Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts
Encyclopedia
Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts
The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts is one of the nine original dioceses of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America
.
Massachusetts
was founded by Puritan
s who did not accept such aspects of the Church of England
as bishop
s and the Book of Common Prayer
. The first Anglican
parish in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
was King's Chapel
in Boston
, founded in 1688, 58 years after the city. After the American Revolution
, King's Chapel became the first Unitarian
congregation in North America
. The oldest remaining parishes in the diocese
are Christ Church
in Quincy
, founded in 1704, St. Michael's Church
in Marblehead, founded in 1714, Christ Church in Boston
(Old North Church
), founded in 1723, and St. Andrew's Church
in South Scituate (now Hanover
), founded in 1727.
The diocese was organized in 1784, five years before the Episcopal Church itself. The first bishop (for New England and New York) was Samuel Seabury who was consecrated by the bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church in 1784.
Today, it is one of the largest dioceses in the ECUSA in terms of membership. It encompasses the eastern part of Massachusetts, specifically, east of Worcester County
.
The diocese was the first in the Anglican Communion
to consecrate a woman bishop. Barbara Harris
became bishop suffragan of the diocese in 1989.
The current diocesan bishop is the Right Reverend M. Thomas Shaw
, SSJE
. He was consecrated bishop coadjutor
in 1994 and succeeded David Johnson upon the latter's death in January 1995.
Historically, the diocese has been considered Low Church
; however, there are a number of Anglo-Catholic
parishes, the most notable of which is the Church of the Advent in Boston. Its best-known Low Church parish is Trinity Church
in Boston's Copley Square
.
Te diocesan offices are located at 138 Tremont Street, adjacent to the Cathedral Church of St. Paul
.
The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts is one of the nine original dioceses of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America
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....
.
Massachusetts
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
was founded by Puritan
Puritan
The Puritans were a significant grouping of English Protestants in the 16th and 17th centuries. Puritanism in this sense was founded by some Marian exiles from the clergy shortly after the accession of Elizabeth I of England in 1558, as an activist movement within the Church of England...
s who did not accept such aspects of the Church of England
Church of England
The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...
as bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
s and the Book of Common Prayer
Book of Common Prayer
The Book of Common Prayer is the short title of a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion, as well as by the Continuing Anglican, "Anglican realignment" and other Anglican churches. The original book, published in 1549 , in the reign of Edward VI, was a product of the English...
. 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...
parish in the Massachusetts Bay Colony
Massachusetts Bay Colony
The Massachusetts Bay Colony was an English settlement on the east coast of North America in the 17th century, in New England, situated around the present-day cities of Salem and Boston. The territory administered by the colony included much of present-day central New England, including portions...
was King's Chapel
King's Chapel
King's Chapel is "an independent Christian unitarian congregation affiliated with the Unitarian Universalist Association" that is "unitarian Christian in theology, Anglican in worship, and congregational in governance." It is housed in what was formerly called "Stone Chapel", an 18th century...
in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, founded in 1688, 58 years after the city. After the American Revolution
American Revolution
The American Revolution was the political upheaval during the last half of the 18th century in which thirteen colonies in North America joined together to break free from the British Empire, combining to become the United States of America...
, King's Chapel became the first Unitarian
Unitarianism
Unitarianism is a Christian theological movement, named for its understanding of God as one person, in direct contrast to Trinitarianism which defines God as three persons coexisting consubstantially as one in being....
congregation in North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
. The oldest remaining parishes in the diocese
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...
are Christ Church
Christ Church (Quincy, Massachusetts)
Christ Church is a historic church building at 12 Quincy Avenue in Quincy, Massachusetts. It is a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts.The parish was founded in 1704 and is among the oldest in the Diocese....
in Quincy
Quincy, Massachusetts
Quincy is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. Its nicknames are "City of Presidents", "City of Legends", and "Birthplace of the American Dream". As a major part of Metropolitan Boston, Quincy is a member of Boston's Inner Core Committee for the Metropolitan Area Planning Council...
, founded in 1704, St. Michael's Church
St. Michael's Church (Marblehead, Massachusetts)
St. Michael's Church is a historic Episcopal church at 26 Pleasant Street in Marblehead, Massachusetts. It is New England's oldest Episcopal church building on its original site....
in Marblehead, founded in 1714, Christ Church in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
(Old North Church
Old North Church
Old North Church , at 193 Salem Street, in the North End of Boston, is the location from which the famous "One if by land, and two if by sea" signal is said to have been sent...
), founded in 1723, and St. Andrew's Church
St. Andrew's Church
St. Andrew's Church, Church of St Andrew, or variants thereof, may refer to:- Africa :* St. Andrew's United Church in Cairo, Egypt* Church of Saint Andrew, Tangier, Morocco- Asia :* St. Andrew's Church , Hong Kong...
in South Scituate (now Hanover
Hanover, Massachusetts
Hanover is a town in Plymouth County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 13,164 at the 2000 census.-History:The area of Hanover was first settled by English settlers in 1649 when William Barstow, a farmer, built a bridge along the North River at what is now Washington Street...
), founded in 1727.
The diocese was organized in 1784, five years before the Episcopal Church itself. The first bishop (for New England and New York) was Samuel Seabury who was consecrated by the bishops of the Scottish Episcopal Church in 1784.
Today, it is one of the largest dioceses in the ECUSA in terms of membership. It encompasses the eastern part of Massachusetts, specifically, east of Worcester County
Worcester County, Massachusetts
-Demographics:In 1990 Worcester County had a population of 709,705.As of the census of 2000, there were 750,963 people, 283,927 households, and 192,502 families residing in the county. The population density was 496 people per square mile . There were 298,159 housing units at an average density...
.
The diocese was the first in the Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is an international association of national and regional Anglican churches in full communion with the Church of England and specifically with its principal primate, the Archbishop of Canterbury...
to consecrate a woman bishop. Barbara Harris
Barbara Clementine Harris
Barbara Clementine Harris was the first woman ordained a bishop in the Anglican Communion.-Education:...
became bishop suffragan of the diocese in 1989.
The current diocesan bishop is the Right Reverend M. Thomas Shaw
M. Thomas Shaw
Marvil Thomas Shaw III, SSJE is a bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church. He is the fifteenth and current Bishop of Massachusetts.-Biography:...
, SSJE
Society of St. John the Evangelist
The Society of St John the Evangelist is an Anglican religious order for men. The members live under a rule of life and, at profession, make monastic vows of poverty, celibacy and obedience. The SSJE was founded in 1866 at Cowley, Oxford, England, by the Father Richard Meux Benson, a priest in the...
. He was consecrated bishop coadjutor
Coadjutor bishop
A coadjutor bishop is a bishop in the Roman Catholic or Anglican churches who is designated to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese, almost as co-bishop of the diocese...
in 1994 and succeeded David Johnson upon the latter's death in January 1995.
Historically, the diocese has been considered Low Church
Low church
Low church is a term of distinction in the Church of England or other Anglican churches initially designed to be pejorative. During the series of doctrinal and ecclesiastic challenges to the established church in the 16th and 17th centuries, commentators and others began to refer to those groups...
; however, there are a number of Anglo-Catholic
Anglo-Catholicism
The terms Anglo-Catholic and Anglo-Catholicism describe people, beliefs and practices within Anglicanism that affirm the Catholic, rather than Protestant, heritage and identity of the Anglican churches....
parishes, the most notable of which is the Church of the Advent in Boston. Its best-known Low Church parish is Trinity Church
Trinity Church, Boston
Trinity Church in the City of Boston, located in the Back Bay of Boston, Massachusetts, is a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. The congregation, currently standing at approximately 3,000 households, was founded in 1733. The current rector is The Reverend Anne Bonnyman...
in Boston's Copley Square
Copley Square
Copley Square is a public square located in the Back Bay neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, named for the donor of the land on which it was developed. The square is named for John Singleton Copley, a famous portrait painter of the late 18th century and native of Boston. A bronze statue of...
.
- The seeEpiscopal SeeAn 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 is Boston. - The Episcopal Divinity SchoolEpiscopal Divinity SchoolThe 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...
is located in the diocese. Many of the diocese's clergyClergyClergy is the generic term used to describe the formal religious leadership within a given religion. A clergyman, churchman or cleric is a member of the clergy, especially one who is a priest, preacher, pastor, or other religious professional....
are alumni of EDS. - List of Bishops in the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts
Te diocesan offices are located at 138 Tremont Street, adjacent to the Cathedral Church of St. Paul
Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston
The Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston is the historic cathedral church of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. Located at 138 Tremont Street near Downtown Crossing, directly across from Boston Common and Park Street Station, the cathedral is adjacent to the diocesan offices. The current dean...
.
External links
- Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts - official website