Diocese of Chichester

Diocese of Chichester Church of England
Province:	Canterbury
counties:	Sussex
Chichester Cathedral
Bishop:	Martin Warner
Cathedral:	Chichester Cathedral
Organisation
Suffragan bishop(s):	Bishops of Horsham, Lewes
Archdeaconries:	Chichester, Horsham Lewes & Hastings
No. of parishes:	389
No. of churches:	515
Details
Website:	diochi.org.uk

The Diocese of Chichester is a Church of England diocese based in Chichester, covering Sussex. It is part of the Province of Canterbury.

The Diocese was created in 1075 to replace the old Diocese of Selsey, which was based at Selsey Abbey from 681.

Cathedral

The seat of the Bishop of Chichester is Chichester Cathedral; the Cathedral Church of the Holy Trinity.

Diocesan structure

The Bishop of Chichester has overall episcopal oversight of the diocese, but is primarily in charge of the Chichester Episcopal Area which covers Chichester and its environs and also Brighton and Hove.

The Bishop of Chichester is assisted by the Area Bishops of Horsham and Lewes who between them oversee the diocese. The Horsham Episcopal Area covers most of the west of the county apart from parishes under the Diocesan Bishop's direct oversight on the south coast. The Lewes Episcopal Area covers most of the east of the county.

The three archdeaconries of the diocese are Chichester, Horsham, and Lewes & Hastings. The Archdeaconry of Chichester covers the western end of the coastal towns, the Archdeaconry of Horsham the west of the county inland, and the Archdeaconry of Lewes and Hastings the east of the county.

The 21 deaneries of the diocese are:

Arundel and Bognor Battle and Bexhill Brighton Chichester Cuckfield Dallington Eastbourne

East Grinstead Hastings Horsham Hove Hurst Lewes and Seaford Midhurst

Petworth Rotherfield Rye Storrington Uckfield Westbourne Worthing

History

The Kingdom of Sussex remained steadfastly non-Christian until the arrival of Saint Wilfrid in 681 AD. Wilfrid built his cathedral church in Selsey, and dedicated it to Saint Peter. The original structure would have been made largely of wood. The stones from the old cathedral would have been used in the later church. Some stonework discovered in a local garden wall was believed to have come from the palm cross that stood outside the original cathedral, and is now integrated into the war memorial that is in the perimeter wall outside the church.

In 1066, William of Normandy landed at Hastings, in the diocese, and soon took the throne. He hastily replaced English clergy in favour of his own men; Stigand, Archbishop of Canterbury was replaced in 1070, while in Selsey King William's chaplain, also called Stigand, replaced Æthelric, and this Stigand appeared at the consecration of Lanfranc to Canterbury on 29 August 1070. He died in 1087, his successor, Godfrey William, died within the year, and was succeeded by Ralph de Luffa.

At the Council of London in 1075 the South Saxon see was transferred from Selsey to Chichester. The chronicler William of Malmesbury wrote that Chichester had a church dedicated to St Peter, as well as a convent, and the church might have become the first cathedral.

Chichester Cathedral according to tradition was begun by one of Stigand's successor's, Ralph de Luffa, but the architectural historian R. D. H. Gem argues it is possible that Stigand began the building of Chichester Cathedral,.[4] Tatton-Brown goes further by suggesting that "most of the first church was completed as far as the fourth bay in the nave by the time of Bishop Luffa".[5] The problem for historians is that virtually no legitimate charters or other documents survive from Stigand's time.[6] The loss of most of the documents has been attributed to the sacking of the cathedral by the Parliamentarians in 1642, during the English Civil war.[7]

The cathedral, probably planned during Stigand's tenure, consisted of an eight-bay nave with flanking western towers; however evidence from the fabric shows that only the eastern four bays were built in the first phase.[5]

The cathedral founded at Selsey was probably built, where the chancel of the old church still remains, at Church Norton . Selsey Abbey was the first seat of the South Saxon bishopric.

The seat was moved to Chichester in 1075 under William the Conqueror, and the Bishop of Selsey, Stigand, moved to his new seat to become the first Bishop of Chichester

Child protection scandal

In 2011 the Archbishop of Canterbury appointed an enquiry into the diocese, which discovered that over two decades, child abuse by some clergy had not been prevented by the diocese. Because of concerns that safeguarding still remained dysfunctional, Lambeth Palace took over the oversight of clergy appointments and the protection of children and vulnerable adults in the diocese. A previously judicial enquiry by Baroness Butler-Sloss had led to the conviction of a priest in 2008.

On 13 November 2012 two former clergy of the diocese, including the former Bishop of Lewes, Peter Ball, were arrested by police investigating allegations of child sex abuse in the 1980s and 1990s.

Bishops

The list of the Bishops of Chichester is as follows:

Pre-Reformation Bishops of Chichester
From	Until	Incumbent	Notes
1075	1087	Stigand	Hitherto Bishop of Selsey; died in office.
1088	1088	Godfrey	William; died in office.
1091	1123	Ralph de Luffa	Radulphus; died in office.
1125	1145	Seffrid (I)	Seffridus Pelochin; also Abbot of Glastonbury; deprived.
1147	1169	Hilary	Date of consecration sometimes given as 1133; previously unsuccessfully nominated for York; died in office.
1169	1173	See vacant
1173	1180	John of Greenford	John de Greenford; previously Dean of Chichester; died in office.
1180	1204	Seffrid (II)	Seffridus; died in office.
1204	1207	Simon of Wells	Simon Sutwell, Simon FitzRobert, Simon de Camera; died in office.
1209	1214	Nicholas de Aquila	Gilbert de l'Aigle; Dean of Chichester; election quashed.
1215	1217	Richard Poore	Previously Dean of Salisbury; translated to Salisbury then Durham.
1217	1222	Ranulf of Wareham	Ralph de Warham; previously Prior of Norwich; died in office.
1224	1244	Ralph Neville	Also Lord Chancellor; elected to Canterbury but rejected by the Pope; also unsuccessfully elected to Winchester; died in office.
1244		Robert Passelewe	Archdeacon of Lewes; Henry III's favoured candidate; election declared void by Pope Innocent IV.
1244	1253	Saint Richard	Richard de Wych; Archbishop Boniface's favoured candidate; election confirmed by Pope Innocent IV; died in office.
1253	1262	John Climping	John of Arundel; previously Chancellor of Chichester; died in office.
1262	1287	Stephen Bersted	Stephen of Pagham; died in office.
1288	1305	Gilbert of St Leonard	Gilbert de Sancto Leofardo; previously Treasurer of Chichester; died in office.
1305	1337	John Langton	Also Lord Chancellor; previous election to Ely quashed; died in office.
1337	1362	Robert de Stratford	Previously Archdeacon of Canterbury; also Lord Chancellor and Chancellor of the University of Oxford; died in office.
1362	1368	William Lenn	William Lullimore; previously Dean of Chichester; translated to Worcester.
1369	1385	William Reade	Previously Archdeacon of Rochester; died in office.
1386	1389	Thomas Rushhook	Thomas Rushocke; translated from Llandaff; exiled to Breifne.
1390	1395	Richard Mitford	Previously unsuccessfully elected to St David's; also Lord Treasurer of Ireland; translated to Salisbury.
1395	1396	Robert Waldby	Translated from Dublin; translated to York.
1396	1415	Robert Reed	Translated from Carlisle; died in office.
1417		Stephen Patrington	Translated from St David's; died immediately after appointment.
1418	1420	Henry Ware	Previously official to the Archbishop of Canterbury; died in office.
1421	1421	John Kemp	Translated from Rochester; translated to London.
1421	1426	Thomas Polton	Thomas Pulton; translated from Hereford; translated to Worcester.
1426	1429	John Rickingale	Chancellor of York; died in office.
1429		Thomas Brunce	Thomas Brouns; election quashed; later Bishop of Rochester then of Norwich.
1430	1438	Simon Sydenham	Simon Sidenham; died in office.
1438	1445	Richard Praty	Richard Pratty; also Chancellor of the University of Oxford.
1446	1450	Adam Moleyns	Adam Molins; previously Dean of Salisbury; also Lord Privy Seal; died in office.
1450	1459	Reginald Pecock	Reginald Peacock; translated from St Asaph; deprived for heresy.
1459	1477	John Arundel	Previously Archdeacon of Richmond.
1478	1503	Edward Story	Translated from Carlisle.
1503	1506	Richard FitzJames	Translated from Rochester; translated to London.
1508	1536	Robert Sherborne	Robert Sherburne; translated from St David's; resigned shortly before his death.
Bishops of Chichester during the Reformation
From	Until	Incumbent	Notes
1536	1543	Richard Sampson	Previously Dean of Lichfield; also Dean of St Paul's; translated to Lichfield & Coventry.
1543	1551	George Day	Provost of King's College, Cambridge; deprived by Edward VI.
1552	1553	John Scory	Translated from Rochester; deprived by Mary I; later Bishop of Hereford.
1553	1556	George Day (again)	Restored by Mary I; died in office.
1557	1558	John Christopherson	Previously Dean of Norwich; died in office.
Post-Reformation Bishops of Chichester
From	Until	Incumbent	Notes
1559	1568	William Barlow]]	Had been deposed by Mary from Bath and Wells (being married); died in office.
1570	1582	Richard Curteys	Richard Curtis; died in office.
1582	1586	See vacant
1586	1596	Thomas Bickley	Previously Warden of Merton College, Oxford.
1596	1605	Anthony Watson	Previously Lord High Almoner; also Dean of Bristol 1590–1598; died in office.
1605	1609	Lancelot Andrewes	Previously Master of Pembroke College, Cambridge; translated to Ely then Winchester.
1609	1619	Samuel Harsnett	Previously Archdeacon of Essex; translated to Norwich then York.
1619	1628	George Carleton	Translated from Llandaff; died in office.
1628	1638	Richard Montagu	Previously Archdeacon of Hereford; translated to Norwich.
1638	1641	Brian Duppa	Previously Dean of Christ Church, Oxford; translated to Salisbury.
1642	1646	Henry King	Previously Dean of Rochester; deprived of the see when bishops were abolished by Parliament on 9 October 1646.
1646	1660	The see was abolished during the Commonwealth and Protectorate.
1660	1669	Henry King (again)	Reinstated on the restoration of the episcopacy; died in office.
1670	1675	Peter Gunning	Previously Master of St John's College, Cambridge; also Regius Professor of Divinity 1661–1674; translated to Ely.
1675	1678	Ralph Brideoake	Previously Dean of Salisbury; died in office.
1679	1685	Guy Carleton	Translated from Bristol; died in office.
1685	1689	John Lake	Translated from Bristol; deprived as a non-juror.
1689	1691	Simon Patrick	Previously Dean of Peterborough; translated to Ely.
1691	1696	Robert Grove	Previously Archdeacon of Middlesex; died in office.
1696	1709	John Williams	Died in office.
1709	1722	Thomas Manningham	Previously Dean of Windsor; died in office.
1722	1724	Thomas Bowers	Also Archdeacon of Canterbury since 1721.
1724	1731	Edward Waddington	Died in office.
1731	1740	Francis Hare	Translated from St Asaph.
1740	1754	Matthias Mawson	Translated from Llandaff; translated to Ely.
1754	1797	Sir William Ashburnham, 4th Baronet	Previously Dean of Chichester.
1798	1824	John Buckner	Sometime Rector of St Giles, London; died in office.
1824	1831	Robert Carr	Previously Dean of Hereford; translated to Worcester.
1831	1836	Edward Maltby	Translated to Durham.
1836	1840	William Otter	Previously Principal of King's College, London; died in office.
1840	1842	Philip Shuttleworth	Previously Warden of New College, Oxford; died in office.
1842	1870	Ashurst Gilbert	Previously Principal of Brasenose College, Oxford; died in office.
1870	1895	Richard Durnford	Previously Archdeacon of Manchester; died in office.
1896	1907	Ernest Wilberforce	Translated from Newcastle; died in office.
1908	1919	Charles Ridgeway	Previously Dean of Carlisle.
1919	1929	Winfrid Burrows	Translated from Truro; died in office.
1929	1958	George Bell	Previously Dean of Canterbury; died in office.
1958	1974	Roger Wilson KCVO	Translated from Wakefield; retired.
1974	2001	Eric Kemp	Previously Dean of Worcester; retired and became "Bishop Emeritus of Chichester".
2001	2012	John Hind	Translated from Europe; retired.
2012		Martin Warner	Previously suffragan Bishop of Whitby.
Source(s):

Outside links

• Diocese of Chichester website

References

Sources

• "The South Saxon Diocese". http://www.stpeters-selsey.org.uk. Retrieved 5 April 2010. 
• "Church of England Statistics 2002". http://www.cofe.anglican.org/info/statistics/churchstatistics2002. Retrieved 1 June 2010. 
• "Diocese of Chichester Website". Diocese of Chichester. http://www.diochi.org.uk. Retrieved 19 Aug 2011. 
• "A Church Near You". Church of England. http://www.acny.org.uk. Retrieved 19 Aug 2011. 
• Tatton-Brown, Tim (1994). Mary Hobbs. ed. The Mediæval Fabric in Chichester Cathedral: An Historic Survey. Chichester: Phillimore. ISBN 0-85033-924-3.