Diocese of Rochester

The Diocese of Rochester is a Church of England diocese in South-East England and forms part of the Province of Canterbury. It is an ancient diocese, having been established in 604; only the neighbouring Diocese of Canterbury is older in the Church of England.

The Rochester diocese includes 268 churches with parishes in:

• the western part of the county of Kent
• the London Borough of Bexley
• the London Borough of Bromley

The diocese is divided into three archdeaconries:

• Archdeaconry of Bromley & Bexley (Archdeacon: The Venerable Paul Wright)
• Archdeaconry of Rochester (Archdeacon: The Venerable Simon Burton-Jones)
• Archdeaconry of Tonbridge (Archdeacon: The Venerable Clive Mansell)

The current diocesan boundaries roughly match its pre-19th century extent. In 1845 the Hertfordshire territory of the Diocese of Lincoln was added to Rochester, followed in 1846 by Essex from the Diocese of London. In 1877 Essex and Hertfordshire became the new Diocese of St Albans. It also gained part of the Diocese of Winchester, in northern Surrey, which became an independent Diocese of Southwark in 1905.

The Bishop of Rochester is currently the Right Reverend James Langstaff. The suffragan bishop, the Bishop of Tonbridge, is currently the Right Reverend Brian Castle.

See also

• Bishop of Rochester
• Rochester Cathedral

References

• Church of England Statistics 2002

External links

• Diocesan website
• Church In Society is a community charity associated with the diocese of Canterbury and Rochester