Episcopal Diocese of Wyoming

Diocese of Wyoming
Location
Ecclesiastical province Province VI
Statistics
Congregations 49
Information
Rite Episcopal
Cathedral St. Matthew's Cathedral, Laramie
Current leadership
Bishop John S. Smylie
Map

Location of the Diocese of Wyoming
Website
www.diowy.org
St. Matthew's Cathedral in Laramie

The Episcopal Diocese of Wyoming is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America with jurisdiction over the state of Wyoming, except for one congregation in western Wyoming which is included in the Episcopal Diocese of Idaho. It was established in 1887 and is in Province VI. Its cathedral, St Matthew's Episcopal Cathedral[1] is in Laramie while the diocesan offices are in Casper.[2][3]

The Rt. Rev. Bruce Caldwell was the 8th Bishop of Wyoming. He retired in June 2010, and was succeeded by the Rev. John Sheridan Smylie, former rector of St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Casper, Wyoming. Bishop Smylie was elected as the 9th bishop of Wyoming on March 20, 2010.[4] His episcopal ordination was held July 31, 2010 in Casper, Wyoming.[5]

Missionary Bishops

The Missionary District of Idaho and Wyoming was created by the General Convention of October 1886. The first missionary bishop, whom the Diocese of Wyoming counts as its first diocesan bishop, was the Rt. Rev. Ethelbert Talbot, a pioneering bishop who went on to become Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania (subsequently the Diocese of Bethlehem) and Presiding Bishop from 1924-1926.

From 1898-1909 the Episcopal Church in Wyoming was overseen by bishops with other responsibilities. Following Bishop Talbot's resignation in 1898, the General Convention, meeting in October that year, added Wyoming to the district overseen by the Rt. Rev. Anson Rogers Graves, who had been elected First Missionary Bishop of Nebraska in 1889.[6] Bishop Graves oversaw the diocese concurrently with his work in Nebraska until October 1907. Thereafter the Rt. Rev. James B. Funsten, First Bishop of the Missionary District of Boise in Idaho since 1899, and First Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Idaho from 1907-1918[7] had oversight of the Diocese until the consecration and installation of Bishop Nathaniel Thomas in October 1909. Bishop Thomas is counted as the second diocesan.

Bishops of Wyoming

Honorific & Name Dates
1st The Rt. Rev. Ethelbert P.E. Talbot 1887–1898
2nd The Rt. Rev. Nathaniel Seymour Thomas 1909–1927
3rd The Rt. Rev. Elmer N. Schmuck 1926–1936
4th The Rt. Rev. Winfred Hamlin Ziegler 1936–1949
5th The Rt. Rev. James Wilson Hunter 1949–1969
6th The Rt. Rev. David Ritchie Thornberry 1969–1977
7th The Rt. Rev. Bob Gordon Jones 1977–1996
8th The Rt. Rev. Bruce Caldwell 1997–2010
9th The Rt. Rev. John Sheridan Smylie 2010–

See also

References

  1. ↑ St. Matthew's Episcopal Cathedral website
  2. ↑ Diocese of Wyoming contact page
  3. ↑ Episcopal Church online directory
  4. ↑ Episcopal Life Online item, March 20, 2010
  5. ↑ Morton, Tom. "Wyoming Episcopalians Welcome Bishop John Smylie". Casper Star-Tribune. Retrieved 2011-05-23.
  6. ↑ See Graves' autobiography The Farmer Boy Who Became A Bishop, New Werner Company, Akron, Ohio, 1911
  7. ↑ Chronology of James Bowen Funsten D.D.

See also the various editions of the Episcopal Church Annual, Morehouse Publishing, Harrisburg, PA (current edition, 2009) and The Red Book interactive directory of dioceses, parishes and clergy within the Episcopal Church.

External links

Coordinates: 41°18′44″N 105°35′34″W / 41.31222°N 105.59278°W