Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut

The Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut (also known as The Episcopal Church in Connecticut) is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, encompassing the entire state of Connecticut. It is one of the nine original dioceses of the Episcopal Church and one of seven New England dioceses that make up Province 1.

Diocese of Connecticut
Location
CountryUnited States
TerritoryConnecticut
Ecclesiastical provinceProvince I
Statistics
Congregations157
Members44,862 (2019)
Information
DenominationEpiscopal Church
EstablishedAugust 3, 1785
CathedralChrist Church Cathedral
Current leadership
BishopIan Douglas
SuffragansLaura J. Ahrens
Map

The Episcopal Church in Connecticut
Website
www.episcopalct.org

History

Its first bishop, Samuel Seabury, was the first Anglican bishop with a see outside the British Isles. Anglican services have been conducted in the diocese since 1702, but the first diocesan convention did not take place until after the diocese was organized, having been convened by Seabury in 1785.[1]

The cathedra of the bishop is at Christ Church Cathedral (45 Church Street) in the see city of Hartford. Diocesan offices are at 290 Pratt Street, Meriden, Connecticut 06450. There are 177 parishes in the diocese, with about 68,500 baptized members. One of Connecticut's well-known bishops was Walter H. Gray, who served as the first chairman of the Civil Rights Commission in Connecticut. Gray also played a leading role at two meetings of the Lambeth Conferences.

Ian Douglas, elected 15th bishop of the diocese on October 24, 2009, was consecrated at the Koeppel Center of Trinity College on April 17, 2010, at a service at which the preacher was Desmond Tutu, Archbishop emeritus of Cape Town.[2] He was seated at Christ Church Cathedral the following day. Douglas is the first priest ever to be elected from outside the diocese, and at the time of his election was Angus Dun Professor of Mission and World Christianity at Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and associate priest at St. James's Church, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Douglas is assisted by Laura J. Ahrens (since 2007). Ahrens was the first woman to be elected bishop in Connecticut[3] and was consecrated on June 30, 2007 at Woolsey Hall, Yale University, New Haven.

As of 2013 the diocese had a membership of 54,145, down from 68,000 in 2003.[4]

List of bishops

Bishops of Connecticut
From Until Incumbent Notes
1784 1796 Samuel Seabury Also Presiding Bishop 1789–1792 and Bishop of Rhode Island from 1790; died in office.
1797 1813 Abraham Jarvis Died in office.
1819 1865 Thomas Church Brownell Also Presiding Bishop from 1852; died in office.
1865 1899 John Williams Previously coadjutor since 1851; also Presiding Bishop from 1887; also provisional bishop of Mexico; died in office.
1899 1928 Chauncey B. Brewster Previously coadjutor since 1897.
1928 1934 Edward Campion Acheson (7 April 1858, Woolwich, UK – January 28, 1934, Middletown, CT); suffragan 1915–1926; coadjutor 1926–1928.
1934 1950 Frederick G. Budlong Frederick Grandy Budlong (July 10, 1881, Camden, NY – September 25, 1953, Hartford, CT); previously coadjutor since 1931.
1951 1969 Walter H. Gray Walter Henry Gray (August 20, 1898, Richmond, VA – December 4, 1973, Hartford, CT); suffragan 1940–1945; coadjutor 1945–1951.
1951 1957 Robert McConnell Hatch, suffragan bishop (July 6, 1910, Brooklyn, NY – July 16, 2009, Louisville, CO); became Bishop of Western Massachusetts.
1969 1970 John H. Esquirol Previously suffragan since 1958.
1971 1977 J. Warren Hutchens Joseph Warren Hutchens (1910, Elnora, IN – August 4, 1979, Lichfield, CT); previously suffragan since 1961.
1977 1981 Morgan Porteus (born August 10, 1917); suffragan 1971–1976; coadjutor 1976–1977.
1981 1993 Arthur E. Walmsley Arthur Edward Walmsley (born May 4, 1928); previously coadjutor since 1979.
1981 1986 Bradford Hastings, suffragan bishop William Bradford Turner Hastings (December 13, 1919, Garden City, NY - December 3, 1992, Little Compton, RI)
1993 1999 Clarence Coleridge Clarence Nicholas Coleridge (born November 27, 1930); previously suffragan since 1981; later Assisting bishop in Pennsylvania.The first African American bishop in CT and third in the United States at this time.
1987 1993 Jeffery Rowthorn, suffragan bishop Jeffery William Rowthorn (born 9 April 1934, Newport, Wales, UK); became bishop-in-charge in Europe.
1999 2010 Andrew Smith Andrew Donnan Smith (born 1944, Albany, NY); previously suffragan since 1996.
2000 retired 2014[5] James E. Curry, suffragan bishop James Elliot Curry
2000 2005 Wilfrido Ramos-Orench, suffragan bishop (born 1941, Puerto Rico); became provisional bishop in Central Ecuador.
2007 present Laura J. Ahrens, suffragan bishop Laura Jean Ahrens
2010 present Ian Douglas Ian Theodore Douglas (born May 20, 1958, Fitchburg, MA)

Parishes

See also

  • List of Episcopal bishops

References

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