The Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina is a diocese of the Episcopal Church within Province IV that encompasses central North Carolina. Founded in 1817, the modern boundaries of the diocese roughly corresponds to the portion of North Carolina between

I-77 Interstate 77 (I-77) is a north–south Interstate Highway in the eastern United States. It traverses diverse terrain, from the mountainous state of West Virginia to the rolling farmlands of North Carolina and Ohio. It largely supplants the ...

in the west and I-95 in the east, including the most populous area of the state. Raleigh, Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, and Durham are the largest cities in the diocese. The diocese originally covered the entirety of the state, until the Diocese of East Carolina which stretches to the Atlantic was formed in 1883, and the Diocese of Western North Carolina which lies to the west extending into the Appalachian Mountains was formed in 1922.

About the Diocese

The diocese has no cathedral, but its offices are located in the state capital of Raleigh. Representatives of the dioceses' 109 parishes meet annually at a diocesan convention in November. Between conventions, the diocese is administered by a Diocesan Council in conjunction with the diocesan staff who work under the bishop. The current diocesan bishop is Samuel Sewall Rodman III. He was consecrated bishop on July 15, 2017, as the twelfth bishop of the Diocese of North Carolina, after the election of his predecessor, Michael Bruce Curry, as

Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church This is a list of the Presiding Bishops of the Episcopal Church in the United States. Initially the position of Presiding Bishop rotated geographically. After 1795 the Presiding Bishop was the senior bishop in order of consecration. Starting in 1 ...

. The bishop

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...

of the diocese is Anne Hodges-Copple, who will retire in December 2022. The assistant bishop of the diocese is Jennifer Brooke-Davidson. Other bishops who have served the diocese since 1980 are the late

Robert W. Estill Robert Whitridge Estill (September 7, 1927 – October 9, 2019) was an Americans, American prelate who served as the ninth Bishop of North Carolina from 1983 till 1994. Biography Estill was born on September 7, 1927, in Lexington, Kentucky, the ...

(ninth bishop of the diocese), the late Robert C. Johnson (tenth bishop of the diocese), the late Frank Vest (suffragan bishop of the diocese who subsequently became bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia), the late Huntington Williams, Jr. (retired suffragan bishop), J. Gary Gloster (retired suffragan bishop), William Gregg (retired assistant bishop and previously the bishop of the

Episcopal Diocese of Eastern Oregon The Episcopal Diocese of Eastern Oregon is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America which has jurisdiction over Oregon east of the Cascade Mountains. It also includes Klickitat County, Washington. It is in Province 8. T ...

), the late Alfred C. Marble, Jr. (retired assisting bishop and previously the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi), and the late

Peter James Lee Peter James Lee (11 May 1938 - 2 July 2022) was an American bishop of the Episcopal Church. Ministry Lee, a former newspaper reporter, was ordained deacon in 1967 and priest in 1968. He served as deacon at St John's Cathedral in Jacksonville, ...

(formerly provisional bishop of the

Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina The Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States that covers most of eastern North Carolina. The diocese was formed from the existing Diocese of North Carolina on October 9, 1883, by action of the ...

and bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia). Congregations in the diocese vary from conservative to liberal and from low church to high church, but the diocese itself is generally considered moderate and is highly supportive of the Episcopal Church. Consisting of approximately 48,000 communicants, the diocese is the tenth-largest in the nation and has shown a 3% compound annual growth rate over the last ten years. The density of Episcopalians varies across the diocese but is highest in Wake County, the county of the state capital, Raleigh.

Programs and institutions

Principal programs of the diocese include campus ministries and social ministries: * Campus ministry (at

North Carolina State University North Carolina State University (NC State) is a public land-grant research university in Raleigh, North Carolina. Founded in 1887 and part of the University of North Carolina system, it is the largest university in the Carolinas. The universit ...

St. Augustine's University Saint Augustine's University is a private historically black Christian college in Raleigh, North Carolina. It was founded by Episcopal clergy in 1867 for the education of freed slaves A freedman or freedwoman is a formerly enslaved pers ...

Duke University Duke University is a private research university in Durham, North Carolina. Founded by Methodists and Quakers in the present-day city of Trinity in 1838, the school moved to Durham in 1892. In 1924, tobacco and electric power industrialist James ...

, Elon University, the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, the University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Wake Forest University, and

Davidson College Davidson College is a private liberal arts college in Davidson, North Carolina. It was established in 1837 by the Concord Presbytery and named after Revolutionary War general William Lee Davidson, who was killed at the nearby Battle of Cowan� ...

). In 2019, the diocesan programming extended to digital ministry with the launch of a smartphone app for young adults titled YEAH: Young Episcopal Adult Hu

* Social ministry, notably the Episcopal Farmworkers Ministry in

Newton Grove Newton Grove, chartered in 1879, is a town in Sampson County, North Carolina, Sampson County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 569 as of the 2010 census. History The town of Newton Grove was first incorporated in 1879 as the New T ...

, a joint venture with the Diocese of East Carolina. In a state with a growing

Latino population Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

, the diocese supports a Chartered Committee on Hispanic Ministry. The committee provides liturgical and pastoral resources, supports congregations' service and outreach among Latinas and Latinos, and advocates for immigration reform and other laws to protect the rights of migrant workers. The diocese no longer operates a camp and conference center, having sold its facility near Browns Summit, North Carolina to the State of North Carolina for use as

Haw River State Park Haw River State Park is a North Carolina state park in Guilford and Rockingham Counties, North Carolina in the United States. As one of the newest state parks in North Carolina, Haw River has limited recreational opportunities. Haw River Sta ...

."History." History , NC State Parks, www.ncparks.gov/haw-river-state-park/history. However, the diocese maintains an active youth program. The territory of the diocese includes independent schools with current or former diocesan affiliations including Trinity Episcopal School and Palisades Episcopal School in Charlotte, Canterbury School in Greensboro, and St. Mary's School and

Ravenscroft School Ravenscroft School is a coed independent school located in Raleigh, North Carolina. The school enrolls students between PreKindergarten and 12th grade, and serves 1,239 students. The school has three divisions: Lower School, Middle School an ...

in Raleigh. Other major institutions affiliated with the diocese are Penick Village in Southern Pines, a retirement community; and Thompson Child and Family Focus in Charlotte, a youth services ministry.

Bishops

Notes

References

External links