Churches 353 | Parishes 292 | |
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The Diocese of Manchester is a Church of England diocese in the Province of York, England. Based in the city of Manchester, the diocese covers much of the county of Greater Manchester and small areas of the counties of Lancashire and Cheshire.
Contents
History
After passage of the Bishopric of Manchester Act 1847, the Diocese of Manchester was founded on 1 September 1847, having previously been part of the Diocese of Chester.
The diocese was founded in accordance with the Third Report of the Ecclesiastical Commissioners, appointed to consider the state of the Established Church in England and Wales, printed in 1836. It recommended the formation of the Bishopric of Manchester, and the Ecclesiastical Commissioners Act 1836 (6 and 7 William IV cap. 77) was passed that year whereby the King, by Order-in-Council was empowered to carry into effect the recommendations of the commissioners. It provided that the sees of St. Asaph and Bangor should be united on the next vacancy in either, and on that occurring the Bishop of Manchester should be created. The union of the sees never took place and, by the Ecclesiastical Commissioners Act 1847 (10 and 11 Vic. cap. 108) followed by an Order-in-Council, the bishopric was constituted.
The diocese originally covered the historic hundreds of Salford, Blackburn, Leyland and Amounderness and the Parish of Leigh, which lay in the hundred of West Derby. However, with the foundation of the Diocese of Blackburn in 1926, which took the three northern hundreds, Manchester was left with just the hundred of Salford and Leigh.The final boundary change to the diocese was by annexing Wythenshawe from the Diocese of Chester.
At the same time the diocese was founded, the collegiate church in Manchester was elevated to cathedral status to become the Cathedral Church of St Mary, St Denys and St George where the bishop's throne (cathedra) is located.
Bishops
The diocesan Bishop of Manchester, David Walker, is the ordinary of the diocese and is assisted throughout the diocese by Mark Davies, Bishop suffragan of Middleton, and a Bishop suffragan of Bolton (bishop-designate: Mark Ashcroft). Alternative episcopal oversight (for parishes in the diocese who reject the ministry of priests who are women) is provided by the provincial episcopal visitor (PEV) the Bishop suffragan of Beverley, Glyn Webster. He is licensed as an honorary assistant bishop of the diocese in order to facilitate his work there. Besides Webster, there are four retired honorary assistant bishops licensed in the diocese:
Archdeaconries and deaneries
The diocese is divided into four archdeaconries, each divided into a number of deaneries.
Archdeaconry of Manchester (created 1843)
Archdeaconry of Bolton (created 1982)
Archdeaconry of Rochdale (created 1910)
Archdeaconry of Salford (created 2009)
The first, and thus far only, Archdeacon of Salford, since 2009, is David Sharples.