Diocese of London

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 Dioecesis Londiniensis
Coat of arms
Flag
Location
Ecclesiastical province	Canterbury
Archdeaconries	London; Middlesex; Hampstead; Hackney; Northolt; Charing Cross
Statistics
Area	460 km^2 (180 sq mi)
Parishes	403[1]
Churches	475[1]
Information
Established	4th Century
Cathedral	St Paul's
Co-cathedral	Westminster Abbey (1550–1556 only)
Patron saint	Saint Paul
Language	English
Current leadership
Bishop	Sarah Mullally
Suffragans	Jonathan Baker, Bishop of Fulham Emma Ineson, area Bishop of Kensington Ric Thorpe, Bishop of Islington Joanne Grenfell, area Bishop of Stepney Lusa Nsenga-Ngoy, area Bishop of Willesden Anderson Jeremiah, area Bishop of Edmonton
Archdeacons	Luke Miller, Archdeacon of London; John Hawkins, Archdeacon of Hampstead Richard Frank, Archdeacon of Middlesex Catherine Pickford, Archdeacon of Northolt Peter Farley-Moore, Archdeacon of Hackney Katherine Hedderly, Archdeacon of Charing Cross
Website
london.anglican.org

Map of the Diocese of London in 1714. The current diocesan boundaries are greatly reduced. A large western tract and narrow eastern tract of Hertfordshire lay in this diocese, the rest in the Diocese of Lincoln; the whole county is in the Diocese of Saint Albans today.

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

It lies directly north of the Thames, covering 177 square miles (460 km²) and all or part of 17 London boroughs. This corresponds almost exactly to 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 currently administered by Surrey. It encompasses most of that part of Greater London which lies north of the River Thames and west of the River Lea.

The diocese covered all of Essex until 1846 when Essex became part of the Diocese of Rochester, after which St Albans and since 1914 forms the Diocese of Chelmsford. It also formerly took in southern and eastern parts of Hertfordshire.

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.^[2] This made it the third wealthiest diocese in England after Canterbury and Durham.

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.^[3] An archbishop's commission on the diocesan arrangements in Greater London was established in 1975 and chaired by Edmund Compton;^[4] its report considered but did not recommend forming all Greater London into an ecclesiastical province.^[5]

Since the formal institution of the London area scheme (the first of its kind) in 1979,^[6] 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^[7] 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"^[8] 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 then-area Bishop of Edmonton.

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

• 1984–present: Michael Marshall, former suffragan Bishop of Woolwich, lives in Chelsea and is also licensed as an honorary assistant bishop in Chichester diocese.^[9]
• 2002–present: Edward Holland, retired Bishop of Colchester, lives in Hammersmith and is also licensed in the Diocese in Europe.^[10]
• 2003–present: Walter Makhulu, Archbishop emeritus of Central Africa and retired Bishop of Botswana, lives in Putney.^[11]
• 2006–present: Sandy Millar, a former vicar of Holy Trinity Brompton, lives in Aldeburgh, Suffolk and is also an honorary assistant bishop in the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich.^[12]
• 2009–present: Robert Ladds, former Bishop suffragan of Whitby, lives in Hendon.^[13]
• 2013–present: Michael Colclough, retired canon pastor of St Paul's Cathedral and former bishop of Kensington, lives in Chelsea. He is also licensed in the diocese in Europe.^[14]
• July 2014 – present: Stephen Platten, former rector of St Michael Cornhill and retired bishop of Wakefield (also in Southwark and Newcastle dioceses.)^[15]

Schools

The London Diocesan Board for Schools (LDBS) has responsibility for 155 Church of England schools within the London diocese, across 18 local authorities.^[16]

Fraud

In December 2022, Martin Sargeant, formerly Head of Operations in the Two Cities, was sentenced at Southwark Crown Court to five years in prison for defrauding the London Diocese of £5.2m.He had built up close contacts within the Church of England. Around January 2002, he was renting a flat at St. George’s in the East Church, London E1OBH when Gillean Craig was Rector. Reference : GOV.Uk:”MARTIN SARGEANT (dissolve) Secretary, CONSULTANT, 2002.02.01 - 2003.07.01 3 SAINT GEORGES IN THE EAST CHURCH CANNON STREET ROAD. LONDON E1 0BH”. ^[17]

See also

• List of churches in the City of London
• List of churches in the City of Westminster
• List of churches in the Diocese of London
• Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Westminster

References

1. "Parish Finance Statistics 2019" (PDF). Church of England, Research & Statistics. 2021. p. 20. Retrieved 21 April 2021.
2. The National Cyclopaedia of Useful Knowledge, Vol.III, London, Charles Knight, 1847, p.362
3. "Virtual autonomy for London's 'area bishops'?". Church Times. No. 5584. 20 February 1970. p. 1. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 29 September 2020 – via UK Press Online archives.
4. "Commission for London". Church Times. No. 5878. 10 October 1975. p. 20. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 4 January 2021 – via UK Press Online archives.
5. "Provincial status for London is ruled out". Church Times. No. 5917. 9 July 1976. p. 3. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 4 January 2021 – via UK Press Online archives.
6. "4: The Dioceses Commission, 1978–2002" (PDF). Church of England. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
7. Diocese of London — The Revival of the See of Islington (Accessed 1 May 2015)
8. "Chartres sets out plan for 'Bishop for church-plants'". Church Times. No. 7929. 6 March 2015. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 25 March 2015.
9. "Marshall, Michael Eric". Who's Who. Vol. 2014 (December 2013 online ed.). A & C Black. Retrieved 26 April 2014. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
10. "Holland, Edward". Who's Who. Vol. 2014 (December 2013 online ed.). A & C Black. Retrieved 26 April 2014. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
11. "Makhulu, Walter Paul Khotso". Who's Who. Vol. 2014 (December 2013 online ed.). A & C Black. Retrieved 26 April 2014. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
12. "Millar, John Alexander Kirkpatrick (Sandy)". Who's Who. Vol. 2014 (December 2013 online ed.). A & C Black. Retrieved 26 April 2014. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
13. "Ladds, Robert Sidney". Who's Who. Vol. 2014 (December 2013 online ed.). A & C Black. Retrieved 26 April 2014. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
14. "Colclough, Michael John". Who's Who. Vol. 2014 (December 2013 online ed.). A & C Black. Retrieved 26 April 2014. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
15. "Appointments". Church Times. No. 7920. 2 January 2014. p. 31. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 2 January 2015.
16. LDBS https://www.ldbs.co.uk/our-schools/
17. Williams, Hattie (19 December 2022). "Martin Sargeant sentenced to five years for £5.2m diocesan fraud". www.churchtimes.co.uk. Retrieved 28 December 2022.

External links

• Diocesan website
• Map from the diocesan website
• Westminster (St Margaret) Deanery Synod^[usurped]

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