Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut
Encyclopedia
Diocese
A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...
of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, encompassing the entire state of Connecticut
Connecticut
Connecticut is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, and the state of New York to the west and the south .Connecticut is named for the Connecticut River, the major U.S. river that approximately...
. It is one of the nine original dioceses of the Episcopal Church
Dioceses of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America
The Episcopal Church is governed by a General Convention and consists of 100 dioceses in the United States proper, plus ten dioceses in other countries or outlying U.S. territories and the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, which is similar to a diocese....
and one of seven New England
New England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
dioceses that make up Province 1
Province 1 of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America
Province 1 is one of nine ecclesiastical provinces making up the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. It is composed of the seven dioceses of New England, includes both the largest diocese and the oldest diocese in the Episcopal Church.-Dioceses of Province I:*Diocese of...
.
Its first bishop, Samuel Seabury
Samuel Seabury
Samuel Seabury was the first American Episcopal bishop, the second Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, USA, and the first Bishop of Connecticut. He had been a leading Loyalist in New York City during the American Revolution.-History:Samuel Seabury was born in Groton, Connecticut in 1729...
, was the first Anglican
Anglicanism
Anglicanism is a tradition within Christianity comprising churches with historical connections to the Church of England or similar beliefs, worship and church structures. The word Anglican originates in ecclesia anglicana, a medieval Latin phrase dating to at least 1246 that means the English...
bishop with a see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
outside the British Isles
British Isles
The British Isles are a group of islands off the northwest coast of continental Europe that include the islands of Great Britain and Ireland and over six thousand smaller isles. There are two sovereign states located on the islands: the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and...
. Anglican services have been conducted in the diocese since 1702, but the first diocesan convention did not take place until after the diocese was organized, having been convened by Bishop Seabury in 1785.
The cathedra
Cathedra
A cathedra or bishop's throne is the chair or throne of a bishop. It is a symbol of the bishop's teaching authority in the Catholic Church and the Orthodox Church, and has in some sense remained such in the Anglican Communion and in Lutheran churches...
of the bishop is at Christ Church Cathedral (45 Church Street) in the see
Episcopal See
An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to as the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral...
city of Hartford
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
. Diocesan offices are at 1335 Asylum Avenue, Hartford. There are 177 parishes in the diocese, with about 68,500 baptized members. One of Connecticut's well-known bishops was the Right Reverend Walter Henry Gray, who served as the first chairman of the Civil Rights Commission in Connecticut. Bishop Gray also played a leading role at two meetings of the Lambeth Conferences.
The Rt. Rev. Dr. Ian T. Douglas, elected 15th bishop of the diocese on October 24, 2009, was consecrated at the Koeppel Center of Trinity College on April 17, 2010, at a service at which the preacher was the Most Rev. Desmond Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town. He was seated at Christ Church Cathedral the following day. Douglas is the first priest ever to be elected from outside the diocese, and at the time of his election was Angus Dun Professor of Mission and World Christianity at Episcopal Divinity School
Episcopal Divinity School
The Episcopal Divinity School is a seminary of the Episcopal Church based in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Known throughout the Anglican Communion for prophetic teaching and action on issues of civil rights and social justice, its faculty and students have been directly involved in many of the social...
in Cambridge
Cambridge, Massachusetts
Cambridge is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States, in the Greater Boston area. It was named in honor of the University of Cambridge in England, an important center of the Puritan theology embraced by the town's founders. Cambridge is home to two of the world's most prominent...
, Massachusetts, and associate priest at St. James’s Church, Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Bishop Douglas is assisted by two Bishops Suffragan, the Rt. Rev. James E. Curry (2000-) and the Rt. Rev. Dr. Laura Ahrens (2007-). Bishop Ahrens was the first woman to be elected bishop in Connecticut and was consecrated on June 30, 2007 at Woolsey Hall, Yale University, New Haven.
Bishops of Connecticut
| Honorific & Name | Dates | |
|---|---|---|
| 1st | The Rt. Rev. Samuel Seabury | 1784-1796 |
| 2nd | The Rt. Rev. Abraham Jarvis Abraham Jarvis Abraham Jarvis was the second American Episcopal bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut and eighth in succession of bishops in the Episcopal Church. He was a high churchman and a loyalist to the crown.... |
1797-1813 |
| 3rd | The Rt. Rev. Thomas Church Brownell Thomas Church Brownell Thomas Church Brownell was founder of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, and Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church from 1852 until his death.... |
1819-1865 |
| 4th | The Rt. Rev. John Williams | 1865-1899 (Coadjutor Bishop 1851-1865) |
| 5th | The Rt. Rev. Chauncey Bunce Brewster Chauncey Bunce Brewster The Right Reverend Chauncey Bunce Brewster was the fifth Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut.He was consecrated as Bishop Coadjutor on October 28, 1897, and served as diocesan bishop from 1899 to 1928.-External link:... |
1899-1928 (Coadjutor Bishop 1927-1928) |
| 6th | The Rt. Rev. Edward C. Acheson | 1928-1934 (Coadjutor Bishop, 1926-1928) |
| 7th | The Rt. Rev. Frederick G. Budlong | 1931-1954 (Coadjutor Bishop, 1931) |
| 8th | The Rt. Rev. Walter Henry Gray | 1951-1969 (Coadjutor Bishop 1945-1951) |
| 9th | The Rt. Rev. John Henry Esquirol John Henry Esquirol The Right Reverend John Henry Esquirol was a bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut. He was consecrated suffragan bishop on April 9, 1958, and served briefly as the ninth diocesan bishop.-External link:... |
1971 |
| 10th | The Rt. Rev. J. Warren Hutchens | 1971-1977 |
| 11th | The Rt. Rev. Morgan Porteus | 1977-1981 (Coadjutor Bishop 1976-1977) |
| 12th | The Rt. Rev. Arthur Edward Walmsley | 1981-1993 (Coadjutor Bishop, 1979-1981) |
| 13th | The Rt. Rev. Clarence Nicholas Coleridge | 1993-1999 |
| 14th | The Rt. Rev. Andrew Donnan Smith | 1999-2010 |
| 15th | The Rt. Rev. Dr. Ian T. Douglas | 2010- |
Suffragan Bishops
- The Rt. Rev. Edward C. Acheson, Suffragan Bishop, 1915-1926 (subsequently Coadjutor Bishop 1926-1928 and 6th Bishop of Connecticut 1928-1934)
- The Rt. Rev. Walter Henry Gray, Suffragan Bishop, 1940-1945 (subsequently Coadjutor Bishop 1945-1951 and 8th Bishop of Connecticut 1951-1969)
- The Rt. Rev. Robert M. Hatch, Suffragan Bishop, 1951-1957
- The Rt. Rev. John Henry EsquirolJohn Henry EsquirolThe Right Reverend John Henry Esquirol was a bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut. He was consecrated suffragan bishop on April 9, 1958, and served briefly as the ninth diocesan bishop.-External link:...
, Suffragan Bishop 1958-1971 - The Rt. Rev. J. Warren Hutchens, Suffragan Bishop 1961-1971
- The Rt. Rev. Morgan Porteus, Suffragan Bishop 1971-1976 (subsequently Coadjutor Bishop 1976-1977 and 11th Bishop of Connecticut 1977-1983)
- The Rt. Rev. W. Bradford Hastings, Suffragan Bishop 1981-1986
- The Rt. Rev. Clarence Nicholas Coleridge, Suffragan Bishop 1981-1993 (subsequently 13th Bishop of Connecticut 1993-1999)
- The Rt. Rev. Jeffrey William Rowthorn, Suffragan Bishop 1987-1993
- The Rt. Rev. Andrew Donnan Smith, Suffragan Bishop 1996-1999 (subsequently 14th Bishop of Connecticut 1999-2010)
- The Rt. Rev. James E. Curry, Suffragan Bishop, 2000-
- The Rt. Rev. Dr. Laura Jean Ahrens, Suffragan Bishop, 2007-
See also
- List of Succession of Bishops for the Episcopal Church, USASuccession of Bishops of the Episcopal Church in the United StatesThis list consists of the bishops in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, an independent province of the Anglican Communion. This shows the historic succession of the episcopate within this denomination.-Key to chart:...