Diocese of London

The Diocese of London forms part of the Church of England's Province of Canterbury in England.

For other uses, see Diocese of London (disambiguation).
"Diocese of Essex" redirects here. For the modern diocese in Essex, see Diocese of Chelmsford.
Diocese of London
Location
Ecclesiastical provinceCanterbury
ArchdeaconriesCharing Cross; Hackney; Hampstead; London; Middlesex; Northolt
Statistics
Area460 km2 (180 sq mi)
Parishes413
Churches484
Information
Established4th Century
CathedralSt Paul's
Co-cathedralWestminster Abbey (1550–1556 only)
Patron saintSaint Paul
Current leadership
BishopSarah Mullally
SuffragansPete Broadbent, area Bishop of Willesden
Jonathan Baker, Bishop of Fulham
Graham Tomlin, area Bishop of Kensington
Rob Wickham, area Bishop of Edmonton
Ric Thorpe, Bishop of Islington
Joanne Grenfell, area Bishop of Stepney
ArchdeaconsLuke Miller, Archdeacon of London;
John Hawkins, Archdeacon of Hampstead
Liz Adekunle, Archdeacon of Hackney
Richard Frank, Archdeacon of Middlesex
Adam Atkinson Archdeacon of Charing Cross
Catherine Pickford, Archdeacon of Northolt
Website
london.anglican.org
Map of the Diocese of London in 1714. The current diocesan boundaries are greatly reduced.

Historically the diocese covered a large area north of the Thames and bordered the dioceses of Norwich and Lincoln to the north and west. The present diocese covers 177 square miles (460 km2) and 17 London boroughs, covering most of Greater London north of the River Thames and west of the River Lea. This area covers nearly all of the historic county of Middlesex. It includes the City of London in which lies its cathedral, St Paul's, and also encompasses Spelthorne which is in modern-day Surrey.

The Report of the Commissioners appointed by his Majesty to inquire into the Ecclesiastical Revenues of England and Wales (1835), noted the annual net income for the London see was £13,929.[1] This made it the third wealthiest diocese in England after Canterbury and Durham.

Essex formed part of the diocese until 1846 when the county became part of the Diocese of Rochester (and later changed again to the Diocese of St Albans and is now in the Diocese of Chelmsford).

Organisation

Following the huge growth of the metropolis and its population in the 19th century, successive Bishops of London successfully campaigned for the appointment of several suffragan bishops to assist them in the care of the northern half of what became the County of London and later Greater London. A system of assigning "districts" to these suffragans evolved into an experimental area scheme in 1970.[2] An archbishop's commission on the diocesan arrangements in Greater London was established in 1975 and chaired by Edmund Compton;[3] its report considered but did not recommend forming all Greater London into an ecclesiastical province.[4]

Since the formal institution of the London area scheme (the first of its kind) in 1979,[5] the diocese has been divided into five episcopal areas, each of which is the particular responsibility of one of the diocese's suffragan bishops. It is further divided into archdeaconries and deaneries, as shown below.

Episcopal area Archdeaconry Deaneries
Two Cities Episcopal Area

(Bishop of London)

 Archdeaconry of London Deanery of the City of London
Archdeaconry of Charing Cross Deanery of Westminster Paddington
Deanery of Westminster St Margaret
Deanery of Westminster St Marylebone
Edmonton Episcopal Area

(area Bishop of Edmonton)

 Archdeaconry of Hampstead Deanery of Central Barnet
Deanery of West Barnet
Deanery of North Camden (Hampstead)
Deanery of South Camden (St Pancras and Holborn)
Deanery of Enfield
Deanery of East Haringey
Deanery of West Haringey
Kensington Episcopal Area

(area Bishop of Kensington)

 Archdeaconry of Middlesex Deanery of Hammersmith and Fulham
Deanery of Hampton
Deanery of Hounslow
Deanery of Kensington
Deanery of Chelsea
Deanery of Spelthorne
Stepney Episcopal Area

(area Bishop of Stepney)

 Archdeaconry of Hackney Deanery of Hackney
Deanery of Islington
Deanery of Tower Hamlets
Willesden Episcopal Area

(area Bishop of Willesden)

 Archdeaconry of Northolt Deanery of Brent
Deanery of Ealing
Deanery of Harrow
Deanery of Hillingdon


Bishops

Under the London area scheme the diocesan bishop, the Bishop of London retains oversight of the two cities of London and Westminster while the four area bishops have responsibility in their own episcopal areas. The suffragan see of Stepney was created in 1895, Kensington in 1901, Willesden in 1911 and Edmonton in 1970. The suffragan see of Marlborough existed from 1888 to 1918. On 1 May 2015, it was announced[6] that Richard Chartres' (then-Bishop of London) proposal to take the See of Islington out of abeyance for the appointment of a "bishop for church plants"[7] would go ahead. Ric Thorpe was consecrated Bishop suffragan of Islington on 29 September 2015.

Alternative episcopal oversight (for parishes in the diocese which do not accept the ordination of women as priests) is provided by a fifth suffragan bishop, Jonathan Baker, Bishop of Fulham, who has the same ministry in the Southwark and Rochester dioceses. During a lengthy vacancy in that see, alternative episcopal oversight was offered by the area Bishop of Edmonton.

There are also several retired bishops living in the diocese, some of whom are licensed as honorary assistant bishops:

Schools

The London Diocesan Board for Schools (LDBS) has responsibility for 163 Church of England schools within the London diocese, across 18 local authorities.[15]

See also

References
  1. The National Cyclopaedia of Useful Knowledge, Vol.III, London, Charles Knight, 1847, p.362
  2. "Virtual autonomy for London's 'area bishops'?". Church Times (#5584). 20 February 1970. p. 1. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 29 September 2020 – via UK Press Online archives.
  3. "Commission for London". Church Times (#5878). 10 October 1975. p. 20. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 4 January 2021 – via UK Press Online archives.
  4. "Provincial status for London is ruled out". Church Times (#5917). 9 July 1976. p. 3. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 4 January 2021 – via UK Press Online archives.
  5. "4: The Dioceses Commission, 1978–2002" (PDF). Church of England. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
  6. Diocese of London — The Revival of the See of Islington (Accessed 1 May 2015)
  7. "Chartres sets out plan for 'Bishop for church-plants'". Church Times (#7929). 6 March 2015. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
  8. "Marshall, Michael Eric". Who's Who. ukwhoswho.com. 2014 (December 2013 online ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. Retrieved 26 April 2014. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
  9. "Holland, Edward". Who's Who. ukwhoswho.com. 2014 (December 2013 online ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. Retrieved 26 April 2014. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
  10. "Makhulu, Walter Paul Khotso". Who's Who. ukwhoswho.com. 2014 (December 2013 online ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. Retrieved 26 April 2014. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
  11. "Millar, John Alexander Kirkpatrick (Sandy)". Who's Who. ukwhoswho.com. 2014 (December 2013 online ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. Retrieved 26 April 2014. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
  12. "Ladds, Robert Sidney". Who's Who. ukwhoswho.com. 2014 (December 2013 online ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. Retrieved 26 April 2014. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
  13. "Colclough, Michael John". Who's Who. ukwhoswho.com. 2014 (December 2013 online ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. Retrieved 26 April 2014. (subscription or UK public library membership required)
  14. "Appointments". Church Times (#7920). 2 January 2014. p. 31. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
  15. LDBS https://www.ldbs.co.uk/our-schools/

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