The Diocese of Lincoln forms part of the

Province of Canterbury The Province of Canterbury, or less formally the Southern Province, is one of two ecclesiastical provinces which constitute the Church of England. The other is the Province of York (which consists of 12 dioceses). Overview The Province consist ...

in England. The present diocese covers the

ceremonial county The counties and areas for the purposes of the lieutenancies, also referred to as the lieutenancy areas of England and informally known as ceremonial counties, are areas of England to which lords-lieutenant are appointed. Legally, the areas i ...

of Lincolnshire.

History

'Ecclesiastical England at the time of Henry VIII'

The diocese traces its roots in an unbroken line to the Pre-Reformation Diocese of Leicester, founded in 679. The

see See or SEE may refer to: * Sight - seeing Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Television * ...

of Leicester was translated to Dorchester in the late 9th century, before taking in the territory of the Diocese of Lindsey and being translated to Lincoln. The diocese was then the largest in England, extending from the River Thames to the

Humber Estuary The Humber is a large tidal estuary on the east coast of Northern England. It is formed at Trent Falls, Faxfleet, by the confluence of the tidal rivers Ouse and Trent. From there to the North Sea, it forms part of the boundary between the ...

. In 1072, Remigius de Fécamp, bishop under William the Conqueror, moved the see to Lincoln, although the Bishops of Lincoln retained significant landholdings within

Oxfordshire Oxfordshire is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the north west of South East England. It is a mainly rural county, with its largest settlement being the city of Oxford. The county is a centre of research and development, primarily ...

. Because of this historic link, for a long time Banbury remained a peculiar of the Bishop of Lincoln. The modern diocese remains notoriously extensive, having been reportedly referred to by Bob Hardy, Bishop of Lincoln, as "2,000 square miles of bugger all" in 2002. The dioceses of Oxford and Peterborough were created in 1541 out of parts of the diocese, which left the diocese with two disconnected fragments, north and south. In 1837 the southern part was transferred to other dioceses: Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire to the

Diocese of Ely The Diocese of Ely is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury. It is headed by the Bishop of Ely, who sits at Ely Cathedral in Ely. There is one suffragan (subordinate) bishop, the Bishop of Huntingdon. The diocese now co ...

Hertfordshire Hertfordshire ( or ; often abbreviated Herts) is one of the home counties in southern England. It borders Bedfordshire and Cambridgeshire to the north, Essex to the east, Greater London to the south, and Buckinghamshire to the west. For govern ...

to the Diocese of Rochester and

Buckinghamshire Buckinghamshire (), abbreviated Bucks, is a ceremonial county in South East England that borders Greater London to the south-east, Berkshire to the south, Oxfordshire to the west, Northamptonshire to the north, Bedfordshire to the north-ea ...

to the Diocese of Oxford. Also in 1837, the county of

Leicestershire Leicestershire ( ; postal abbreviation Leics.) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in the East Midlands, England. The county borders Nottinghamshire to the north, Lincolnshire to the north-east, Rutland to the east, Northamptonshire t ...

was transferred from Lincoln to Peterborough (and became the independent Diocese of Leicester in 1927). The Archdeaconry of Nottingham was transferred to the Lincoln diocese at the same time. In 1884, the Archdeaconry of Nottingham was detached to form a part of the new Diocese of Southwell.

Organisation

Bishops

By virtue of the 2009 scheme of delegation, whilst the Bishop of Lincoln exercises general oversight, the Bishops of Grimsby and of Grantham were seen as leaders in mission in the north and south of the Diocese respectively until that scheme lapsed upon the 6 April 2013 retirement of the Bishop of Grimsby, which was followed by a review of roles of bishops in the diocese. The suffragan See of Grantham was created in 1905, and the See of Grimsby in 1935. It would seem that the decision to not fill the suffragan see of Grantham was taken at some point, but later reversed. Alternative episcopal oversight (for parishes in the diocese which reject the ministry of priests who are women) is provided by the provincial 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 three retired bishops living in the diocese who are licensed as honorary assistant bishops: *2019–present:

Rob Gillion Alan Robert Gillion (born 7 September 1951) is a British Anglican bishop and former actor. From 2014 to 2018 he was the Bishop of Riverina in the Anglican Church of Australia; since 2020, he has been a parish priest in Streatham, South London ...

, interim

Priest-in-Charge A priest in charge or priest-in-charge (previously also curate-in-charge) in the Church of England is a priest in charge of a parish who is not its incumbent. Such priests are not legally responsible for the churches and glebe, but simply hold a ...

, St John the Baptist, Spalding and former

Bishop of Riverina The Diocese of Riverina is one of 23 dioceses of the Anglican Church of Australia. The diocese covers 37% of New South Wales, including the Riverina and the far west of the state. The diocese was established in 1884 when the Diocese of Goulbu ...

(New South Wales) *2001–present:

David Tustin David Tustin was the Bishop of Grimsby, Bishop suffragan of Grimsby from 1979 until 2000. He was born on 12 January 1935 and educated at Solihull School and Magdalene College, Cambridge. After a period of study at what was then Cuddesdon College ...

, former Bishop suffragan of Grimsby, lives in Wrawby. *2013–present: Another retired area Bishop of Grimsby,

David Rossdale David Douglas James Rossdale (born 22 May 1953) was the Bishop of Grimsby, a suffragan bishop (and, from 2010 until 31 January 2013, an area bishop) in the Church of England Diocese of Lincoln. He was educated at St John's School, Leatherhead ...

, lives in East Keal. *2013–present: Tim Ellis, retired area Bishop of Grantham, lives in Intake, Sheffield. Lincoln Deaneries

Archdeaconries

The diocese is divided into three archdeaconries and 22 deaneries. On 22 April 2013, it was announced that a third archdeacon had been appointed pending a pastoral reorganisation. The changes to the archdeaconries enacted by the resulting pastoral scheme were announced on 15 November:Diocese of Lincoln – New Archdeaconries
(Accessed 29 November 2013) * Archdeaconry of Lincoln (established 11th century): Bolingbroke; Calcewaithe and Candleshoe; Christianity; Graffoe; Horncastle; Lafford; Louthesk * Archdeaconry of Stow and Lindsey (established 11th century): Isle of Axholme; Corringham; Grimsby and

Cleethorpes Cleethorpes () is a seaside town on the estuary of the Humber in North East Lincolnshire, England with a population of 38,372 in 2020. It has been permanently occupied since the 6th century, with fishing as its original industry, then develo ...

; Haverstoe; Lawres; Manlake; West Wold; Yarborough * Archdeaconry of Boston (established 2013): (

Aveland Aveland was a Wapentake of Kesteven from the time of the Danelaw until the Local Government Act 1888. Its meeting place was The Aveland at in the parish of Aslackby. Origins Aveland was probably established as an administrative unit soon after ...

and Ness with) Stamford;

Beltisloe Beltisloe is a Deanery of the Diocese of Lincoln in England, and a former Wapentake. The Wapentake of Beltisloe was established as ancient administrative division of the English county of Lincolnshire before the Norman Conquest of 1066.

; Elloe East;

Elloe West Elloe is a sub-regional name in South Holland, Lincolnshire, England. It may refer to: In Lincolnshire, England * Elloe (wapentake), in Parts of Holland * Elloe Stone, in Moulton, Lincolnshire * Deanery of Elloe East, an administrative area of th ...

; Grantham; Holland;

Loveden Loveden is a Deanery of the Diocese of Lincoln, England, and a former Wapentake. Loveden is located broadly to the North of Grantham and includes the villages from Long Bennington in the west to Culverthorpe in the east, and from Welby in th ...

The diocese produces a bi-monthly newspaper, ''Crosslincs''.

References

Church of England Statistics 2002

External links