The Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida 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 ...

of the

Episcopal Church in the United States of America The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop o ...

(ECUSA) in

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

which extends from

Marco Island Marco may refer to: People * Marco (given name), people with the given name Marco * Marco (actor) (born 1977), South Korean model and actor * Georg Marco (1863–1923), Romanian chess player of German origin * Tomás Marco (born 1942), Spanish ...

on the south, to Brooksville on the north, and inland to

Plant City Plant City is an incorporated city in Hillsborough County, Florida, United States, approximately midway between Brandon and Lakeland along Interstate 4. The population was 39,764 at the 2020 census. Despite many thinking it was named for flora ...

Arcadia Arcadia may refer to: Places Australia * Arcadia, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney * Arcadia, Queensland * Arcadia, Victoria Greece * Arcadia (region), a region in the central Peloponnese * Arcadia (regional unit), a modern administrative un ...

and LaBelle on the east. As part of the ECUSA, the diocese is a constituent member of the worldwide

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...

. Major cities in the diocese are

Tampa Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and the seat of Hillsborough County ...

St. Petersburg Saint Petersburg ( rus, links=no, Санкт-Петербург, a=Ru-Sankt Peterburg Leningrad Petrograd Piter.ogg, r=Sankt-Peterburg, p=ˈsankt pʲɪtʲɪrˈburk), formerly known as Petrograd (1914–1924) and later Leningrad (1924–1991), i ...

Clearwater Clearwater or Clear Water may refer to: Places Canada * Clear Water Academy, a private Catholic school located in Calgary, Alberta * Clearwater (provincial electoral district), a former provincial electoral district in Alberta * Clearwater, Briti ...

Fort Myers Fort Myers (or Ft. Myers) is a city in southwestern Florida and the county seat and commercial center of Lee County, Florida, United States. The Census Bureau's Population Estimates Program calculated that the city's population was 92,245 in 20 ...

Sarasota Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sou ...

, and

Bradenton Bradenton ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Manatee County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the city's population is 55,698. History Late 18th and early 19th centuries A settlement established by Maroons or escaped sl ...

. The diocese includes the western half of Hendry County, the mainland portion of

Monroe County Monroe County may refer to seventeen counties in the United States, all named for James Monroe: * Monroe County, Alabama *Monroe County, Arkansas * Monroe County, Florida * Monroe County, Georgia *Monroe County, Illinois *Monroe County, Indian ...

, and all of the counties of Hernando, Pasco,

Pinellas Pinellas is the name of a peninsula located roughly halfway down the west coast of Florida. It forms the western boundary of Tampa Bay and comprises the bulk of Pinellas County. There is a city named Pinellas Park in south Pinellas. The peninsula ...

, Hillsborough,

Manatee Manatees (family Trichechidae, genus ''Trichechus'') are large, fully aquatic, mostly herbivorous marine mammals sometimes known as sea cows. There are three accepted living species of Trichechidae, representing three of the four living speci ...

, DeSoto,

Charlotte Charlotte ( ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of North Carolina. Located in the Piedmont region, it is the county seat of Mecklenburg County. The population was 874,579 at the 2020 census, making Charlotte the 16th-most populo ...

, Lee, and Collier. The diocese is a part of Province IV of the Episcopal Church, historically known as the Province of Sewanee. The current Diocesan

Bishop 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 ...

of Southwest Florida is Douglas Scharf. The cathedral church of the diocese is Cathedral Church of St. Peter in St. Petersburg. The diocesan offices are in

Parrish, Florida Parrish is an unincorporated community in northwestern Manatee County, Florida, United States. The community is located near the intersection of U.S. 301 and State Road 62 and is part of the North Port–Sarasota–Bradenton Metropo ...

on the campus of the DaySpring Episcopal Center. The diocese currently comprises 78 churches.The Episcopal Church Annual (2007) Harrisburg: Morehouse Church Resources, pp. 359-361.

History

The Diocese of Southwest Florida was created in 1969 when the Diocese of South Florida was split to form the dioceses of

Central Florida Central Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, including the Tampa Bay area and the Gr ...

, Southeast Florida and Southwest Florida. Historic church buildings in the Diocese include Ft. Myers Beach's St. Raphael's, St. James House of Prayer, and St. Andrew's, Tampa, Cathedral Church of St. Peter, St. Petersburg, Sarasota's Church of the Redeemer and DaySpring Episcopal Center's St. Thomas Chapel, formerly the Church of the Holy Spirit,

Safety Harbor Safety Harbor is a city on the west shore of Tampa Bay in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. It was settled in 1823 and incorporated in 1917. The population was 16,884 at the 2010 census. History The area has been inhabited since the Stone ...

Bishops of the diocese

The Bishops of the Diocese of Southwest Florida are: #1969–1975: William L. Hargrave #1975–1988: Emerson Paul Haynes #1989–1997: Rogers Sanders Harris #1997–2007: John Bailey Lipscomb #2007–2022: Dabney Tyler Smith #2022–present: Douglas Frederick Scharf NOTE: For earlier bishops, see the Episcopal Diocese of South Florida

Deaneries

In accordance with the usage in the ECUSA, the diocese is divided into seven

deaneries A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

as follows: *Clearwater Deanery: Clearwater, Dunedin, Hudson, Indian Rocks Beach, Largo, New Port Richey, Palm Harbor, Safety Harbor, Seminole, Spring Hill and Tarpon Springs. The Rev. Randy Hehr, Dean. *Fort Myers Deanery: Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, LaBelle, Lehigh Acres, North Fort Myers, Pine Island and Sanibel. The Rev. Dr. Ellen Sloan, Dean. *Manasota Deanery: Anna Maria, Arcadia, Bradenton, Longboat Key, Osprey, Palmetto and Sarasota: The Very Rev. Fredrick A. Robinson, Dean. *Naples Deanery: Bonita Springs, Marco Island and Naples. The Rev Edward Gleason, Dean. *St. Petersburg Deanery: Pinellas Park, St. Petersburg and St. Pete Beach: The Rev. Stephen B. Morris, Dean. *Tampa Deanery: Brooksville, Dade City, Plant City, Ruskin, Tampa, Temple Terrace, Valrico and Zephyrhills. The Rev. Charles Connelly, Dean. *Venice Deanery: Boca Grande, Englewood, North Port, Osprey, Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda and Venice. The Rev. Michelle Robertshaw, Dean.

References

Bibliography

*Cushman, Joseph D., Jr., ''A Goodly Heritage: The Episcopal Church in Florida, 1821-1892'', Gainesville: University of Florida Press (1965)

External links

The Diocese of Southwest FloridaSt. Peter’s Cathedral – St. PetersburgThe Episcopal Church in the United States of America
{{DEFAULTSORT:Southwest Florida

Southwest Florida Southwest Florida is the region along the southwest Gulf coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is known for its beaches, subtropical landscape, and winter resort economy. Definitions of the region vary, though its boundaries are generally ...