The Diocese of Niagara is one of thirty regional divisions in the

Anglican Church of Canada The Anglican Church of Canada (ACC or ACoC) is the Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French-language name is ''l'Église anglicane du Canada''. In 2017, the Anglican Church co ...

. The see city of the diocese is Hamilton, with the bishop's cathedra located at Christ's Church Cathedral on James Street North. Located within the ecclesiastical province of Ontario, it borders the Dioceses of Huron and Toronto. The area enclosed by the Diocese of Niagara includes much of the Golden Horseshoe, and moves north to include Erin and Orangeville as far as Shelburne. Moving sharply south the line includes Mount Forest and widens, south-westerly to include Elora and Guelph. Skirting Brantford and the Territory of the Six Nations Confederacy, the line then travels, again, south-westerly to Nanticoke and Lake Erie to include the entire

Niagara Peninsula The Niagara Peninsula is an area of land lying between the southwestern shore of Lake Ontario and the northeastern shore of Lake Erie, in Ontario, Canada. Technically an isthmus rather than a peninsula, it stretches from the Niagara River in the ...

. Major urban centres within its borders are

St. Catharines St. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2016, it has an area of , 136,803 residents, and a metropolitan population of 406,074. It lies in Southern Ontario ...

, Niagara Falls, Hamilton, Guelph, Oakville, Milton, Burlington, and Orangeville. The current bishop of Niagara is The Right Reverend Susan Bell, who succeeded The Right Reverend Michael Bird as diocesan bishop on June 1, 2018. She was elected bishop by the synod of the Diocese of Niagara in March 2018, and consecrated and installed as a bishop in May of that year. There are just over 80 parishes within the diocese served by approximately 120 licensed parish priests, with a number of honorary clergy, vocational deacons and licensed lay people. The diocese is divided into five regional deaneries: Brock, Lincoln, Hamilton-Haldimand, Greater Wellington and Trafalgar. Each deanery is overseen by a regional archdeacon and regional dean.

Early history

The first Anglican presence in what would become the Diocese of Niagara begin with St Mark's Church in Newark (now

Niagara-on-the-Lake Niagara-on-the-Lake is a town in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Niagara Peninsula at the point where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario, across the river from New York, United States. Niagara-on-the-Lake is in the Niagara Region of On ...

), the former capital of Upper Canada. The parish was founded in 1790 as

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

immigrants arrived from the former American colonies, in what would become the province of Ontario. At this time the area was part of the Diocese of Nova Scotia, and subsequently became part of the Diocese of Quebec, then of the Diocese of Toronto. The diocese was formed by an act of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada; 39 Vic Chapter 107 in 1875. Royal assent was given in 1876. The first bishop was Thomas Brock Fuller, Archdeacon of Niagara and godson of Sir Isaac Brock, the hero of the

Battle of Queenston Heights The Battle of Queenston Heights was the first major battle in the War of 1812. Resulting in a British victory, it took place on 13 October 1812 near Queenston, Upper Canada (now Ontario). The battle was fought between United States regulars wit ...

Parishes by Region

Region of Greater Wellington

*St. Alban the Martyr, Acton *Grace Church, Arthur *St. John, Elora *All Saints, Erin *St. James, Fergus *All Saints Lutheran Anglican Church, Guelph *Church of the Apostles (St. James & St. Matthias), Guelph *St. George, Guelph *St. Paul, Mount Forest *St. Mark, Orangeville *St. John, Rockwood *St. Paul's Church, Shelburne

Region of Trafalgar

*St. Christopher, Burlington *St. Elizabeth, Burlington *St. John, Burlington *St. Luke, Burlington *St. Matthew on-the-Plains, Burlington * St. George's, Georgetown *St. Alban the Martyr, Glen Williams *St. Stephen, Hornby *St. George Church Lowville, Campbellville *Grace, Milton *St. John, Campbellville (Nassagaweya) *St. Paul, Norval *The Church of the Epiphany, Oakville *Church of the Incarnation, Oakville *St. Aidan, Oakville *St. Cuthbert, Oakville *St. Jude, Oakville *St. Simon, Oakville *St. Luke, Oakville *St. John, Stewarttown *Grace, Waterdown

Region of Hamilton-Haldimand

*St. John, Ancaster *St. Paul, Caledonia *St. John the Divine, Cayuga *St. John, Cheapside *St. James, Dundas *St. Paul, Dunnville *The Dunn Parish: Christ Church & St John the Evangelist, Dunnville *Christ Church, Flamborough * All Saints, Hamilton * Christ's Church Cathedral, Hamilton *Church of the Nativity, Hamilton *Church of the Resurrection, Hamilton *St. John the Evangelist, Hamilton *St. Michael, Hamilton *St. Paul (Westdale), Hamilton *St. Stephen on the Mount, Hamilton *St. Paul, Jarvis *The Church of the Ascension, Hamilton *St. Paul (Glanford), Mount Hope *The Church of Our Saviour The Redeemer, Stoney Creek *St. John the Evangelist, Winona *Christ Church, Woodburn (Hannon)

Region of Lincoln

*St. Alban, Beamsville *St. Andrew, Grimsby *St. John, Jordan *Christ Church, McNab *St. Mark, Niagara-on-the-Lake *St. Saviour, The Brock Memorial Church, Queenston *St. Luke, Smithville *St. Barnabas, St. Catharines *St. Columba, St. Catharines *St. George, St. Catharines *St. John, (Port Dalhousie) St. Catharines *St. Thomas, St. Catharines *Transfiguration, St. Catharines *St. John the Evangelist, Thorold

Region of Brock

*Holy Trinity, Fonthill *St. Paul, Fort Erie *Christ Church, Niagara Falls *Holy Trinity (Chippawa), Niagara Falls *St. John the Evangelist, Niagara Falls *The Parish of St. James and St. Brendan, Port Colborne *St. John, Ridgemount *All Saints, Ridgeway *Christ Church, Wainfleet *All Saints Church (Dain City), Welland *Holy Trinity, Welland *St. David, Welland

Educational institutions

* Appleby College, Oakville, founded 1911. *St. Mildred's-Lightbourn School, Oakville, founded as St. Mildred's College, Toronto, 1908. * Ridley College,

, founded 1889. *St. John's-Kilmarnock School, Breslau, founded 1972 The diocese also has connections to campus ministries at three universities in its jurisdiction. The University of Guelph, Brock University and McMaster University all have chaplains whose ministries are affiliated with the Diocese of Niagara and its ecumenical partners.

Diocesan Bishops of Niagara

# Thomas Fuller, 1875–1884 #

Charles Hamilton Charles Hamilton may refer to: People in Canada * Charles Hamilton (bishop) (1834–1919), Anglican bishop of Ottawa * Charles Edward Hamilton (1844–1919), Canadian politician * Sir Charles Hamilton, 2nd Baronet, of Marlborough House (1767–184 ...

, 1884–1896 # Philip Du Moulin, 1896–1911 # William Clark, 1911–1925 #

Derwyn Owen Derwyn Trevor Owen (29 July 1876— 9 April 1947) was the sixth Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada and the fifth Bishop of Niagara then Toronto. Crockford's Clerical Directory1947-48 Oxford, OUP,1947 Early life and career Educated at T ...

, 1925–1932 Primate of All Canada, 1934–1947 #

Lewis Broughall Lewis Wilmot Bovell Broughall was a Canadian Anglican bishop in the first half of the 20th century. Born on 27 March 1876, the son of Abraham James Broughall and Georgina Harriet Hurd and educated at the University, Toronto and ordained in 1899 ...

, 1932–1949 #

Walter Bagnall Walter Edward Bagnall (1903–1984) was a Canadian Anglican bishop Born in Birr, County Offaly, Ireland in 1903 and educated at the University of Western Ontario he was ordained in 1928. He was Curate of All Saints, Windsor and then held incum ...

, 1949-1973 # John Bothwell, 1973–1991 Archbishop of Niagara and Metropolitan of Ontario, 1985–1991 # Walter Asbil, 1991–1997 # Ralph Spence, 1998–2008 # Michael Bird, 2008–2018 # Susan Bell, 2018–present

Litigation

The diocese was involved with litigation against several former parishes affiliated with Anglican Network in Canada. The courts have generally upheld the diocese as owner of the church buildings and ejected the illegally assumed leadership.

References

External links

Anglican Diocese of Niagara

Anglican Church of Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Niagara Religious organizations established in 1875 Niagara, Anglican Diocese of Regional Municipality of Niagara Anglican Church in Ontario Anglican dioceses established in the 19th century Anglican bishops of Niagara Deans of Niagara 1875 establishments in Ontario Anglican Province of Ontario