Diocese of Chester: Difference between revisions

| bishop = [[PeterMark ForsterTanner]], [[Bishop of Chester]]

| suffragans = {{ublist|[[KeithJulie Sinclair (bishop)|Keith SinclairConalty]], [[Bishop of Birkenhead]]<br />|[[LibbySam LaneCorley]], [[Bishop of Stockport]]}}

| archdeacons = {{ublist|[[Michael Gilbertson (priest)|Michael Gilbertson]], [[Archdeacon of Chester]]<br />|[[Ian Bishop (priest)|IanJane BishopProudfoot]], [[Archdeacon of Macclesfield]]}}

The '''Diocese of Chester''' is a [[Church of England]] [[diocese]] in the [[Province of York]] covering the pre-1974 county of [[Cheshire]] and therefore including the [[The Wirral Peninsula|Wirral]] and parts of [[Metropolitan Borough of Stockport|Stockport]], [[Metropolitan Borough of Trafford|Trafford]] and [[Metropolitan Borough of Tameside|Tameside]].<ref>[http://www.chester.anglican.org/ Diocese of Chester.] Retrieval Date: September 30, 2007.</ref>

Before the sixteenth century the city possessed a bishop and a cathedral, though only intermittently. Even before the [[Norman conquest]] the title "[[Bishop of Chester]]" is found in documents applied to prelates who would be more correctly described as [[Bishop of Mercia]], or [[Bishop of Lichfield]]. After the [[Council of London (1075)|Council of London]] in 1075 had decreed the transfer of all episcopal chairs to cities, [[Peter, Bishop of Lichfield]], removed his seat from Lichfield to Chester, and became known as Bishop of Chester. There he chose [[St John the Baptist's Church, Chester|The Collegiate Church of St. John the Baptist]] as his cathedral. The next bishop, however, transferred (1102) the see to Coventry on account of the rich monastery there, though he retained the episcopal palace at Chester. The [[Diocese of Coventry and Lichfield]] was of enormous extent, and it was probably found convenient to have something analogous to a cathedral at Chester, even though the ''cathedra'' itself were elsewhere; accordingly the church of St. John ranked as a cathedral for a considerable time, and had its own dean and chapter of secular canons down to the time of the Reformation.

The chief ecclesiastical foundation in Chester was the Benedictine [[monastery of St. Werburgh]], the great church of which finally became the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary. The site had been occupied even during the Christian period of the Roman occupation by a church dedicated to Saints Peter and Paul, and rededicated to St. Werburgh and St. Oswald during the Saxon period. The church was served by a small chapter of secular canons until 1093, when [[Hugh Lupus, Earl of Chester]], converted it into a major Benedictine monastery, in which foundation he had the co-operation of [[St. Anselm]], then Prior of Bec, who sent Richard, one of his monks, to be the first abbot. A new Norman church was built by him and his successors. The monastery, though suffering loss of property both by the depredations of the Welsh and the inroads of the sea, prospered, and in the thirteenth, fourteenth, and fifteenth centuries the monks transformed their Norman church into a gothic building which, though not be reckoned among the greatest cathedrals of England, yet is not unworthy of its rank, and affords a valuable study in the evolution of Gothic architecture. It has been said of it that "at every turn it is satisfying in small particulars and disappointing in great features". The last of the abbots was John, or Thomas, Clark, who resigned his abbey, valued at £1,003 5s. 11d. per annum, to the king.<ref>[[Wikisource:Catholic Encyclopedia (1913)/Chester]]</ref>

The diocese was created, during the [[English Reformation|Reformation]], on 14 August 1541<ref>{{Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae |periodlast=1541–1857|volume=11|startpage=33|endpage=34|author=Horn, Joyce M.; Smith,|first=Horn |last2=David M.; |first2=Smith |last3=Mussett, |first3=Patrick |period=1541–1857 |volume=11 |pages=33–34}}</ref> from the Chester archdeaconry of the [[Diocese of Lichfield and Coventry]], covering [[Cheshire]] and [[Lancashire]], and the [[Archdeacon of Richmond, Northand YorkshireCraven|Richmond]] Archdeaconry]] of the [[Diocese of York]].<ref name=elrington-page12>Elrington, C. R. (Ed.) (1980). p. 12.</ref> The diocese was originally formed as part of the [[Province of Canterbury]], but was quickly transferred to the [[Province of York]] later in the same year.<ref name=elrington-page12 /> The twenty deaneries of the new diocese were: Amounderness, Bangor, Blackburn, Boroughbridge, Catterick, Chester, Copeland, Frodsham, Furness, Kendal, Leyland, Lonsdale, Macclesfield, Malpas, Manchester, Middlewich, Nantwich, Richmond, Warrington, and Wirral. The deaneries as shown in the accompanying map, were established by 1224 and remained largely unchanged until the nineteenth century.<ref>Dunn, F. I. (1987). p. 8.</ref>

Starting in 1836, a series of boundary changes saw the diocese eventually greatly diminished in size so that its extent was almost the same as that of the [[ceremonial county]] of Cheshire as it existed just prior to 1974.<ref>Elrington, C. R. (Ed.) (1980). page 64.</ref><ref>Dunn, F. I. (1987). p. 9.</ref> A sequence of five major boundary changes to the diocese began. In 1836, the deaneries of Boroughbridge, Catterick, and Richmond, and half of the deanery of Lonsdale were taken from Chester to form part of the newly created [[Diocese of Ripon]] which also had parts taken from the [[Diocese of York]]. In 1847, the deaneries of Amounderness, Blackburn, Leyland, and Manchester, together with another large part of the deanery of Lonsdale and roughly one third of the deanery of Kendal were taken to form the then new [[Anglican Diocese of Manchester|Diocese of Manchester]].<ref>Later changes to the [[Anglican Diocese of Manchester|Diocese of Manchester]] led to part of it forming the [[Diocese of Blackburn]]</ref> Additionally, part of the deanery of Warrington ([[Leigh, Greater Manchester|Leigh]])<ref>Elrington, C. R. (1980) (Ed.) p. 63.</ref> was also transferred to this new Diocese of Manchester. At the same time, the deanery of Bangor was transferred to the [[Diocese of St. Asaph]]. This left the deaneries of Copeland, Furness, and the remaining parts of the deaneries of Kendal and Lonsdale detached from the main part of the diocese around Chester, provision was made to transfer these to the [[Diocese of Carlisle]], but this required the assent of the then [[Bishop of Carlisle]], or the appointment of a successor. In 1849, the part of the deanery of Chester that extended into [[Wales]] was transferred to the Diocese of St. Asaph. The detached deaneries in the north of Lancashire and in the [[Lake District]] were eventually transferred to the Diocese of Carlisle in 1856, on the appointment of [[Henry Montagu Villiers]] to the See.<ref>Bishop Henry Montagu Villiers was the successor to Bishop Percy (Elrington, C. R. (1980) (Ed.) page 63.)</ref> Finally, in 1880, the remaining part of the deanery of Warrington was used to create the new [[Anglican Diocese of Liverpool|Diocese of Liverpool]]. At that point, the Diocese of Chester had been reduced to its present size.<ref>Dunn, F. I. (1987). pp. 8–9.</ref><ref>Elrington, C. R. (Ed.) (1980). pages 63&ndash;6563–65.</ref><ref>[http://www.cofe.anglican.org/info/statistics/statsfiles/churchstatistics2002 Church of England Statistics 2002.] Retrieved 2008-02-15.</ref><ref>{{LondonGazetteLondon Gazette|issue=19427|startpagepages=1765|endpage=17681765–1768|date=7 October 1836|accessdate=2008-02-15}} Creation of the Diocese of Ripon</ref><ref>{{LondonGazetteLondon Gazette|issue=20265|startpage=3173|endpagepages=31743173–3174|date=29 September 1843|accessdate=2008-02-15}} Internal reorganisation of the Diocese of Chester prior to the creation of the Diocese of Manchester</ref><ref>{{LondonGazetteLondon Gazette|issue=20769|startpagepages=3157|endpage=31603157–3160|date=31 August 1847|accessdate=2008-02-15}} Creation of the Diocese of Manchester</ref>

The Bishop of Chester is assisted by two [[suffragan bishops]], the [[Bishop of BirkenheadStockport]] and the [[Bishop of StockportBirkenhead]].<ref name=whoswho>{{cite web |title=Who’s who? Bishops, Archdeacons and the Dean |publisher=Chester Diocese |url=http://www.chester.anglican.org/diocese/whoswhobp.htm |accessdateaccess-date=2008-07-14 |archiveurl archive-url= httphttps://web.archive.org/web/20080229013200/http://www.chester.anglican.org/diocese/whoswhobp.htm <!-- Bot retrieved |archive --> |archivedate date= 2008-02-29 |url-status=dead }}</ref> The suffragan See of Stockport was created in 1949 and was the sole suffragan bishopric in the diocese until the See of Birkenhead was created in 1965. Since 1994 the [[Bishop of Beverley]] (currently the Right Reverend [[Glyn Webster]], consecrated in 2013) has provided "[[alternative episcopal oversight]]" in this diocese (among eleven others in the Province of York) to those parishes which cannot in conscience accept the sacramental ministry of bishops who have participated in the ordination of women.

There are two archdeaconries, Chester and Macclesfield, which are further divided into 18 deaneries.<ref name=deaneries>{{cite web |title=Chester Diocese: Links |publisher=Chester Diocese |url=http://www.chester.anglican.org/diocese/links/ |accessdateaccess-date=2008-07-14 |archiveurl archive-url= httphttps://web.archive.org/web/20080224175035/http://www.chester.anglican.org/diocese/links/ <!-- Bot retrieved |archive --> |archivedate date= 2008-02-24 |url-status=dead }}</ref> There are consequently two archdeacons: the [[List of Archdeacons of Chester|Archdeacon of Chester]], the Venerable Michael Gilbertson, and the Archdeacon of Macclesfield, the Venerable IanJane BishopProudfoot. There is also the [[Dean of Chester]], currently the Very Reverend GordonTim McPhateStratford, who is primarily responsible for the running of the cathedral.<ref name=whoswho />

!'''Ecclesiastical Parishes/Parish Churches'''

|[[St John the Evangelist's Church, Byley|Byley-cum-Lees]], [[St Wilfrid's Church, Davenham|Davenham]], [[St Peter's Church, Delamere|Delamere]], [[St John the Baptist's Church, Hartford|Hartford]], [[St Peter's Church, Little Budworth|Little Budworth]], Lostock Gralam, [[St. Michael and All Angels, Middlewich|Middlewich]], [[St Stephen's Church, Moulton|Moulton]], [[Holy Trinity Church, Northwich|Northwich (Castle) Holy Trinity]], Northwich (Winnington) St Luke, [[St Chad's Church, Over|Over St Chad]], [[St John the Evangelist's Church, Winsford|Over St John]], [[St John the Evangelist's Church, Sandiway|Sandiway]], [[St Mary's Church, Weaverham|Weaverham]], Wharton, [[St Mary's Church, Whitegate|Whitegate]], [[St Helen Witton Church, Northwich|Witton (Northwich)]], [[Christ Church, Wharton]]

|Barnston, [[St Andrew's Church, Bebington|Bebington St Andrew]], Bebington Townfield Church, Frankby with Greasby, Great Meols, [[St Peter's Church, Heswall|Heswall]], [[Christ Church, Higher Bebington|Higher Bebington]], Hoylake, New Ferry, Newton West Kirby, [[St. Bartholomew's Church, Thurstaston|Thurstaston]], Upton (Overchurch), [[St Andrew's Church, West Kirby|West Kirby St Andrew]], [[St Bridget's Church, West Kirby|West Kirby St Bridget]], Poulton Lancelyn

The diocesan Bishop of Chester, [[PeterMark ForsterTanner]],<ref>{{Cite web|title=Diocese of Chester {{!}} Bishops|url=https://www.chester.anglican.org/diocese/bishops/|access-date=2020-11-05|website=www.chester.anglican.org}}</ref> is supported by two suffragan bishops: [[Keith Sinclair (bishop)|Keith Sinclair]],the [[Bishop of Birkenhead|Bishop suffragan of Birkenhead]] and ([[LibbyJulie LaneConalty]],) and the [[Bishop of Stockport|Bishop suffragan of Stockport]] ([[Sam Corley]]). [[Alternative episcopal oversight]] (AEO) for parishes in the diocese which do not accept ordination of women as priests) or bishops is provided by the [[provincial episcopal visitor]] (PEV) the [[Bishop of Beverley|Bishop suffragan of Beverley]], (currently [[GlynStephen WebsterRace]].), Hewhile AEO for conservative evangelical parishes is licensedprovided asby anthe [[honoraryBishop assistantof bishopEbbsfleet|Bishop suffragan of Ebbsfleet]] in(currently the[[Rob dioceseMunro (bishop)|Rob Munro]]). Besides Websterthe PEVs, there are five retired honorary assistant bishops licensed in the diocese:

*1997–present: [[WilliamWillie Pwaisiho]], a former [[Bishop of Malaita]], is now Rector of [[Gawsworth]].<ref>{{Crockford

| accessed = 1118 NovemberJune 20132016

| accessed = 1118 NovemberJune 20132016

| initials = GMGeoffrey Martin

| accessed = 1118 NovemberJune 20132016

| initials = JDJohn Donald

| id = 1596626374

| accessed = 1118 NovemberJune 20132016

| initials = GGGeoffrey Graham

| id = 1691027463

| accessed = 1118 NovemberJune 20132016

*{{cite book |editor-last=Elrington |editor-first=C. R. (Ed.) |year=1980 |title=The Victoria history of the county of Chester, Volume III |publisher=The University of London Institute of Historical Research (Oxford University Press)|location=Oxford|isbn=0-19-722754-6}}

{{Office holders in the Diocese of Chester}}

[[Category:DiocesesDiocese of theChester| Church of England|Chester]]

[[Category:DioceseReligious oforganizations Chester|established in the 1540s]]