Ecclesiastical province York Parishes 133 Cathedral Bradford Cathedral | Archdeaconries Bradford, Craven Churches 166 | |
Established 25 November 1919 (1919-11-25)–20 April 2014 (2014-04-20) | ||
The Diocese of Bradford is a former Church of England diocese within the Province of York. The Diocese covered the area of the City of Bradford, Craven district and the former Sedbergh Rural District now in Cumbria. The seat of the episcopal see was Bradford Cathedral and the bishop was the diocesan Bishop of Bradford.
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The diocese was founded on 25 November 1919 from part of the Diocese of Ripon and dissolved in the creation of the Diocese of Leeds on 20 April 2014. The church of Saint Peter was elevated to cathedral status in 1919.
Bishops
The diocesan Bishop of Bradford had no suffragan bishops. Immediately prior to its dissolution, alternative episcopal oversight (for parishes in the diocese who reject the ministry of priests who are women) was provided by the provincial episcopal visitor (PEV) the Bishop suffragan of Beverley (then Glyn Webster.) He was licensed as an honorary assistant bishop of the diocese in order to facilitate his work there. Besides Webster, there were two retired honorary assistant bishops licensed in the diocese:
Future
On 2 March 2013, the diocesan synod voted in favour of proposals to abolish the diocese in order to create a larger Leeds diocese; the proposal was approved on 8 July 2013 by the General Synod and the scheme was enacted, dissolving Bradford diocese and creating Leeds diocese, on 20 April.