Province of York

York Minster

The Province of York is one of two provinces making up the Church of England, the other being the Province of Canterbury. The Province of York consists of 14 dioceses which cover the northern third of England and also the Isle of Man.

The Archbishop of York acts also as the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York. His seat is York Minster, formally known as The Cathedral and Metropolitical Church of St Peter in York.

The province was created in 735 when Ecgbert Bishop of York was raised to the status of Archbishop. At one time, the Archbishops of York also claimed metropolitan authority over Scotland but these claims were disputed by the Scottish bishops in the Middle Ages and the claim ceased when the office of Archbishop of St Andrews was established to oversee the bishops of Scotland.

Dioceses

Arms of the Archbishop of York

The twelve dioceses overseen by the Province are:

Blackburn Carlisle Chester Durham Liverpool Manchester

Newcastle Leeds Sheffield Sodor and Man Southwell and Nottingham York

History

Roman

There was a bishop in York from very early Christian times. Bishops of York were present at the Councils of Arles and Nicaea. However, this early Christian community was later destroyed by the pagan English and there is no direct succession from these bishops to the post-Augustinian ones.

Early Middle Ages

The diocese is said to have been refounded by Paulinus, a member of Augustine's mission, in the 7th century. Notable among these early bishops is Wilfrid. These early bishops of York acted as diocesan bishops under Canterbury until the time of Ecgbert of York, who was elevated to become an Archbishop in 735 and established metropolitan rights in the north. Until the Danish invasion the archbishops of Canterbury occasionally exercised authority, and it was not till the Norman Conquest that the archbishops of York asserted their complete independence.

In the later Anglo-Saxon period it became usual for the See of York to be held in plurality with the Worcester, and sometimes Lichfield, and Lincoln, since the Norsemen had mae such depredations upon the estates formerly held by the Archbishops in earlier ages that they did not have sufficient income to maintain the Archbishop and his court in a proper state,

The dioceses in the Northern Isles and in Scotland were taken from York in 1072. In 1154 the suffragan sees of the Isle of Man and Orkney were transferred to the Norwegian archbishop of Nidaros (today's Trondheim), and in 1188 all the Scottish dioceses except Whithorn were released from subjection to York, so that only the dioceses of Whithorn, Durham and Carlisle remained to the Province. Of these, Durham was practically independent, for the palatine bishops of that see were little short of sovereigns in their own jurisdiction.

Several of the archbishops of York held the ministerial office of Lord Chancellor of England and played some parts in affairs of state. As Peter Heylyn (1600–1662) wrote: "This see has yielded to the Church eight saints, to the Church of Rome three cardinals, to the realm of England twelve Lord Chancellors and two Lord Treasurers, and to the north of England two Lord Presidents." The bishopric's role was also complicated by continued conflict over primacy with the see of Canterbury.

Reformation

At the time of the English Reformation, York possessed three suffragan sees, Durham, Carlisle and Sodor and Man and the new Diocese of Chester, founded by Henry VIII. At this time many of the secular rights belonging to the Archbishop were removed, though the Bishop of Durham's remarkable palatine jurisdiction remained for centuries.

Walter de Grey purchased York Place in London, which after the fall of Cardinal Thomas Wolsey, was renamed the Palace of Whitehall.

Industrial Revolution and after

The Industrial Revolution vastly increased the populations of the towns in County Durham, Lancashire and Yorkshire and the industrial centres on the Tyne in Durham and Northumberland. As a result several new dioceses were created to give today's total of fourteen.

In 2012 the Dioceses Commission decided that the number of dioceses in Yorkshire should be reduced, which decision is still (2013) being considered.

Archbishop of York

John Sentamu, Archbishop of York

The province's metropolitan bishop is the Archbishop of York, who also bears the title “Primate of England” (while his southern colleage in Caterbury is the “Primate of All England”, a formula derived from a mediæval compromise). York is the second of the Church’s archbishops, though amongst the bishops of the church they are considered “first amongst equals”.

The archbishop's throne is in York Minster in the heart of the City of York. His official residence is Bishopthorpe Palace in the village of Bishopthorpe, outside the city.

The Archbishop signs as Ebor., from the Latin name of York; Eboracum. (The current archbishop, John Sentamu signs not as "+John Ebor" but as as +Sentamu Ebor: since both "John" and "Sentamu" are Christian names.)

Anglo-Saxon Period

Bishops of York
From	Until	Incumbent	Notes
626	633	Paulinus	Formerly a monk at St. Andrew's Monastery in Rome; translated to Rochester; canonised.
633	664	Vacant
664	669	Chad of Mercia	Resigned the York; later became Bishop of Mercia and Lindsey; canonised.
664	678	Wilfrid (I)	Ejected from York; later became Bishop of Selsey; canonised.
678	706	Bosa	Canonised.
706	714	John of Beverley	Translated from Hexham; resigned the see; canonised in 1037.
714	732	Wilfrid (II)	Resigned the see; canonised.
c. 732	735	Ecgbert	York elevated to Archbishopric in 735.
Archbishops of York
From	Until	Incumbent	Notes
735	766	Ecgbert	York elevated to Archbishopric in 735.
c. 767	c. 780	Æthelbert	Also known as Æthelbeorht, Adalberht, Ælberht, Aelberht, Aldbert or Æthelbert.
c. 780	796	Eanbald (I)
796	c. 808	Eanbald (fl. 798) (II)
c. 808	c. 834	Wulfsige
837	854	Wigmund
854	c. 896	Wulfhere	Fled the Danes in 872, returned in 873.
900	c. 916	Æthelbald	Sometimes known as Æthelbeald, Athelbald, or Ethelbald.
c. 916	931	Hrotheweard	Sometimes known as Lodeward.
931	956	Wulfstan (I)
c. 958	971	Oscytel	Translated from Dorchester; also known as Oscytel.
971		Edwald	Also known as Edwaldus or Ethelwold.
971	992	Oswald of Worcester	Held both the sees of York and Worcester; canonised.
995	1000	Ealdwulf	Held both the sees of York and Worcester.
1002	1023	Wulfstan (II)	Held both the sees of York and Worcester until 1016.
1023	1041	Ælfric Puttoc	Held the sees of York and Worcester 1040–41; ejected from both in 1041.
1041	1042	Æthelric	Elected Archbishop in 1041, but was quashed in 1042.
1042	1051	Ælfric Puttoc (again)	Restored to York only.
1051	1060	Cynesige	Also known as Kynsige.
1061	1069	Ealdred	Held the see of Worcester 1046-61, of Hereford 1056-60, and of York 1061-69; also known as Aldred.
Source(s): Crockfords

Conquest to Reformation

Archbishops of York (Conquest to Reformation)
From	Until	Incumbent	Notes
1070	1100	Thomas of Bayeux	Also known as Thomas (I).
1100	1108	Gerard	Hereford.
1109	1114	Thomas (II)
1119	1140	Thurstan	He was elected in 1114, but wasn't consecrated until 1119.
1140		Waltheof of Melrose	Nominated Archbishop, but was quashed by King Stephen; later became Abbot of Melrose.
1140		Henry de Sully	Abbot of Fécamp Abbey. Nominated Archbishop, but was quashed by Pope Innocent II.
1143	1147	William (FitzHerbert)	Deposed by Pope Eugene III; canonised in 1226.
1147	1147	Hilary of Chichester	Chichester.
1147	1153	Henry Murdac	Formerly Abbot of Fountains Abbey.
1153	1154	William (FitzHerbert) (again)	Restored by Pope Anastasius IV; canonised in 1226.
1154	1181	Roger de Pont L'Évêque	Formerly Archdeacon of Canterbury.
1191	1212	Geoffrey (Plantagenet)	Formerly Bishop-elect of Lincoln; elected Archbishop in 1189, but only consecrated in 1191.
1215		Simon Langton	Elected Archbishop of York in June 1215, but was quashed on 20 August 1215 by Pope Innocent III on request from King John; later Archdeacon of Canterbury.
1216	1255	Walter de Gray	Translated from Worcester.
1256	1258	Sewal de Bovil	Formerly Dean of York.
1258	1265	Godfrey Ludham	Formerly Dean of York; also known as Godfrey Kineton.
1265		William Langton	Dean of York (1262–1279); elected Archbishop in March 1265, but was quashed in November 1265.
1265	1266	Bonaventure	Selected as Archbishop in November 1265, but never consecrated and resigned the appointment in October 1266.
1266	1279	Walter Giffard	Translated from Bath and Wells.
1279	1285	William de Wickwane
1286	1296	John le Romeyn	Also known as John Romanus.
1298	1299	Henry of Newark	Formerly Dean of York.
1300	1304	Thomas of Corbridge
1306	1315	William Greenfield	Formerly Dean of Chichester
1317	1340	William Melton
1342	1352	William Zouche	Also known as William de la Zouche.
1353	1373	Cardinal John of Thoresby	Translated from Worcester; created a cardinal in 1361.
1374	1388	Alexander Neville	St Andrew's in 1388.
1388	1396	Thomas Arundel	Translated from Ely; translated to Canterbury.
1397	1398	Robert Waldby	Chichester.
1398	1398	Walter Skirlaw	Bishop of Durham, elected but put aside by King Richard II.
1398	1405	Richard le Scrope	Translated from Lichfield.
1405	1406	Thomas Langley	Elected Archbishop in August 1405, but was quashed in May 1406.
1406	1407	Robert Hallam	Nominated Archbishop in May 1406 by Pope Innocent VII, but vetoed by King Henry IV.
1407	1423	Henry Bowet	Translated from Bath and Wells.
1423	1424	Philip Morgan	Elected Archbishop in 1423, but was quashed in 1424.
1424	1425	Richard Fleming	Conferred as Archbishop by Pope Martin V, but was refused by King Henry V, and Fleming resigned the appointment in July 1425.
1426	1452	Cardinal John Kemp	Translated from London; created a cardinal in 1439; translated to Canterbury.
1452	1464	William Booth	Translated from Lichfield.
1465	1476	George Neville	Translated from Exeter.
1476	1480	Lawrence Booth	Translated from Durham.
1480	1500	Thomas Rotherham	Translated from Lincoln.
1501	1507	Thomas Savage	Translated from London.
1508	1514	Cardinal Christopher Bainbridge	Translated from Durham; created a cardinal in 1511.
1514	1530	Cardinal Thomas Wolsey	Translated from Lincoln in 1514; created a Cardinal in 1515; held with Bath and Wells 1518-23, Durham 1523-29 and Winchester 1529-30.
Source(s): Crockfords

Archbishops from the Reformation

Post-Reformation Archbishops of York
From	Until	Incumbent	Notes
1531	1544	Edward Lee	Translated from St David's.
1545	1554	Robert Holgate	Translated from Llandaff.
1555	1559	Nicholas Heath	Translated from Worcester.
1561	1568	Thomas Young	Translated from St David's.
1570	1576	Edmund Grindal	Translated from London; translated to Canterbury.
1577	1588	Edwin Sandys	Translated from London.
1589	1594	John Piers	Translated from Salisbury.
1595	1606	Matthew Hutton	Translated from Durham.
1606	1628	Tobias Matthew	Translated from Durham.
1628		George Montaigne	Translated from Durham.
1629	1631	Samuel Harsnett	Translated from Norwich.
1632	1640	Richard Neile	Translated from Winchester.
1641	1650	John Williams	Translated from Lincoln.
1650	1660	Vacant
1660	1664	Accepted Frewen	Translated from Lichfield.
1664	1683	Richard Sterne	Translated from Carlisle.
1683	1686	John Dolben	Translated from Rochester.
1688	1691	Thomas Lamplugh	Translated from Exeter.
1691	1714	John Sharp	Formerly Dean of Canterbury.
1714	1724	Sir William Dawes Bt	Translated from Chester.
1724	1743	Lancelot Blackburne	Translated from Exeter.
1743	1747	Thomas Herring	Translated from Bangor; translated to Canterbury.
1747	1757	Matthew Hutton	Translated from Bangor; translated to Canterbury.
1757	1761	John Gilbert	Translated from Salisbury.
1761	1776	The Hon Robert Hay Drummond	Translated from Salisbury.
1776	1807	William Markham	Translated from Chester.
1808	1847	The Hon Edward Venables-Vernon from 1831: The Hon Edward Venables-Vernon-Harcourt	Translated from Carlisle.
1847	1860	Thomas Musgrave	Translated from Hereford.
1860	1862	Charles Longley	Translated from Durham; translated to Canterbury.
1862	1890	William Thomson	Translated from Gloucester.
1891		William Magee	Translated from Peterborough.
1891	1908	William Maclagan	Translated from Lichfield.
1909	1928	Cosmo Gordon Lang	Former Suffragan Bishop of Stepney; translated to Canterbury.
1929	1942	William Temple	Translated from Manchester; translated to Canterbury.
1942	1955	Cyril Garbett	Translated from Winchester.
1956	1961	Michael Ramsey	Translated from Durham; translated to Canterbury.
1961	1974	Donald Coggan	Translated from Bradford; translated to Canterbury.
1975	1983	Stuart Blanch	Translated from Liverpool.
1983	1995	John Habgood	Translated from Durham.
1995	2005	David Hope	Translated from London.
2005	present	John Sentamu	Translated from Birmingham.
Source(s): Crockfords

Suffragan

The Bishop of Beverley is the Provincial Episcopal Visitor in the Province, popularly known as a "flying bishop". It is his role to minister to parishes which reject the ordination of wonen as priests.

See also

• Province of Canterbury

Outside links

• Official Website
• "Archbishop talks Britishness and forgiveness"

References

Books

Story, Joanna (August 2012). "Bede, Willibrord and the Letters of Pope Honorius I on the Genesis of the Archbishopric of York". English Historical Review cxxvii (527): 783-818.