List of Church of England dioceses

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A map showing 43 of the Church of England dioceses (excluding Gibraltar) and to which province they belong.

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This is a 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 (rather than a separate Anglican church such as the Church in Wales), and covers the whole of mainland Europe, Morocco, Turkey and the territory of the former Soviet Union.

[edit] History

Main article: Historical development of Church of England dioceses

The structure of diocese 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. No new dioceses 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.

[edit] Current situation

The latest dioceses were created in 1927. The 44 dioceses are divided into two Provinces, the Province of Canterbury (with 30 dioceses) and the Province of York (with 14 dioceses). The archbishops of Canterbury and York have pastoral oversight over the bishops within their province, along with certain other rights and responsibilities.

[edit] List of Dioceses

The table below gives the dioceses in alphabetical order, along with their geographic location, province, foundation date and the location of their cathedral (see also List of cathedrals in the United Kingdom).

[edit] References

• Organisation of the Church of England
• List of bishops of the Church of England

[edit] See also

• How the Church of England is organised