The Diocese of Newcastle is a

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 ...

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 ...

based in

Newcastle upon Tyne Newcastle upon Tyne ( RP: , ), or simply Newcastle, is a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England. The city is located on the River Tyne's northern bank and forms the largest part of the Tyneside built-up area. Newcastle is ...

, covering the historic county of

Northumberland Northumberland () is a county in Northern England, one of two counties in England which border with Scotland. Notable landmarks in the county include Alnwick Castle, Bamburgh Castle, Hadrian's Wall and Hexham Abbey. It is bordered by land on ...

(and therefore including the part of

Tyne and Wear Tyne and Wear () is a metropolitan county in North East England, situated around the mouths of the rivers Tyne and Wear. It was created in 1974, by the Local Government Act 1972, along with five metropolitan boroughs of Gateshead, Newcastl ...

north of the River Tyne), as well as the area of

Alston Moor Alston Moor, formerly known as Alston with Garrigill, is a civil parish and electoral ward in Cumbria, England, based around the small town of Alston. It is set in the moorlands of the North Pennines, mostly at an altitude of over 1000 feet. T ...

in Cumbria (historic Cumberland). The diocese came into being on 23 May 1882, and was one of four created by the

Bishoprics Act 1878 The Lords Spiritual (Women) Act 2015 is an Act of Parliament of the United Kingdom. It stipulates that whenever a vacancy arises among the Lords Spiritual during the next ten years after the Act comes into force, the position has to be filled by ...

(41 & 42 Vict. c. 68) for industrial areas with rapidly expanding populations. The area of the diocese was taken from the part of the

Diocese of Durham The Diocese of Durham is a Church of England diocese, based in Durham, and covering the historic county of Durham (and therefore including the part of Tyne and Wear south of the River Tyne, and excluding southern Teesdale). It was created in ...

which was north of the River Tyne, and was defined in the legislation as comprising: The cathedral is

Newcastle Cathedral Newcastle Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of St Nicholas, is a Church of England cathedral in Newcastle upon Tyne, Tyne and Wear, England. It is the seat of the Bishop of Newcastle and is the mother church of the Diocese of Newcastle. ...

(until 1882 the Parish Church of St Nicholas) and the diocesan see is vacant since the retirement of

Christine Hardman Christine Elizabeth Hardman ( Atkins; born 27 August 1951) is a retired British Anglican bishop and former Lord Spiritual. She served as Archdeacon of Lewisham, 2001–2008; Archdeacon of Lewisham & Greenwich, 2008–2012; and Bishop of ...

Bishops

The diocesan Bishop of Newcastle is the ordinary of the diocese and is assisted by the

Bishop of Berwick The Bishop of Berwick is an episcopal title used by the suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Newcastle in the Province of York, England.

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 priests who are women) 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 ...

(PEV) the Bishop suffragan of Beverley,

Glyn Webster Glyn Hamilton Webster (born 3 June 1951) is a retired British Anglican bishop who was the Bishop of Beverley in the Church of England from 2013 to January 2022. He was previously the canon chancellor (a canon residentiary) and Acting Dean of York ...

. He is licensed as an

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 ...

of the diocese in order to facilitate his work there. On 28 November 2015, Frank White, then the full-time assistant bishop, presented a proposal to the Diocesan Synod (within which diocese Berwick now lies) to revive the abeyant Suffragan See of Berwick. The

Dioceses Commission In 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 provinces were administratively associat ...

approved the petition to revive the See and

Mark Tanner Mark Simon Austin Tanner (born November 1970) is a British Anglican bishop and academic. Since 2020, he has been the Bishop of Chester; he previously served as Bishop of Berwick, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese of Newcastle since his 2016 cons ...

was consecrated Bishop of Berwick on 18 October 2016; he later vacated the post upon his translation to

Chester Chester is a cathedral city and the county town of Cheshire, England. It is located on the River Dee, close to the English–Welsh border. With a population of 79,645 in 2011,"2011 Census results: People and Population Profile: Chester Loca ...

. Mark Wroe, formerly Archdeacon of Northumberland, was consecrated as Bishop of Berwick on 5 January 2021. Besides Webster, there are five retired honorary assistant bishops licensed in the diocese: *2003–present: A retired Bishop suffragan of Bedford, John Richardson, lives in

Bewcastle Bewcastle is a large civil parish in the City of Carlisle district of Cumbria, England. It is in the historic county of Cumberland. According to the 2001 census the parish had a population of 411, reducing to 391 at the 2011 Census. The pari ...

Cumbria Cumbria ( ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in North West England, bordering Scotland. The county and Cumbria County Council, its local government, came into existence in 1974 after the passage of the Local Government Act 1972. Cumb ...

and is also licensed in Carlisle diocese. *2005–present:

Stephen Pedley Geoffrey Stephen Pedley (known as Stephen; born 13 September 1940) was the Bishop suffragan of Lancaster from 1998 until 2005. He was educated at Marlborough and Queens' College, Cambridge. Ordained in 1966 after a period of study at Ripon Colle ...

, retired Bishop suffragan of Lancaster, lives in

Warden, Northumberland Warden is a village in Northumberland, England about west of Hexham. The North and South Tyne meet near the village of Warden. There is a pleasant walk from the Boat Inn ater renamed to Boatside Innalong the bank of the South Tyne to the meet ...

. *2014–present:

Stephen Platten Stephen George PlattenFSA(born 17 May 1947, in Southgate) is a retired Anglican bishop. He was the last diocesan Bishop of Wakefield in the Church of England. He was consecrated in this role on 19 July 2003 and immediately prior to that was Dea ...

, Rector of St Michael Cornhill (

Diocese of London The Diocese of London forms part of the Church of England's Province of Canterbury in England. It lies directly north of the Thames. For centuries the diocese covered a vast tract and bordered the dioceses of Norwich and Lincoln to the north ...

) and retired

Bishop of Wakefield The Bishop of Wakefield is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title which takes its name after the City status in the United Kingdom, city of Wakefield in West Yorkshire, England. The title was first created for a Diocese, diocesan Anglican minist ...

(also in London and

Southwark Southwark ( ) is a district of Central London situated on the south bank of the River Thames, forming the north-western part of the wider modern London Borough of Southwark. The district, which is the oldest part of South London, developed ...

dioceses.) *2014–present:

John Packer John Richard Packer (born 10 October 1946) is a retired British Anglican bishop. He was the only Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, serving from the renaming of the diocese from Ripon in 2000 to his 2014 retirement (prior to his former diocese's merg ...

Bishop of Ripon and Leeds The Bishop of Ripon was a diocesan bishop's title which took its name after the city of Ripon in North Yorkshire, England. History Though one ancient Bishop of Ripon is known, the modern see of Ripon was established in 1836 from parts of th ...

and former Bishop suffragan of Warrington, retired in 2014 to

Cullercoats Cullercoats is a coastal settlement in the metropolitan borough of North Tyneside, Tyne and Wear, North East England. Historically in Northumberland, it has now been absorbed into the wider Tyneside conurbation, sitting between Tynemouth to the ...

. *2021–present: John Sentamu, former

Archbishop of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers th ...

Archdeaconries and deaneries

Archdeacons

On 8 November 2020, it was announced that the Archdeacon of Northumberland, Mark Wroe, was to become the Bishop of Berwick. Following his consecration 5 January 2021, Rachel Wood, vicar of St Mary's, Monkseaton, will also be the acting Archdeacon of Northumberland. Catherine Sourbut Groves was collated as Archdeacon of Lindisfarne on 14 November 2020. Due to restrictions as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, the service was conducted online. *includes Cathedral

List of churches

Outside a deanery

Deanery of Bedlington

Deanery of Newcastle Central

¹Local ecumenical partnership (CoE/Baptist/Methodist/URC)

Deanery of Newcastle East

Deanery of Newcastle West

Deanery of Tynemouth

Deanery of Alnwick

Deanery of Bamburgh and Glendale

Deanery of Bellingham

Deanery of Corbridge

Deanery of Hexham

Deanery of Morpeth

Deanery of Norham

Dedications

This table is drawn from the above lists.

References

Bibliography

Church of England Statistics 2002

External links

* {{authority control

Newcastle Newcastle usually refers to: *Newcastle upon Tyne, a city and metropolitan borough in Tyne and Wear, England *Newcastle-under-Lyme, a town in Staffordshire, England *Newcastle, New South Wales, a metropolitan area in Australia, named after Newcastle ...

Newcastle upon Tyne