The Episcopal Diocese of Missouri is the

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 ...

with jurisdiction over 54 counties in eastern

Missouri Missouri is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. Ranking List of U.S. states and territories by area, 21st in land area, it is bordered by eight states (tied for the most with Tennessee ...

. It has 42 congregations and is in Province 5. 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 denomination ...

, Christ Church Cathedral, is in

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, as are the diocesan offices. The current bishop is

Deon K. Johnson Deon Kevin Johnson is the eleventh bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri. He was elected on November 23, 2019, and was consecrated and installed on June 13, 2020. His ordination and consecration was originally scheduled for April 25, 2020, ...

From frontier to the 20th century

The Episcopal Diocese of Missouri was founded in 1841 by the Episcopal congregations that already existed in the state. In 1844, the diocese elected its 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 ...

, Cicero Hawks, who presided over five priests and nine congregations. He held the diocese together during the

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

, increasing the reputation of the Episcopal Church in Missouri. After Hawks' death in 1868, the diocese elected Charles F. Robertson as the second bishop of the diocese. By the time of his death in 1886, the diocese had grown to 51 congregations and 40 missions throughout the state. After the election of the third bishop,

Daniel S. Tuttle Daniel Sylvester Tuttle (January 26, 1837 – April 17, 1923) was consecrated a bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, Episcopal Church in 1866. His first assignment was as Bishop of Montana, a missionary field that include ...

, the Diocesan Convention approved a plan to split the diocese in half. Tuttle supported the newly created

Episcopal Diocese of West Missouri The Diocese of West Missouri is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America and a member of Province VII. It has jurisdiction over sixty counties in western Missouri running from the cities Fairfax in the north to Branson i ...

by providing funds to sustain it through its first years.

The church's mission expands

As Tuttle aged, the Diocesan Convention appointed

Frederick Foote Johnson Frederick Foote Johnson (April 23, 1866 – May 9, 1943) was fourth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri. Early life and education Johnson was born in Newtown, Connecticut on April 23, 1866, a son of Ezra Levan Johnson and Jane Eliza Camp. ...

bishop coadjutor A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co- ...

in 1911. He took over as diocesan bishop upon Tuttle's death in 1923. During Johnson's tenure, the diocese expanded its youth and campus ministries. As Johnson's health failed, the dean of Christ Church Cathedral, William Scarlett, was appointed as bishop coadjutor. He succeeded Johnson in 1930. Scarlett worked tirelessly for social reform, championing the cause of those left jobless and homeless during the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

. In 1935, the Episcopal City Mission was formed to minister to those in jail. He also revitalized the Christian Education system at this time.

The civil rights movement

Scarlett was succeeded by

Arthur C. Lichtenberger Arthur Carl Lichtenberger (January 8, 1900 – September 3, 1968) was a bishop of the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church in the United States. He served as Episcopal Diocese of Missouri, Bishop of Missouri from 1952 to 1959, and as ...

in 1950. As Bishop, he held a prominent role in the St. Louis

civil rights movement The civil rights movement was a nonviolent social and political movement and campaign from 1954 to 1968 in the United States to abolish legalized institutional Racial segregation in the United States, racial segregation, Racial discrimination ...

. He was elected as the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church in 1958. He was succeeded as diocesan bishop by

George L. Cadigan George Leslie Cadigan (April 12, 1910 – December 14, 2005) was seventh bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri from 1959 to 1975. He was an alumnus of Amherst College. Early life and education Cadigan was born on April 12, 1910, in Mount Ve ...

, who continued Lichtenberger's civil rights mission. Cadigan worked with lay leaders and community members to fight for the rights of

African-Americans African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ensl ...

in Missouri. He also gave more control of the church to laity. Cadigan retired in April 1975 and died December 14, 2005.

Recent developments in the diocese

William Jones succeeded Cadigan, and he immediately attempted to deal with the discord in the diocese. While great strides had been made on the social front of which the Church could be proud, the number of Episcopalians was declining as the Church failed to attract new members to replace those who left over disagreement with the direction the Church was taking, exemplified by a new

Book of Common Prayer The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...

and the ordination of women. Jones retired in 1992. He was replaced by Hays Rockwell, who had been elected bishop coadjutor in 1990. Rockwell's episcopacy has been characterized as a time of renewal with an influx of new rectors for many of the congregations, a restructuring of the diocesan staff, an emphasis on congregational development, and maintenance of an Episcopal presence in the city of St. Louis and rural areas of the diocese. Rockwell retired in June 2002 and was replaced by Wayne Smith on June 6, 2002. Following Smith's decision to retire in 2020,

was elected as Bishop on November 23, 2019. Johnson was consecrated as bishop on June 13, 2020.

Bishops

Cicero Stephens Hawks Cicero Stephens Hawks (May 26, 1812 – April 19, 1868) was the first Episcopal bishop of Missouri. Biography Hawks was born in New Bern, North Carolina. After an education at the University of North Carolina, Hawks began to study the law, ...

(1844-1868) #

Charles Franklin Robertson Charles Franklin Robertson (March 2, 1835 – May 1, 1886) was the second Diocesan bishop, Bishop of Episcopal Diocese of Missouri, Missouri in The Episcopal Church. He was one of six children born to James Robertson and Mary Ann Canfield Robertso ...

(1868-1886) #

(1886-1923) #

(1923-1933) # William Scarlett (1933-1952) #

(1952-1959) # George Leslie Cadigan (1959-1975) # William Jones (1975-1992) #

Hays Hamilton Rockwell Hays Hamilton Rockwell (born August 17, 1936) is an American prelate who was ninth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Missouri. Early life and education Rockwell was born in Detroit, Michigan on August 17, 1936, the son of Walter Francis Rockwell ...

(1992-2002) # Wayne Smith (2002-2020) #

(2020-present)

References

External links

Official Episcopal Diocese of Missouri website

A complete list of parishes in the diocese

Official Website for the Episcopal Church
*
Journal of the Annual Convention, Diocese of Missouri
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Missouri

Christianity in Missouri Protestantism in Missouri Religious organizations established in 1841 Anglican dioceses established in the 19th century 1841 establishments in Missouri Christianity in St. Louis Province 5 of the Episcopal Church (United States)