The Episcopal Diocese of West Texas is the

diocese 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 ...

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 ...

whose territory comprises the southernmost part of the state of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

Territory

The see city is

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , subdivision_t ...

, and the diocese includes the cities of Corpus Christi and Brownsville. (The westernmost part of Texas, including

El Paso El Paso (; "the pass") is a city in and the seat of El Paso County in the western corner of the U.S. state of Texas. The 2020 population of the city from the U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the 23rd-largest city in the U.S., the ...

, falls under the

Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande The Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande is the Episcopal Church's diocese in New Mexico and southwest Texas, the portion of the state west of the Pecos River, including the counties of El Paso, Reeves, Culberson, Jeff Davis, Brewster, Presidio, T ...

, which also covers all of

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe, New Mexico, Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque, New Mexico, Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Albuquerque metropolitan area, Tiguex , Offi ...

History

The Diocese of West Texas was formed on October 26, 1874 when the

General Convention of the Episcopal Church The General Convention is the primary governing and legislative body of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. With the exception of the Bible, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Constitution and Canons, it is the ultimate authority ...

voted in favor of the division of the

Episcopal Diocese of Texas The Episcopal Diocese of Texas is one of the dioceses of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. The diocese consists of all Episcopal congregations in the southeastern quartile of Texas, including the cities of Austin, Beaumont, ...

which led to the formation of the Missionary District of Northern Texas and the Missionary District of Western Texas. The Missionary District of Western Texas was formally established on May 6, 1875. On May 10, 1904, the missionary district was elevated to the status of a diocese, which led to the establishment of the Diocese of West Texas.

Structure

As of 2017, it had 87 churches, 26,000 active baptized members, and an Average Sunday Attendance of 10,592. The diocese and its parishes sponsor twenty-eight

parochial school A parochial school is a private primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathematics and language arts. The wor ...

s and preschools, including

TMI Episcopal TMI Episcopal is a private school in San Antonio. Previously known as Texas Military Institute, TMI is a selective coeducational Episcopal college preparatory school with a military tradition in San Antonio, Texas for boarding and day students. ...

(founded as "West Texas Military Academy"), a boarding college-preparatory school on the outskirts of San Antonio. The diocese was also instrumental in the founding of St. Philip's College, which became a public community college in 1942. The largest parishes in the diocese are Christ Church, San Antonio, St Mark's, San Antonio, St Luke's, San Antonio and Good Shepherd, Corpus Christi. The Diocese of West Texas is part of Province VII.

Bishops

There have been ten diocesan bishops of West Texas and six suffragan bishops: #

Robert W. B. Elliott Robert Woodward Barnwell Elliott (August 16, 1840 – August 26, 1887) was the first Missionary Bishop (1874–1887) of what was then the Missionary District of Western Texas in the Episcopal Church. Family and Early Life Elliott was born on Augu ...

(1874–1887) # James Steptoe Johnston (1888–1916) # William Theodotus Capers (1916–1943) # Everett Holland Jones (1943–1968)
''* Richard Earl Dicus, suffragan (1955-1976)'' # Harold Cornelius Gosnell (1968–1977) # Scott Field Bailey (1977–1987)
''* Stanley F. Hauser, suffragan (1979-1987)'' # John Herbert MacNaughton (1987–1995)
''* Earl N. McArthur, suffragan (1988-1993)'' # James E. Folts (1996–2006)
''* Robert B. Hibbs, suffragan (1996-2003)'' # Gary Richard Lillibridge (2006–2017)
''* David M. Reed, suffragan (2006-2014)
*

Jennifer Brooke-Davidson Jennifer Brooke-Davidson (born June 29, 1960) is an American prelate of the Episcopal Church who is currently the Assistant Bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina. Early life and education Jennifer Brooke was born on June 29, 1960 i ...

, suffragan (2016-2019)'' # David M. Reed (2017-present) The diocese does not have a church designated as its

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the ''cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denominatio ...

; the diocesan offices are in the Bishop Jones Center in San Antonio.

References

* *

External links

Episcopal Diocese of West Texas website
*
Journal of the Annual Council, Diocese of West Texas
'

West Texas West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the arid and semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Abilene, and Del Rio. No consensus exists on the boundary betwe ...

Religious organizations established in 1874 Anglican dioceses established in the 19th century 1874 establishments in Texas Province 7 of the Episcopal Church (United States) {{Texas-stub