niagara Peninsula. Major urban centres within its borders are St. Catharines, Hamilton, Guelph, Oakville, Burlington, and Orangeville.

The current Bishop of Niagara is the Right Rev'd D. Ralph Spence, who was installed as Diocesan Bishop on January 11, 1998.

There are just over 100 congregations within the diocese served by approximately 120 licensed parish priests, with a number of honourary clergy, vocational deacons and licensed lay people. The diocese divided into six regional deaneries: Brock, Lincoln, Mohawk, Undermount, Greater Wellington and Trafalgar. Each deanery is overseen by a Regional Archdeacon and Regional Dean.

1 History
2 Educational Institutions
3 Diocesan Bishops of Niagara
4 External links

[edit] History

The origins of the Diocese of Niagara begin with St Mark’s Church in Newark (now Niagara-on-the-Lake), the former capital of Upper Canada. The parish was founded in 1790 as Loyalist immigrants arrived, from the former American colonies, in what would become the province of Ontario. At this time the area which would become Niagara, was part of the Diocese of Quebec, and was subsequently handed over to the Diocese of Toronto upon its formation.

The diocese was formed by an act of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada; 39 Vic Chapter 107 in 1875. Royal assent was given in 1876. The first bishop was Thomas Brock Fuller, Archdeacon of Niagara and godson of Sir Isaac Brock, the hero of the Battle of Queenston Heights.

In 2004, diocesan synod approved the blessing of same sex unions, but Bishop Spence withheld consent, effectively vetoing the decision. Nonetheless, the local Roman Catholic and Lutheran bishops refused to participate in an annual ecumenical service with Anglicans in Niagara. The diocesan synod plans to revisit the issue at the diocesan synod meeting following General Synod of 2007.

[edit] Educational Institutions

Appleby College, Oakville, founded 1911.
St. Mildred's-Lightbourn School, Oakville, founded St. Mildred's College, Toronto, 1908.
Ridley College, St.Catharines, founded 1889.

The diocese co-operates with the Presbyterian and United Churches in sponsoring campus ministries at three universities in its jurisdiction. The University of Guelph is served by an Anglican priest, Brock University by a United Church minister, and McMaster University by a Presbyterian minister, all under the joint sponsorship of the three church bodies.