Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic | |
|---|---|
 The Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic headquarters is located at All Saints' Church in Dale City, Virginia. | |
| Location | |
| Ecclesiastical province | Anglican Church in North America |
| Statistics | |
| Parishes | 41 (2024)[1] |
| Members | 8,540 (2024)[1] |
| Information | |
| Rite | Anglican |
| Current leadership | |
| Bishop | Christopher Warner |
| Website | |
| Anglican Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic | |
TheDiocese of the Mid-Atlantic is anAnglican Church in North America diocese, encompassing Virginia, Maryland, Washington, D.C., and northeastern North Carolina, with 38 congregations, including several church plantings.[2] The diocese was originally organized in 2006 as theAnglican District of Virginia when a group of Virginian congregations withdrew from theEpiscopal Church. It achieved diocesan status on June 21, 2011.[3]
The Anglican District of Virginia was organized on December 17, 2006, by nine congregations that broke away from theEpiscopal Diocese of Virginia. These congregations voted overwhelmingly to leave the Episcopal Church and formed the Anglican District of Virginia as part of theConvocation of Anglicans in North America (CANA), a ministry to Nigerian Anglicans living in North America that had also become an agent ofAnglican realignment. The district was led byMartyn Minns, the Missionary Bishop of CANA.
The founding congregations were:
A tenth congregation that had broken from theEpiscopal Diocese of Southern Virginia in October 2006, Church of the Messiah inChesapeake, also later joined the district.
With the creation of the Anglican Church in North America in 2009, the Anglican District became a part of the newprovince while it continued to maintain its relationship with CANA. In May 2011, the district held a constitutional convention in Herndon, Virginia, where it voted to apply for formal diocesan status within ACNA and electedJohn Guernsey, USA Bishop of the Ugandan Diocese of North Kigezi and former rector of All Saints Church in Dale City, Virginia, as its first bishop.[4] The Anglican Church's provincial council approved its admission as a diocese on June 21.[3] Guernsey took office on September 10, 2011.[5]
Church of the Word retained its property and rejoined DOMA in April 2016. In July 2021, Church of the Word changed its name to St. Thomas Anglican Church. In 2021, the historicChrist Church inAccokeek, Maryland, disaffiliated from theEpiscopal Diocese of Washington and joined DOMA while retaining its property.[6]
On October 15, 2022,Christopher Warner was selected as bishop-elect to succeed Guernsey. He was consecrated and invested in February 2023.[7]
In September 2023, Warner ordered an investigation into allegations of sexual misconduct against a youth minister who had been employed byThe Falls Church Episcopal in the 1990s and early 2000s. The independent inquiry concluded that the youth minister “engaged in sexual abuse of students who participated in the youth program while he was employed.” At the conclusion of the investigation, Warner took the unusual step of publicly announcing that he had issued "Godly Admonitions" against the former and current rectors ofThe Falls Church Anglican, criticizing them for failing to investigate the allegations when first informed.[8]
In May 2025, Warner became the subject of misconduct allegations at Incarnation Anglican Church in Williamsburg, Virginia involving purported abuse of ecclesiastical power and imposition of religious beliefs concerning theordination of women. DOMA responded to the allegations in August by assuring that Warner was not the subject of any disciplinary actions or investigation by the Provincial Office of theACNA.[9][10][11]
In October, Warner issued a statement responding to allegations reported on byThe Washington Post that thearchbishop of the ACNA,Steve Wood, had forcibly touched and attempted to kiss a female staff member in his office after paying her thousands of dollars in church funds. In the statement, Warner called it "disheartening" that the allegations had been shared with thePost and expressed confidence in the ACNA Provincial Office: "I’m confident that the ACNA is taking this seriously … and does not hesitate to take action when action is warranted."[12]
In November, theWashington Post revealed that Warner had been one of four bishops initially approached about the allegations. According to thePost, Warner had declined to endorse or read the presentment against Wood when first approached in May. At the time, Warner had also been informed that the allegations contained a charge ofsexual harassment involving a "potential unwanted advance" by Wood. Warner responded to one of the complainants by advising them to submit the complaint to a reporting channel managed by Wood's staff, because "there are women in that process." Warner also urged the complainants to wait a year before submitting their complaint to the ACNA.[13]
On November 16, Warner sent an email to the clergy of DOMA, offering an apology to the women in his diocese and the women who had made allegations against Wood: "I recognize that women’s experiences are too often overlooked or minimized, particularly in systems led by men." He concluded the email by sharing that he had recently called for aninhibition of Wood.[14]
As of 2021, the Diocese of the Mid-Atlantic had 43 parishes. Notable parishes in the diocese include:
| Church | Image | City | Year founded | Year completed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Christ Church |  | Accokeek, Maryland | 1698 | 1747 | |
| Truro Church | _05.jpg) | Fairfax, Virginia | 1766 | 1959 | |
| Church of the Epiphany |  | Chantilly, Virginia | 1986 | 2018 | |
| The Falls Church (Anglican) |  | West Falls Church, Virginia | 2006 | 2019 | Separated fromThe Falls Church (Episcopal). Largest church in the diocese (2022)[15] |
| Restoration Anglican Church |  | Arlington, Virginia | 2009 | 2014 | Second-largest church in the diocese (2022)[15] |
| Church of the Good Shepherd |  | Lynchburg, Virginia | 2011 | 1886 | Listed on theNational Register of Historic Places |
