Diocese of Chelmsford

Diocese of Chelmsford Dioecesis Chelmsfordiensis
Coat of arms
Flag
Location
Ecclesiastical province	Canterbury
Archdeaconries	Barking, Chelmsford, Colchester, Southend, Stansted, West Ham
Statistics
Parishes	463[1]
Churches	588 (As of August 2014^[update])[2]
Schools	140[3]
Information
Formation	23 January 1914
Denomination	Church of England
Cathedral	Chelmsford Cathedral
Language	English
Current leadership
Bishop	Guli Francis-Dehqani, Bishop of Chelmsford
Suffragans	Roger Morris, area Bishop of Colchester[4] Lynne Cullens, area Bishop of Barking Adam Atkinson, area Bishop of Bradwell
Archdeacons	Chris Burke, Archdeacon of Barking Ruth Patten, Archdeacon of Colchester Mike Power, Archdeacon of West Ham Kate Peacock, Archdeacon of Stansted Jonathan Croucher, Archdeacon of Chelmsford Archdeacon of Southend (vacant)
Website
chelmsford.anglican.org

The Diocese of Chelmsford is a Church of England diocese, part of the Province of Canterbury. It was created on 23 January 1914 from part of the Diocese of St Albans. It covers Essex and part of East London. Since 1984 it is divided into three episcopal areas, each with its own area bishop. The diocese covers around 1,500 square miles (3,900 km²) with a population of more than 3 million. It has 463 parishes and 588 churches.

History

The diocese was created on 23 January 1914, as part of the provisions of the Bishoprics of Sheffield, Chelmsford and the County of Suffolk Act 1913. It covered the entire county of Essex and that part of Kent north of the River Thames (North Woolwich).^[5] The area had since 4 May 1877 been part of the Diocese of St Albans.^[6] Before 1 January 1846 the area was part of the Diocese of London and then the Diocese of Rochester.

Geographic area

The diocese covers a region of around 1,500 square miles (3,900 km²)^[3] and has a population of more than 3 million.^[2] It covers Essex and five East London boroughs of Barking and Dagenham, Havering, Newham, Redbridge, and Waltham Forest. The diocese has seen one of the strongest regenerations in Europe, which continues. The Thames Gateway, the M11 corridor, Stansted and Southend airports, Harwich, Tilbury, London Gateway, Purfleet ports and most of the housing built in connection with the London 2012 Olympics are in the diocese. It is co-terminous with the boundaries of the Catholic Diocese of Brentwood.

Organisation

The diocese of Chelmsford is overseen by the Bishop of Chelmsford. Since the area scheme was created in 1983^[7] and inaugurated in January 1984,^[8] the diocese has been divided into three episcopal areas which are overseen by an area bishop. The diocese is divided further into archdeaconries, each divided into a number of deaneries.^[9]

The suffragan See of Colchester was created in 1882, for the Diocese of St Albans until 1914. Barking in 1901 also for St Albans, and Bradwell in 1968.

See also: Archdeacons in the Diocese of Chelmsford

Episcopal areas	Archdeaconries	Deaneries
Barking Episcopal Area (overseen by the area Bishop of Barking)
	Archdeaconry of West Ham	Deanery of Newham
		Deanery of Redbridge
		Deanery of Waltham Forest
	Archdeaconry of Barking	Deanery of Barking and Dagenham
		Deanery of Havering
Bradwell Episcopal Area (overseen by the area Bishop of Bradwell)	Archdeaconry of Chelmsford	Deanery of Brentwood
		Deanery of Chelmsford North
		Deanery of Chelmsford South
		Deanery of Maldon and Dengie
		Deanery of Epping Forest and Ongar
	Archdeaconry of Southend	Deanery of Basildon
		Deanery of Hadleigh
		Deanery of Rochford
		Deanery of Southend on Sea
		Deanery of Thurrock
Colchester Episcopal Area (overseen by the area Bishop of Colchester)	Archdeaconry of Colchester	Deanery of Colchester
		Deanery of Harwich
		Deanery of St Osyth
		Deanery of Witham
	Archdeaconry of Stansted	Deanery of Braintree
		Deanery of Dunmow and Stansted
		Deanery of Hinckford
		Deanery of Saffron Walden
		Deanery of Harlow

Bishops

Left to right: Peter Hill, Bishop of Barking; Stephen Cottrell, Bishop of Chelmsford; Roger Morris, Bishop of Colchester

Alongside the diocesan Bishop of Chelmsford (Guli Francis-Dehqani), the Diocese has three area (suffragan) bishops: Roger Morris, area Bishop of Colchester; Lynne Cullens, area Bishop of Barking; and Adam Atkinson, area Bishop of Bradwell.

Alternative episcopal oversight (for parishes in the diocese which reject the ministry of priests who are women) is provided by the provincial episcopal visitor, Norman Banks, Bishop suffragan of Richborough, who is licensed as an honorary assistant bishop of the diocese in order to facilitate his work there.

Churches

The diocese has 463 parishes^[1] and a total of 588 churches.^[2]

Deanery	Clergy	Church	Founded (building)
Epping Forest & Ongar	S. Brazier-Gibbs	St Laurence, Blackmore	Medieval
		SS Peter & Paul, Stondon Massey
	I. Farley	St John the Baptist, Buckhurst Hill	1837
	H. Aucken	St Martin, Chipping Ongar	Medieval
		St Peter, Shelley	Medieval (1888)
		St Andrew, Greensted-juxta-Ongar	Anglo-Saxon
		St Margaret of Antioch, Stanford Rivers	Medieval
	L. Batson O. Maxfield-Coote A. Summers	St John the Baptist, Epping	Medieval (1889)
		All Saints, Epping Upland	Medieval
		St Alban the Martyr, Coopersale	1852
		St Andrew, North Weald Bassett	Medieval
	C. Hawkins	St Germain, Bobbingworth	Medieval
		St Mary the Virgin, Moreton	Medieval
		St Nicholas, Fyfield	Medieval
		St Christopher, Willingale	Medieval
	J. Pickles	All Saints, High Laver	Medieval
		St Mary the Virgin, Little Laver	Medieval
		St Mary Magdalen, Magdalen Laver	Medieval
		St Mary, Matching	Medieval
	C. Davies	St John the Baptist, Loughton	1846
		St Nicholas, Loughton	Medieval (early C20th)
	M. Macdonald M. White	St Mary the Virgin, Loughton	1871
	L. Petitt	St Michael & All Angels, Loughton	1937
	S. Gibbs	St Mary the Virgin, High Ongar
		St James, Marden Ash
		All Saints, Norton Mandeville
	J. Fry	St Mary the Virgin, Stapleford Tawney
		St Mary the Virgin, Theydon Bois
		All Saints, Theydon Garnon
		St Michael, Theydon Mount
	C. Kosla P. Preston	St Mary, Chigwell
		All Saints, Chigwell Row
		St Winifred, Chigwell
		St Mary & All Saints, Lambourne
		St Mary the Virgin, Stapleford Abbotts
	P. Smith V. Yeadon	Holy Cross & St Lawrence, Waltham
		Holy Innocents, High Beach
		St Lawrence, Ninefields
		St Thomas, Upshire

References

1. Diocese of Chelmsford – Parishes Archived 2015-09-29 at the Wayback Machine (Accessed 12 February 2015)
2. Diocese of Chelmsford – Media Facts, August 2014 Archived 23 September 2015 at the Wayback Machine (Accessed 12 February 2015)
3. Diocese of Chelmsford – Children's Ministry Archived 28 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine (Accessed 12 February 2015)
4. Diocese of Worcester – Archdeacon of Worcester to become Bishop of Colchester (Accessed 2 May 2014)
5. "No. 28795". The London Gazette. 23 January 1914. p. 588.
6. London Gazette. 23 January 1914.
7. "4: The Dioceses Commission, 1978–2002" (PDF). Church of England. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
8. "(picture caption)". Church Times. No. 6309. 13 January 1984. p. 4. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 15 June 2017 – via UK Press Online archives.
9. Diocese of Chelmsford – Episcopal areas map (Accessed 12 February 2015)

Sources

• Church of England Statistics 2002 Archived 3 February 2007 at the Wayback Machine

External links

• Official website
• Churches in the Diocese of Chelmsford (A Church Near You) Archived 28 March 2008 at the Wayback Machine
• Chelmsford Cathedral

51.7352°N 0.4723°E / 51.7352; 0.4723