Diocese of York

Diocese of York Church of England
Province:	York
Arms of the Bishop of York
York Minster from the city walls
Bishop:	John Sentamu, Archbishop of York
Cathedral:	York Minster
Organisation
Suffragan bishop(s):	Bishops of Beverley, Whitby, Selby, Hull
No. of parishes:	472
No. of churches:	607
Details
Website:	dioceseofyork.org.uk

The Diocese of York is the largest diocese in the Province of York, the northern province of the Church of England. The diocese covers The eastern part of Yorkshire, including the City of York, the eastern parts of the North Riding of Yorkshire, and the East Riding of Yorkshire.

The diocesan bishop is the Archbishop of York, who also presides over the province. The cathedral of the Diocese is York Minster in the heart of York. The archbishop is assisted by three suffragan bishops, one of whom, the Bishop of Beverley, is the provincial episcopal visitor, or "flying bishop" ministering to parishes which reject the institution of women to the priesthood.

The Diocese of York is divided into three archdeaconries, each of which has an archdeacon: Cleveland in the north (served by the Bishop of Whitby), the East Riding (served by the Bishop of Hull), and in the south-west the Archdeaconry of York (served by the Bishop of Selby).

History

York is one of the oldest of the dioceses in the Church of England, dating from the first missionary activities of the Anglo-Saxon period. The first Bishop of York, from 626 to 633, was Paulinus, who came as part of St Augustine's mission. In 735, Ecgbryht was elevated from Bishop to Archbishop, and that title has remained ever since.

The diocese was originally much larger, covering the whole of Yorkshire and much of the neighbouring counties to the south and west. In the Henrician Reformation, in 1541, the Archdeaconery of Richmond, which included part of the Yorkshire Dales, Northern Lancashire, the Barony of Kendal (the southern part of Westmorland) and Allerdale above Derwent in Cumberland, became part of the new Diocese of Chester. This diocese was later further divided.

In 1836 the western part of York (corresponding broadly to the West Riding) was split into the Diocese of Ripon, which was later divided into the dioceses of Ripon (later Ripon and Leeds), Bradford, and Wakefield, though these have since been reunited as the Diocese of Leeds.

In 1884, Nottinghamshire and Derbyshire became part of the new Diocese of Southwell, from which Derbyshire was split off again in 1927 to form the Diocese of Derby. In 1914 the Diocese of Sheffield (covering the southern part of Yorkshire) was split off as an independent diocese.

Bishops

(See Province of York#Archbishops.)

Outside links

• Diocese of York

References

• Church of England Statistics 2002