The Episcopal Diocese of Western Colorado was 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 ...

from 1892 to 1898 and from 1907 to 1919. In 1892 Western Colorado was detached from the Diocese of Colorado and constituted as a Missionary District. It consisted of all regions in Colorado west of Larimer,

Boulder In geology, a boulder (or rarely bowlder) is a rock fragment with size greater than in diameter. Smaller pieces are called cobbles and pebbles. While a boulder may be small enough to move or roll manually, others are extremely massive. In c ...

, Gilpin, Clear Creek,

Park A park is an area of natural, semi-natural or planted space set aside for human enjoyment and recreation or for the protection of wildlife or natural habitats. Urban parks are urban green space, green spaces set aside for recreation inside t ...

Lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

, Chaffee, Saguache,

Rio Grande The Rio Grande ( and ), known in Mexico as the Río Bravo del Norte or simply the Río Bravo, is one of the principal rivers (along with the Colorado River) in the southwestern United States and in northern Mexico. The length of the Rio G ...

and Conejos counties. The first

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 ...

was

William Morris Barker William Morris Barker (May 12, 1854 – February 21, 1901) was bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Olympia from 1894 to 1901. He also served as bishop of the former Episcopal Diocese of Western Colorado The Episcopal Diocese of Western Colorado was ...

from 1893 to 1894. The district was administered from 1894 to 1903 by

Abiel Leonard Abiel Leonard (June 26, 1848 – December 3, 1903) was the second bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Utah, serving from 1888 to 1903. He was succeeded by Franklin Spencer Spalding. Biography Abiel Leonard was born in Fayette, Missouri on June ...

, whose title in 1895 became Missionary Bishop of Nevada, Utah, and Western Colorado. In 1898 it became part of the Missionary District of Salt Lake. Bishop Leonard was succeeded by

Franklin S. Spalding Franklin Spencer Spalding (1865–1914) was an Episcopal Bishop of Utah from 1905 to 1914 who advocated Christian socialism as the true teachings of the Bible and Jesus Christ. Early life Franklin Spencer Spalding was born in Erie, Pennsylvania ...

from 1904 to 1907. In 1907 the Missionary District of Western Colorado was recreated and had the following bishops: * Edward J. Knight (1907–1908) * Benjamin Brewster (1909–1916) * Frank H. Touret (1917–1919) In 1919 Western Colorado again became part of the Diocese of Colorado, as it had been up to 1892.

Notes

References

*''The Episcopal Church Annual''. Morehouse Publishing: New York, NY (1962). Western Colorado Religious organizations established in 1892 1919 disestablishments Anglican dioceses established in the 19th century {{Anglican-diocese-stub