The Diocese of Birmingham is a

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, pro ...

founded in 1905 in the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britain ...

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 ...

, covering the north-west of the traditional county of

Warwickshire Warwickshire (; abbreviated Warks) is a county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, and the largest town is Nuneaton. The county is famous for being the birthplace of William Shakespeare at Stratford-upon-Avon an ...

, the south-east of the traditional county of

Staffordshire Staffordshire (; postal abbreviation Staffs.) is a landlocked county in the West Midlands region of England. It borders Cheshire to the northwest, Derbyshire and Leicestershire to the east, Warwickshire to the southeast, the West Midlands Cou ...

and the north-east of the traditional county of

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a county in the West Midlands of England. The area that is now Worcestershire was absorbed into the unified Kingdom of England in 927, at which time it was constituted as a county (see His ...

(now the central section of the

West Midlands West or Occident is one of the four cardinal directions or points of the compass. It is the opposite direction from east and is the direction in which the Sun sets on the Earth. Etymology The word "west" is a Germanic word passed into some ...

and small parts of south

, north

and north

) in

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

Cathedral

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 * ...

is in the centre of the

City of Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West Mi ...

, where the seat of the diocese is located at the Cathedral Church of Saint Philip. The 18th-century parish church of

Saint Philip Saint Philip, São Filipe, or San Felipe may refer to: People * Saint Philip the Apostle * Saint Philip the Evangelist also known as Philip the Deacon * Saint Philip Neri * Saint Philip Benizi de Damiani also known as Saint Philip Benitius or Fili ...

in Birmingham was elevated to cathedral status in 1905 when the see was founded, on 13 January 1905. Previously the area had been part of the Diocese of Worcester.

Bishops

Besides the diocesan

Bishop of Birmingham A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

(vacant) and the Bishop suffragan of Aston (

Anne Hollinghurst Anne Elizabeth Hollinghurst (born 4 March 1964) is a Church of England bishop and former youth worker. Since September 2015, she has been the Bishop of Aston, the suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Birmingham. From 2010 to 2015, she was Vicar of ...

; which see was created in 1954), there are three retired bishops resident in (or near) the diocese who are licensed to serve as

honorary assistant bishop An assistant bishop in the Anglican Communion is a bishop appointed to assist a diocesan bishop. Church of England In the established Church of England, assistant bishops are usually retired (diocesan or suffragan) bishops – in which case they ...

s: *2002–present:

Maurice Sinclair Maurice Walter Sinclair (born 20 January 1937) is a retired English Anglican bishop. He was the Bishop of Northern Argentina from 1990 to 2001, and Primate of the Southern Cone, from 1996 to 2001. He was educated at Chigwell School and the Univ ...

is a retired Presiding Bishop of the

Southern Cone The Southern Cone ( es, Cono Sur, pt, Cone Sul) is a geographical and cultural subregion composed of the southernmost areas of South America, mostly south of the Tropic of Capricorn. Traditionally, it covers Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay, bou ...

living in

Selly Park Selly Park is a Residential area, residential suburban district in south-west Birmingham, England. The suburb of Selly Park is located between the Bristol Road (A38 road, A38) and the Pershore Road (A441 road, A441). Toponymy Selly Park is name ...

. *2003–present:

Mark Santer Mark Santer (born 29 December 1936) is a retired Anglican bishop. He is the father of television producer Diederick Santer. Early life and education Santer was educated at Marlborough College and Queens' College, Cambridge, before his ordinati ...

is a retired diocesan

living in

Moseley Moseley is a suburb of south Birmingham, England, south of the city centre. The area is a popular cosmopolitan residential location and leisure destination, with a number of bars and restaurants. The area also has a number of boutiques and ot ...

. *2005–present:

Iraj Mottahedeh Iraj Kalimi Mottahedeh (Īraj Mottaḥeda; born April 30, 1932) is a retired Anglican bishop. Mottahedeh trained for the priesthood at United Theological College, Bangalore and was ordained a deacon in 1958 and a priest in 1960, while serving ...

is a retired diocesan

Bishop of Iran The Diocese of Iran is one of the four dioceses of the Anglican Province of Jerusalem and the Middle East. The diocese was established in 1912 as the Diocese of Persia and was incorporated into the Jerusalem Archbishopric in 1957. The most recent ...

who lives in

Church Aston Church Aston is a village and parish in Shropshire, England. The population of the civil parish at the 2011 census was 1,354. It is to the south of Newport, though has become merged with the town in recent years due to suburban growth. Also ...

Shropshire Shropshire (; alternatively Salop; abbreviated in print only as Shrops; demonym Salopian ) is a landlocked historic county in the West Midlands region of England. It is bordered by Wales to the west and the English counties of Cheshire to th ...

, in the neighbouring Lichfield diocese. Since 1994,

alternative episcopal oversight A provincial episcopal visitor (PEV), popularly known as a flying bishop, is a Church of England bishop assigned to minister to many of the clergy, laity and parishes who on grounds of theological conviction, "are unable to receive the ministry of ...

(for parishes in the diocese who reject the ministry of women priests) is provided by the

provincial episcopal visitor A provincial episcopal visitor (PEV), popularly known as a flying bishop, is a Church of England bishop assigned to minister to many of the clergy, laity and parishes who on grounds of theological conviction, "are unable to receive the ministry of ...

, the Bishop suffragan of Ebbsfleet, who is licensed as an honorary assistant bishop of the diocese in order to facilitate his work there.

Archdeaconries and deaneries

The former deaneries of Yardley and Bordesley were merged in 2000. Central Birmingham was known as Birmingham City until 1996 and then Birmingham City Centre until 2004. *including Cathedral

Churches

''Last fully updated 8 September 2018.''

Not in a deanery

Deanery of Aston

Deanery of Coleshill

Deanery of Polesworth

Deanery of Solihull

Deanery of Sutton Coldfield

Deanery of Yardley and Bordesley

Deanery of Central Birmingham

Deanery of Edgbaston

Deanery of Handsworth

Deanery of King's Norton

Deanery of Moseley

Deanery of Shirley

Deanery of Warle

Safeguarding Controversy

In December 2018 the diocese was criticised for its use of a Non-disclosure agreement, Non-disclosure Agreement (NDA) in relation to an abuse case. The survivor described the ten-year process since her first complaint as "haphazard" and claimed she was warned by an unnamed bishop not to talk to the media as it wouldn't be "very godly". The diocese carried out an independent review which delivered damning findings about the handling of her case by the (then)

David Urquhart David Urquhart Jr. (1 July 180516 May 1877) was a Scottish diplomat, writer and politician, serving as a Member of Parliament from 1847 to 1852. He also was an early promotor of the Turkish bath in the United Kingdom. Early life Urquhart was bo ...

, and then forced the survivor to sign the NDA before she was permitted to see the review into her own case. The

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...

Justin Welby Justin Portal Welby (born 6 January 1956) is a British bishop who is the 105th Archbishop of Canterbury. He has served in that role since 2013. Welby was previously the vicar of Southam, Warwickshire, and then Bishop of Durham, serving for jus ...

, had previously questioned the legitimacy of these agreements in March 2018 at the

Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse The Independent Inquiry into Child Sexual Abuse (IICSA) in England and Wales was an inquiry examining how the country's institutions handled their duty of care to protect children from sexual abuse. It was announced by the British Home Secretary ...

The

Bishop of Buckingham The Bishop of Buckingham is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name from the historic county town of Buckingham; the See was er ...

, Alan Wilson, commenting on the scandal said it was the fourth "corrupt and destructive" non-disclosure agreement (NDA) that had come to his attention since September. He said he was unable to share details of the other cases but that some were "complete shockers". The Diocese of Birmingham said the NDA had been used to ensure that those who read the report did not share information provided by other contributors who wanted to remain anonymous. A

spokesperson stated that guidance would be sent to all dioceses to discourage use of these agreements. The bishop and the diocese apologised to the survivor and her husband.

References

Church of England statistics 2002
*Book: Canon Doctor Terry Slater, 2005, ''A Centenary History of the Diocese of Birmingham'', Phillimore, Chichester

External links

Diocesan websiteChurches in the Diocese of Birmingham ("A Church Near You")
{{authority control 1905 establishments in England Christian organizations established in 1905 Christianity in the West Midlands (county) Christianity in Worcestershire Dioceses established in the 20th century

Birmingham Birmingham ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the metropolitan county of West Midlands in England. It is the second-largest city in the United Kingdom with a population of 1.145 million in the city proper, 2.92 million in the West ...

Religion in Staffordshire Religion in Warwickshire