Diocese of Rochester

For the American Episcopal diocese, see Episcopal Diocese of Rochester. For the American Catholic diocese, see Roman Catholic Diocese of Rochester.
Diocese of Rochester
Location
Ecclesiastical province Canterbury
Archdeaconries Bromley & Bexley, Rochester, Tonbridge
Statistics
Parishes 218
Churches 268
Information
Cathedral Rochester Cathedral
Current leadership
Bishop James Langstaff, Bishop of Rochester
Suffragan Bishop of Tonbridge (vacant)
Archdeacons Paul Wright, Archdeacon of Bromley & Bexley;
Clive Mansell, Archdeacon of Tonbridge;
Simon Burton-Jones, Archdeacon of Rochester
Website
rochester.anglican.org

The Diocese of Rochester is a Church of England diocese in the English county of Kent and the Province of Canterbury. The cathedral church of the diocese is Rochester Cathedral in the former city of Rochester. The bishop's Latin episcopal signature is: "(firstname) Roffen",[1] Roffensis being the genitive case of the Latin name of the see.

An ancient diocese, it was established with the authority of King Æthelberht of Kent by St. Augustine of Canterbury in 604 at the same time as the see of London.[2] Only the adjacent Diocese of Canterbury is older in England. Its establishment was the first part of an unrealised plan conceived by Pope Gregory the Great for Augustine of Canterbury to consecrate 12 bishops in different places and another 12 for the prospective see (later province) of York.[3]

The Rochester diocese includes 268 parish churches throughout:

The diocese is subdivided into three archdeaconries:

The current diocesan boundaries roughly match its pre-19th century extent. On 1 January 1846 parishes in Hertfordshire from the dioceses of Lincoln and of London and Essex (from London diocese) were added to Rochester, while all West Kent parishes except those in the Rochester Deanery were transferred to the Diocese of Canterbury.[4] In May 1877, Essex and Hertfordshire became part of the newly-created Diocese of St Albans. On 1 August 1877,[5] the Diocese of Rochester gained some northern parts of Surrey from the Diocese of Winchester which were later transferred to the Diocese of Southwark at its creation in 1905.

Bishops

The present diocesan bishop, the Bishop of Rochester, is James Langstaff. The diocese also has a suffragan bishop, the Bishop of Tonbridge, which see is currently vacant; the suffragan see of Tonbridge was created in 1959. Since 1994 the Bishop of Fulham (Jonathan Baker from 2013) has provided "alternative episcopal oversight" in the diocese (as well as in the London and Southwark dioceses) to parishes which do not accept the ordination of women to the priesthood. Baker is licensed as an honorary assistant bishop in the diocese for this ministry.

In addition to the diocesan and suffragan bishops, there are a number of other bishops licensed in the diocese:

References

  1. ↑ Debretts Peerage, 1968, p. 945.
  2. ↑ Bede, Ecclesiastical History, II.3
  3. ↑ Bede, Ecclesiastical History, I.29
  4. ↑ "The Dioceses of England: An Outline History", p. 34.
  5. ↑ The London Gazette: no. 24483. p. 4189. 17 July 1877. Retrieved 4 March 2012.
  6. ↑ Gear, Michael Frederick. Who's Who. 2014 (December 2013 online ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  7. ↑ Venner, Stephen Squires. Who's Who. 2014 (December 2013 online ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. Retrieved 18 August 2014.
  8. ↑ Turnbull, Michael. Who's Who. 2014 (December 2013 online ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. Retrieved 25 April 2014.
  9. ↑ Cray, Graham Alan. Who's Who. 2014 (December 2013 online ed.). A & C Black, an imprint of Bloomsbury Publishing plc. Retrieved 25 April 2014.

Sources

External links

Coordinates: 51°23′20″N 0°30′12″E / 51.38889°N 0.50333°E / 51.38889; 0.50333

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