Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania
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The Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania 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 ...
encompassing the counties of
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
, Montgomery, Bucks,
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 ...
and
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
in the state of
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. The Diocese has 36,641 members in 2020 in 134 congregations. In March 2016,
Daniel G. P. Gutierrez Daniel George Policarpio Gutiérrez (born 1964) is the 16th and current bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania, the second oldest and fourth largest in the country. He was elected and consecrated in 2016, and previously served as Canon t ...
was elected Bishop Diocesan; he was consecrated and assumed office on July 16, 2016. Upon becoming bishop in 2016, Gutiérrez implemented a strategy of experimentation and adaptation.


History

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...
founded Pennsylvania, but Anglicans were present from the beginning. They established nine congregations, including Christ Church in
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
(1695),
Old Trinity Church Old Trinity Church, also known as Trinity Church, Oxford, is a historic Episcopal church established in 1696 located in Oxford Township, Pennsylvania, which is now part of Philadelphia. Building history Church of England services were first hel ...
in
Oxford Oxford () is a city in England. It is the county town and only city of Oxfordshire. In 2020, its population was estimated at 151,584. It is north-west of London, south-east of Birmingham and north-east of Bristol. The city is home to the ...
(1698), St. Thomas' Church in Whitemarsh (1698), St. Martin's Church in Marcus Hook (1699), St. David's Church in Radnor (1700), St. Paul's Church in
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 ...
(1702) and
St. John's Church St. John's Church, Church of St. John, or variants, thereof, (Saint John or St. John usually refers to John the Baptist, but also, sometimes, to John the Apostle or John the Evangelist) may refer to the following churches, former churches or other ...
in
Concord Concord may refer to: Meaning "agreement" * Pact or treaty, frequently between nations (indicating a condition of harmony) * Harmony, in music * Agreement (linguistics), a change in the form of a word depending on grammatical features of other ...
(1702) in the colony's first twenty years. After the American Revolution, Anglicans became known as Episcopalians. Led by the Reverend William White, they organized the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania in 1784. White became the diocese's first bishop three years later, and it grew rapidly during his episcopacy (1787-1836). In the beginning, the Diocese spanned a vast area, extending from
Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...
to
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
. Essentially, it encompassed the whole of Pennsylvania. In 1865, a new
Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh is a diocese in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Geographically, it encompasses 11 counties in Western Pennsylvania. It was formed in 1865 by dividing the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania ...
took responsibility for every parish west of the Alleghenies. By 1910 there were five Episcopal dioceses in Pennsylvania, and the Diocese of Pennsylvania covered only the southeastern corner of the commonwealth. Bishop White favored the "middle way" – a balance between individual piety and shared ritual, between parish autonomy and centralized leadership. Some of his successors (e.g.
Henry Ustick Onderdonk Henry Ustick Onderdonk (March 16, 1789 – December 6, 1858) was the second Episcopal bishop of Pennsylvania. Early life Onderdonk was born in New York City.Batterson, 94 He studied at Columbia University, receiving his degree in 1805, and then ...
, 1836–1844) tried to reconcile those committed to "high" and "low" church beliefs and practices. The emergence of "liberal" theology at the end of the nineteenth century heightened tensions. The diocese established a divinity school in 1858. Both clerks from Spring Garden (St. Jude's, 1848) and their bosses in Chestnut Hill (St. Paul's, 1856) could worship at an Episcopal church. It took account of the sick and the poor, sponsoring such organizations as Episcopal Hospital (1852) and the City Mission (1870), the forerunner of today's Episcopal Community Services. Beginning in the 1920s and accelerating two decades later, many Episcopalians left Philadelphia altogether. New congregations appeared almost overnight in suburbs like
Newtown Square Newtown Township is a township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. Prior to 1789 it was part of Chester County. The population was 12,216 as of the 2010 census, and was 19,705 as of 2017. History The first mention of the township was in 1684, ...
(St. Alban's, 1922), Gladwyne (St. Christopher's, 1949),
Levittown Levittown is the name of several large suburban housing developments created in the United States (including one in Puerto Rico) by William J. Levitt and his company Levitt & Sons. Built after World War II for returning white veterans and their ...
(St. Paul's, 1953), and Maple Glen (St. Matthews, 1967). Others experience unprecedented growth in the 1950s (Redeemer, Bryn Mawr, 1851). Bishop Oliver J. Hart (1943-1963) wrestled with the implications of suburbanization. While the city parishes supported the creation of parishes and missions outside of Philadelphia the generation or two before, these congregations outside the city did not always empathize with the social and economic problems of their urban brethren. African Americans have worshipped in the Diocese of Pennsylvania since its inception. As slaves and free persons, they attended services at some of its most venerable congregations.
Absalom Jones Absalom Jones (November 7, 1746February 13, 1818) was an African-American abolitionist and clergyman who became prominent in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Disappointed at the racial discrimination he experienced in a local Methodist church, he found ...
, the founder with Richard Allen of the
Free African Society The Free African Society, founded in 1787, was a benevolent organization that held religious services and provided mutual aid for "free Africans and their descendants" in Philadelphia. The Society was founded by Richard Allen and Absalom Jones. It ...
in 1787, organized Saint Thomas, the first independent black church in America, in 1794. Jones became an Episcopal deacon in 1795 and a priest in 1804. All-black congregations were not common in Philadelphia until the city's African American population expanded in the first half of the twentieth century. By 1980 the parish Jones once led (known today as the African Episcopal Church of Saint Thomas) had become one of the largest (black or white) in the Diocese. Many black Episcopalians now worshiped by themselves in parishes that had once been all white or integrated (Church of the Advocate, Philadelphia, 1886). Until
Robert L. DeWitt Robert Lionne DeWitt (March 12, 1916 - November 21, 2003) was bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania, serving as diocesan from 1964 to 1973. He became known for fighting against the Vietnam War and racism, as well as working for social j ...
(1964-1973) became its twelfth bishop in 1964, the Diocese of Pennsylvania largely ignored the civil rights movement. During his nine years at the helm, DeWitt insisted that the Diocese acknowledge and respond to the racism and discrimination in its midst. Troubled by riots in Philadelphia and Chester, he supported an ecumenical effort to desegregate
Girard College Girard College is an independent college preparatory five-day boarding school located on a 43-acre campus in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The school was founded and permanently endowed from the shipping and banking fortune of Stephen Girard upon h ...
, a boarding school for orphan boys that bore the name of its nineteenth-century benefactor. He even lent his support to the idea that the best way to atone for slavery was through "reparations." DeWitt's successor, Lyman L. Ogilby (1974-1988), inherited a Diocese that was certainly more attuned to issues of inequality and social justice than it once had been. This new sensitivity manifested itself in July 1974 when the first women to become Episcopal priests were ordained in Philadelphia. The ceremony took place at the Church of the Advocate whose rector, the Reverend Paul M. Washington, was also an important civil rights leader. Ogilby did not participate, but neither did he stand in the way. By then, laywomen had begun to play a significant role in the church, serving on vestries and as delegates to the diocesan conventions. In 1986, St. Giles,
Upper Darby Upper Darby Township, often shortened to Upper Darby, is a home rule township in Delaware County, Pennsylvania. The township borders Philadelphia, the nation's sixth most populous city as of 2020 with 1.6 million residents. As of the 2020 cen ...
became the first parish in the Diocese to call a woman, the Reverend Michealla Keener, to be its rector. The place of gays and lesbians in the Diocese remained unresolved until the episcopacy of Allen L. Bartlett, Jr. (1988-1998). After prayerful consideration, he opened the door to the diaconate and the priesthood for openly gay men and women. But such reforms did not come without recrimination. Some priests and parishes withdrew from the Diocese or invited bishops from outside its borders to make pastoral visits. Bartlett tolerated these so-called "flying bishops," but his successor, Charles Bennison (1998-2012), did not. Following a difficult period in its life and Bishop Bennison's departure, the Diocese turned for leadership to Clifton Daniel, 3rd (2013-2016). The bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina, beginning in 1997, came to Pennsylvania on a provisional basis and kept the Diocese on a steady course while it made plans to search for a permanent successor. Completed in 2016, that search led to the selection of Daniel G. P. Gutierrez, canon to the ordinary in 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 ...
, as the sixteenth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania.


Future

The diocese is committed its vision of knowing Jesus and changing the world in his name. "Our vision is to know Jesus and change the world. We can do that by proclaiming the Gospel, empowering our churches, and addressing the pain and poverty. We have the gifts, resources, people, and faith. Together we are change agents for Christ." The diocese is committed to recasting assets and helping churches rediscover new ways to be the church.


Cathedral

During the early 20th Century as the more wealthy population of the diocese was shifting west toward the "Main Line", a project was undertaken to build Cathedral Church of Christ, on Ridge Avenue in the
Roxborough Roxborough may refer to: Places * Roxborough, Manchester, Jamaica * Roxborough, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, US, a neighborhood * Roxborough, Trinidad and Tobago, Tobago Island, Republic of Trinidad and Tobago * Roxborough Castle, Ireland * Roxborou ...
section of the city, but construction on the cathedral project was halted decades ago for financial reasons. A cathedral was also envisioned as part of the Washington Memorial Chapel complex at Valley Forge, but did not get much further than the laying of a cornerstone. In 2019, after 200 years in the city of Philadelphia, the diocese moved its headquarters to Norristown reviving a previously closed church ther


Bishops of Pennsylvania

These are the bishops who have served the Diocese of Pennsylvania:''The Episcopal Church Annual''. Morehouse Publishing: New York, NY (2005) # William White (Bishop of Pennsylvania), William White (1787–1836)
* Henry U. Onderdonk, Bishop Coadjutor (1827–1836) # Henry U. Onderdonk (1836–1844) #
Alonzo Potter Alonzo Potter (July 6, 1800 – July 4, 1865) was an American bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States who served as the third bishop of the Diocese of Pennsylvania. Potter "identified himself with all the best interests of society." ...
(1845–1865)
* Samuel Bowman, Bishop Suffragan (1858–1861)
* William B. Stevens, Bishop Coadjutor (1862–1865) # William B. Stevens (1865–1887)
* Ozi W. Whitaker, Bishop Coadjutor (1886–1887) # Ozi W. Whitaker (1887–1911)
* Alexander Mackay-Smith, Bishop Coadjutor (1902–1911) # Alexander Mackay-Smith (1911)
* Philip M. Rhinelander, Bishop Coadjutor (1911) # Philip M. Rhinelander (1911–1923)
* Thomas J. Garland, Bishop Suffragan (elected 1911) # Thomas J. Garland (1924–1931)
* Francis Marion Taitt, Bishop Coadjutor (1929–1931) # Francis Marion Taitt (1931–1943)
* Oliver J. Hart, Bishop Coadjutor (1942–1943) # Oliver J. Hart (1943–1963)
* William P. Remington, Bishop Suffragan (1945–1961)
* J. Gillespie Armstrong, Bishop Suffragan (1949, Bishop Coadjutor (1960–1963) # J. Gillespie Armstrong (1963–1964)
*
Robert L. DeWitt Robert Lionne DeWitt (March 12, 1916 - November 21, 2003) was bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania, serving as diocesan from 1964 to 1973. He became known for fighting against the Vietnam War and racism, as well as working for social j ...
, Bishop Coadjutor (1964) #
Robert L. DeWitt Robert Lionne DeWitt (March 12, 1916 - November 21, 2003) was bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania, serving as diocesan from 1964 to 1973. He became known for fighting against the Vietnam War and racism, as well as working for social j ...
(1964–1973)
* Lyman C. Ogilby, Bishop Coadjutor (1973) # Lyman C. Ogilby (1974–1987)
* Allen L. Bartlett, Jr., Bishop Coadjutor (1986) # Allen L. Bartlett, Jr. (1987–1998)
* Franklin D. Turner, Bishop Suffragan (1988-2000) # Charles Ellsworth Bennison, Jr. (1998–2012)
* Clarence N. Coleridge (Assisting)
* Clifton D. Daniel, III, Provisional Bishop (2013-2016)
*
Allen L. Bartlett Allen Lyman Bartlett Jr. (born September 20, 1929) is an Episcopal Church (USA), Episcopal priest who became coadjutor bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania, the fourth largest in the country. He succeeded Bishop Lyman Ogilby as the dioce ...
(Assisting)
* Edward Lewis Lee (Assisting)
* Rodney R. Michel (Assisting) #
Daniel G. P. Gutierrez Daniel George Policarpio Gutiérrez (born 1964) is the 16th and current bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania, the second oldest and fourth largest in the country. He was elected and consecrated in 2016, and previously served as Canon t ...
, (2016–Present)


See also

* List of bishops of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America


Notes


External links


Diocese of Pennsylvania
official website
Philadelphia Cathedral
official website
A History of St. Thomas' African Episcopal Church, 1794-1865
Dissertation by Thomas F. Ulle,
University of Pennsylvania The University of Pennsylvania (also known as Penn or UPenn) is a private research university in Philadelphia. It is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and is ranked among the highest-regarded universitie ...

Episcopal Church
official website *
Journal of the Annual Convention, Diocese of Pennsylvania
' {{DEFAULTSORT:Pennsylvania Diocese of Pennsylvania 1787 establishments in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
Christianity in Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
Province 3 of the Episcopal Church (United States) Religious organizations established in 1787