The Episcopal Diocese of Kansas, established in 1859, is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America with jurisdiction over eastern Kansas. It is in Province 7 and its cathedral, Grace Cathedral, is in Topeka, as are the diocesan offices.

Current bishop

The Right Reverend

Cathleen Chittenden Bascom Cathleen Chittenden Bascom (born January 27, 1962) is the tenth and current bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas. Biography She was raised in Denver, Colorado. She graduated from the University of Kansas in 1984 where she experienced her ca ...

is the 10th bishop of Kansas. She was elected in 2018 and ordained and consecrated bishop on March 2, 2019.

Bishops serving areas including the Kansas Territory

Jackson Kemper, (1789–1870), Missionary, Missouri-Kansas (1837–1859) Henry Washington Lee, Missionary, Iowa - Kansas (1860–1864)

History of the Territorial Area

The first Episcopal services in the Kansas Territory were conducted in 1837 by Bishop Jackson Kemper. In 1859 Bishop Kemper agreed to a convention, at which seven clergy and 11 laymen voted to form the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas. At that time the diocese was contiguous with the boundaries of the Kansas Territory. Bishop Henry Washington Lee of Iowa, served as provisional bishop of Kansas from 1860 to 1864. During this time the state of Kansas was established by Congress, and the boundaries of the diocese shrunk to conform to those of the state, by action of General Convention in 1862. During the territorial era, the diocese formed the College of the Sisters of Bethany, an Episcopal girls school that closed in 1928.

List of bishops

The bishops of Kansas have been:Diocese of Kansas history
#

Thomas H. Vail Thomas Hubbard Vail (October 21, 1812–October 6, 1889) was the first Episcopal Bishop of Kansas. Early life Vail was born in Richmond, Virginia, the son of Israel E. Vail and Maria Rogers Vail, who had emigrated there from New England.Thomps ...

(1864–1889) #

Elisha Smith Thomas Elisha Smith Thomas (March 2, 1834 – March 9, 1895) was second bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas from 1889 to 1895. Early life and education Thomas was born on March 2, 1834, in Wickford, Rhode Island, the son of Allen Mason Thomas and ...

(1889–1895) # Frank Millspaugh, (1895–1916) # James Wise, (1916–1939) #

Goodrich R. Fenner Goodrich Robert Fenner (August 12, 1891 – February 14, 1966) was the fifth bishop of Kansas in The Episcopal Church between 1939 and 1959. Early life and education Fenner was born on August 2, 1891, in Beeville, Texas, the son of Robert Willis ...

(1939-1959) #

Edward Clark Turner Edward Clark Turner (March 26, 1915June 21, 1997) was a bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas between 1959 and 1981. Early life and education Turner was born on March 26, 1915, in Buenos Aires, Argentina to Edward Turner and Eva Helen Clark. H ...

(1959–1981) #

Richard F. Grein Richard Frank Grein (born November 29, 1932, in Bemidji, Minnesota) was fourteenth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. Biography A graduate of Carleton College and Nashotah House, he was ordained to the diaconate on June 20, 1959, and to ...

(1981–1988) #

William E. Smalley William Edward Smalley (born April 8, 1940) was the eighth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas from 1989 to 2003. Biography Smalley was born on April 8, 1940, in New Brunswick, New Jersey, the son of August H. Smalley and Emma Gleason. Af ...

(1989–2003) #

Dean E. Wolfe Dean Elliott Wolfe, D.D. (born June 4, 1956) is a prominent Episcopal bishop currently serving as the thirteenth rector of the historic St. Bartholomew's Church in New York City since January 2017. Previously, he served as the ninth Bishop of Ka ...

(2004–2017) #

(2019–Present)

History of the Diocese

In 1864, 26 delegates from 10 organized parishes gathered at diocesan convention and elected the diocese’s first bishop, Thomas Hubbard Vail. Bishop Vail established a hospital in Topeka, Christ Hospital (the successor to that institution, Stormont-Vail Regional Medical Center, still bears his name). At the end of his episcopacy, the diocese had expanded to 138 congregations, more than 3,000 communicants and 31 clergy, plus three schools and the hospital. The Missionary District of Salina was created from the Diocese in 1901. Its territory extends over the western 60 percent of the state and now is known as the Diocese of Western Kansas. In June 1879, Grace Church of Topeka was designated the Cathedral of the diocese. In 1910 the foundation for the current Cathedral building was laid. By 1912, the walls had been erected but funds were depleted and further construction was halted. Fund raising efforts and leadership from Bishop Frank Millspaugh and the Rev. J. P. DeBevers Kaye, money was raised for completion of the Cathedral, with exception of the towers, in 1917.

Churches

* St. Andrew's Episcopal Church, Emporia

References

External links

Episcopal Diocese of Kansas website

Grace Cathedral websiteOfficial Web site of the Episcopal Church
*
Journal of the Annual Convention, Diocese of Kansas
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