Ecclesiastical provinces and dioceses of the Episcopal Church explained

The Episcopal Church (TEC) is governed by a General Convention and consists of 96 dioceses in the United States proper, plus ten dioceses in other countries or outlying U.S. territories, the diocese of Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, and a diocese for Armed Services and Federal Ministries, for a total of 108 dioceses.

A diocese, which is led by a bishop, includes all the parishes and missions within its borders, which usually correspond to a state or a portion of a state. Some dioceses includes portions of more than one state. For example, the Diocese of Washington includes the District of Columbia and part of Maryland.

Overview

The naming convention for the domestic dioceses, for the most part, is after the state in which they are located or a portion of that state (for example, Northern Michigan or West Texas).

Usually (though not always), in a state where there is more than one diocese, the area where the Episcopal Church (or Church of England before the American Revolution) started in that state is the diocese that bears the name of that state. For example, the Church of England's first outpost in what is now Georgia was in Savannah, hence the Diocese of Georgia is based in Savannah.

There are, however, many dioceses named for their see city or another city in the diocese. A few are named for a river, island, valley or other geographical feature. The list below includes the see city in parentheses if different from the name of the diocese or unclear from its name.

The see city usually has a cathedral, often the oldest parish in that city, but some dioceses do not have a cathedral. The dioceses of Iowa and Minnesota each have two cathedrals. Occasionally the diocesan offices and the cathedral are in separate cities.

Provinces

The dioceses are grouped into nine provinces, the first eight of which, for the most part, correspond to regions of the U.S. Province IX is composed of dioceses in Latin America. Province II and Province VIII also include dioceses outside of the U.S.

Unlike in many churches of the Anglican Communion, in which provinces are helmed by a primate or presiding bishop from the clergy, provinces of TEC are led by lay executive directors or presidents. Decisions are made at each province's Synod of the Province, consisting of a House of Bishops and House of Deputies. Lay and clergy Deputies are elected, two from each diocese.

Provinces of TEC are not to be confused with provinces of the Anglican Communion, as TEC itself is one such province of the Communion.

List of provinces and their dioceses

ProvinceNameDioceseSee city Founded Parishes and missions (2022)[1] Active baptized members (2022)[2] Average worship attendance (2022)[3] class=unsortableDiocese Map
Province IProvince of New EnglandDiocese of ConnecticutHartford178515337,3227,383
Diocese of MainePortland, ME1820578,5342,410
Diocese of MassachusettsBoston178416247,6428,536
Diocese of New HampshireConcord18324410,5282,191
Diocese of Rhode IslandProvidence17905213,0552,964
Diocese of VermontBurlington1832454,5421,361
Diocese of Western MassachusettsSpringfield, MA19015011,4982,392
Province IIThe International Atlantic Province orDiocese of AlbanyAlbany18681029,4012,977
Diocese of Central New YorkSyracuse1868798,7912,306
Paris1859202,371734
Diocese of CubaHavana1901441,647725
Diocese of HaitiPort-au-Prince186112097,90910,160
Diocese of Long IslandGarden City186812836,5437,239
Diocese of New JerseyTrenton178513631,7247,142
Diocese of New YorkNew York City178719142,9858,786
Diocese of NewarkNewark18749418,7433,862
Diocese of Puerto RicoSan Juan1920563,4381,553
Diocese of RochesterRochester1931486,8072,004
Diocese of the Virgin IslandsCharlotte Amalie1985131,989804
Diocese of Western New YorkBuffalo1839566,7791,570
Province IIIProvince of WashingtonDiocese of BethlehemBethlehem1871577,2421,851
Diocese of Central PennsylvaniaHarrisburg1904618,4032,436
Diocese of DelawareWilmington1785327,3532,068
Diocese of EastonEaston1888386,8401,622
Diocese of MarylandBaltimore178010027,7135,666
Diocese of Northwestern PennsylvaniaErie1910322,763874
Diocese of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphia178413332,8577,286
Diocese of PittsburghPittsburgh1865348,5361,493
Diocese of Southern VirginiaNewport News189210120,4115,456
Diocese of Southwestern VirginiaRoanoke1919508,4112,475
Diocese of VirginiaRichmond (offices)
Orkney Springs (cathedral shrine)		178517962,39413,176
Diocese of WashingtonWashington, D.C.18958530,9926,963
Diocese of West VirginiaCharleston, WV1877606,1391,529
Province IVProvince of SewaneeDiocese of AlabamaBirmingham18448829,5116,533
Diocese of AtlantaAtlanta19079143,3498,695
Diocese of Central FloridaOrlando19698222,0088,044
Diocese of the Central Gulf CoastPensacola (offices)
Mobile (cathedral)		19706117,1543,775
Diocese of East CarolinaKinston18636715,0224,086
Diocese of East TennesseeKnoxville19854613,2333,539
Diocese of FloridaJacksonville18386622,9245,517
Diocese of GeorgiaSavannah18236612,4533,745
Diocese of KentuckyLouisville1832336,8241,841
Diocese of LexingtonLexington1896346,0531,757
Diocese of LouisianaNew Orleans18384613,7392,845
Diocese of MississippiJackson, MS18508017,3994,328
Diocese of North CarolinaRaleigh182310942,7848,124
Diocese of South CarolinaCharleston, SC1785317,4762,050
Diocese of Southeast FloridaMiami19697427,4926,166
Parrish (offices)
St. Petersburg (cathedral)		19697824,8757,820
Diocese of TennesseeNashville18344515,3343,887
Diocese of Upper South CarolinaColumbia19225921,2574,853
Diocese of West TennesseeMemphis1985296,3961,837
Diocese of Western North CarolinaAsheville19226012,7244,214
Province VProvince of the MidwestDiocese of ChicagoChicago182312027,1036,315
Diocese of the Great LakesSaginaw
20249810,3693373
Diocese of IndianapolisIndianapolis1849488,1032,636
Diocese of MichiganDetroit18327013,5483,692
Diocese of MissouriSt. Louis1841419,1682,218
Diocese of Northern IndianaSouth Bend1888323,0681,113
Diocese of Northern MichiganMarquette189521968292
Diocese of OhioCleveland18188214,5043,608
Diocese of Southern OhioCincinnati18757115,2044,023
Diocese of SpringfieldSpringfield, IL1877333,4341,000
Diocese of WisconsinEau Claire, Fond Du Lac, Milwaukee18359910,8743,593
Province VIProvince of the NorthwestDiocese of ColoradoDenver18759319,8166,144
Diocese of IowaDes Moines (offices, one cathedral)
Davenport (cathedral)		1854585,2881,573
Minneapolis (offices, one cathedral)
Faribault (cathedral)		18599015,3573,432
Diocese of MontanaHelena1904323,354917
Diocese of NebraskaOmaha1865515,8731,703
Diocese of North DakotaFargo1883192,236490
Diocese of South DakotaSioux Falls1971786,5151,509
Diocese of WyomingCasper (offices)
Laramie (cathedral)		1909445,7761,314
Province VIIProvince of the SouthwestDiocese of ArkansasLittle Rock18695412,9893,056
Diocese of DallasDallas18956327,6857,752
Diocese of KansasTopeka1864446,8632,039
Diocese of Northwest TexasLubbock1958254,7491,224
Diocese of OklahomaOklahoma City19376413,5173,901
Diocese of the Rio GrandeAlbuquerque1881489,6382,363
Diocese of TexasHouston184916672,56916,495
Diocese of West MissouriKansas City, MO1890478,7092,386
Diocese of West TexasSan Antonio18748519,4505,943
Diocese of Western KansasSalina1971231,192415
Diocese of Western LouisianaPineville (offices)
Shreveport (cathedral)		1979427,7601,868
Province VIIIProvince of the PacificDiocese of AlaskaFairbanks1971465,823692
Diocese of ArizonaPhoenix19595816,7094,916
Diocese of CaliforniaSan Francisco18577517,9304,416
Diocese of Eastern OregonThe Dalles1970201,651571
Diocese of El Camino RealSalinas (offices)
San Jose (cathedral)		1980406,0282,090
Diocese of HawaiiHonolulu1966376,1011,982
Diocese of IdahoBoise1867273,3351,013
Diocese of Los AngelesLos Angeles
(diocesan seat in Echo Park neighborhood; pro-cathedral in downtown L.A.)		189512840,3288,041
Missionary Diocese of NavajolandFarmington197810773136
Diocese of NevadaLas Vegas1903294,0981,590
Diocese of Northern CaliforniaSacramento19106310,1603,019
Diocese of OlympiaSeattle19109019,1435,334
Diocese of OregonPortland, OR18546812,1373,274
Diocese of San DiegoSan Diego1973419,8693,254
Diocese of San JoaquinFresno1961191,889612
Diocese of SpokaneSpokane1892 333,5641,150
Diocese of TaiwanTaipei1954151,148614
Diocese of UtahSalt Lake City1867224,1511,038
Province IXProvince of Latin AmericaDiocese of ColombiaBogotá1964332,6962,530
Diocese of the Dominican RepublicSanto Domingo1960654,2471,823
Diocese of Central EcuadorQuito197011733327
Diocese of Litoral EcuadorGuayaquil1988267,735810
Diocese of HondurasSan Pedro Sula197811027,9723,377
Diocese of VenezuelaCaracas197225577266

Former provinces and dioceses

Military diocese

Dioceses no longer in existence

Formerly missionary districts

The following were founded as missionary districts of the Episcopal Church but are now full, independent Provinces of the Anglican Communion.

See also

External links

Notes and References

  1. Web site: Table of Statistics of the Episcopal Church . Parochial Report Results from 2022 . The Episcopal Church . 18 September 2023.
  2. Web site: Baptized Members by Province and Diocese 2013-2022 . Parochial Report Results from 2022 . The Episcopal Church . 18 September 2023.
  3. Web site: Average Sunday Attendance by Province and Diocese 2013-2022 . Parochial Report Results from 2022 . The Episcopal Church . 18 September 2023.
  4. The Episcopal Church Annual, 2004, Harrisburg: Morehouse Publishing, p. 246
  5. Web site: Chicago, Quincy Dioceses To Reunite on September 1. Episcopal Diocese of Chicago. 23 November 2013.

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