51°45′07″N0°20′20″W / 51.752°N 0.339°W /51.752; -0.339
Diocese of St Albans Dioecesis Sancti Albani | |
|---|---|
 Coat of arms | |
 Flag | |
| Location | |
| Ecclesiastical province | Canterbury |
| Archdeaconries | Bedford, Hertford, St Albans |
| Statistics | |
| Parishes | 335 |
| Churches | 411 |
| Information | |
| Cathedral | St Albans Cathedral |
| Language | English |
| Current leadership | |
| Bishop | Bishop of St Albans (vacant; acting: the Bishop of Bedford) |
| Suffragans | Richard Atkinson,Bishop of Bedford Jane Mainwaring,Bishop of Hertford |
| Archdeacons | Janet Mackenzie,Archdeacon of Hertford Dave Middlebrook,Archdeacon of Bedford Charles Hudson,Archdeacon of St Albans |
| Website | |
| stalbans.anglican.org | |
TheDiocese of St Albans forms part of theProvince of Canterbury inEngland and is part of the widerChurch of England, in turn part of the worldwideAnglican Communion.
Thediocese is home to more than 1.6 million people and comprises thehistoric Counties ofHertfordshire andBedfordshire, or in terms of local government areas,Bedfordshire, Luton,Hertfordshire and parts of theLondon Borough of Barnet. It therefore ranges from small rural communities in villages and hamlets to major urban centres likeLuton,Bedford,Watford andHemel Hempstead, and includes suburban areas onLondon's outer reaches.
The diocese was founded by an Order in Council on 30 April 1877,[1] implementing the Bishopric of St Albans Act 1875.
The diocese was established from parts of the largeDiocese of Rochester, extending the new bishop's jurisdiction over more than 600 parishes in the two counties ofEssex andHertfordshire. (These two counties had only been part of Rochester diocese since 1846; before then Essex had been in London diocese, and Hertfordshire had been split between London and Lincoln dioceses.)
The firstBishop of St Albans wasThomas Legh Claughton, who served from 1877 to 1890.
Thesee is in theCity of St Albans, where thecathedra (bishop's seat) is located inSt Albans Cathedral. The cathedral building itself dates from 1077. It was an abbey church (part ofSt Albans Abbey) prior to itsdissolution in 1539, and then a parish church (purchased by the town in 1553) until its elevation to cathedral status in 1877.
In 1914, the newDiocese of Chelmsford was formed, removing Essex from the St Albans diocese. A few months later the countyArchdeaconry of Bedford was added from theDiocese of Ely, thereby providing the diocese substantially with its current boundaries.
Thesuffragan bishopric of Bedford was revived in 1879 and again in 1935 and that ofHertford was created in 1968.
The diocese currently includes:
The diocese is overseen by the Bishop of St Albans, whosecathedra (or seat) is in St Albans Cathedral. He is supported in his pastoral work in the diocese by twosuffragan bishops, theBishop of Hertford and theBishop of Bedford as well as three archdeacons.
The diocese is divided into threearchdeaconries, which are in turn divided into 20 area or rural deaneries.[2]
| Diocese | Archdeaconries | Deaneries |
|---|---|---|
| Diocese of St Albans | Archdeaconry of Bedford | Deanery ofAmpthill &Shefford |
| Deanery ofBedford | ||
| Deanery ofBiggleswade | ||
| Deanery ofDunstable | ||
| Deanery ofLuton | ||
| Deanery ofSharnbrook | ||
| Archdeaconry of Hertford | Deanery ofBarnet | |
| Deanery ofBishop's Stortford | ||
| Deanery ofBuntingford | ||
| Deanery ofCheshunt | ||
| Deanery ofHertford &Ware | ||
| Deanery ofStevenage | ||
| Deanery ofWelwyn &Hatfield | ||
| Archdeaconry of St Albans | Deanery ofBerkhamsted | |
| Deanery ofHemel Hempstead | ||
| Deanery ofHitchin | ||
| Deanery ofRickmansworth | ||
| Deanery ofSaint Albans | ||
| Deanery ofWatford | ||
| Deanaery ofWheathampstead |
The diocesan offices are located in Holywell Hill in St Albans.
The Bishop of St Albans (vacant) leads the diocese, and is assisted by the Bishops suffraganof Bedford (Richard Atkinson) andof Hertford (Jane Mainwaring). The suffragan see of Bedford was created by theSuffragan Bishops Act 1534 but went into abeyance after one incumbent; that see was next filled in the late 19th century and has been in near-constant use again since 1935. The See of Hertford was created byOrder in Council of 5 July 1889, but remained dormant until first filled in December 1967.[3]
Alternative episcopal oversight (for parishes in the diocese which reject the ministry of priests who are women) is provided by theprovincial episcopal visitor,Norman Banks,Bishop suffragan of Richborough, who is licensed as an honorary assistant bishop of the diocese in order to facilitate his work there. There are also several former bishops living in the diocese who are licensed ashonorary assistant bishops:
In the late 11th/early 12th century,Nicholas, an archdeacon of Lincoln diocese, was called "Archdeacon of Cambridge,Huntingdon and Hertford.[7]
The Archdeaconry of Hertford was created by Order in Council on 1 January 1997 from the eastern parts of the Archdeaconry of St Albans, which at the time was one of the largest archdeaconries in England.[8] There have been only two Archdeacons of Hertford since the archdeaconry's institution: the first,Trevor Jones,[9] who retired on 31 August 2016;[10] and the incumbent,Janet Mackenzie, who was collated on 6 September 2016.[11]
Outside deanery structures:St Albans Cathedral
Deanery of Barnet:Arkley (St Peter),Barnet St John the Baptist, Barnet St Stephen,Barnet Vale (St Mark),Borehamwood All Saints, Borehamwood Holy Cross, Borehamwood St Michael & All Angels,East Barnet (St Mary the Virgin), Elstree (St Nicholas), Little Heath (Christ Church),Lyonsdown (Holy Trinity), New Barnet (St James), Potters Bar King Charles the Martyr, Potters Bar St Mary & All Saints, Ridge (St Margaret), South Mimms (St Giles),Totteridge (St Andrew)
Deanery of Bishop's Stortford: Albury (St Mary the Virgin), Bishop's Stortford Holy Trinity, Bishop's Stortford St Michael, Braughing (St Mary the Virgin), Eastwick (St Botolph), Furneux Pelham (St Mary the Virgin), Gilston (St Mary), High Wych (St James the Great),Hockerill (All Saints), Little Hadham (St Cecilia), Little Munden (All Saints), Much Hadham (St Andrew), Perry Green (St Thomas), Sacombe (St Catherine), Sawbridgeworth (Great St Mary), Standon (St Mary), Stocking Pelham (St Mary), Thorley (St James the Great)
Deanery of Buntingford: Anstey (St George), Ardeley (St Lawrence), Ashwell (St Mary the Virgin), Aspenden (St Mary),Baldock (St Mary the Virgin), Barkway (St Mary Magdalene), Barley (St Margaret of Antioch), Benington (St Peter), Brent Pelham (St Mary the Virgin), Buntingford (St Peter),Bygrave (St Margaret of Antioch), Clothall (St Mary the Virgin), Cottered (St John the Baptist),Hinxworth (St Nicholas), Hormead (St Nicholas), Kelshall (St Faith), Meesden (St Mary),Newnham (St Vincent), Reed (St Mary),Royston (St John the Baptist), Rushden (St Mary), Sandon (All Saints), Therfield (St Mary the Virgin), Throcking (Holy Trinity), Walkern (St Mary the Virgin), Wallington (St Mary), Westmill (St Mary the Virgin), Weston (Holy Trinity), Wyddial (St Giles)