The Diocese of Exeter is a

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the established Christian church in England and the mother church of the international Anglican Communion. It traces its history to the Christian church recorded as existing in the Roman province of Britai ...

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 associa ...

covering the county of

Devon Devon ( , historically known as Devonshire , ) is a ceremonial and non-metropolitan county in South West England. The most populous settlement in Devon is the city of Plymouth, followed by Devon's county town, the city of Exeter. Devo ...

. It is one of the largest dioceses in England. The Cathedral Church of St Peter in Exeter is the seat of the diocesan Bishop of Exeter. It is part of the Province of Canterbury. The diocesan bishop (

Robert Atwell Robert Ronald Atwell (born 3 August 1954) is a British Anglican bishop, writer, and former Benedictine monk. Since April 2014, he has been the Bishop of Exeter. From 2008 to 2014, he was Bishop of Stockport, a suffragan bishop in the Diocese o ...

since 30 April 2014) is assisted by two suffragan bishops, the

Bishop of Crediton The Bishop of Crediton is an episcopal title which takes its name from the town of Crediton in Devon, England. The title was originally used by the Anglo-Saxons in the 10th and 11th centuries for a diocese covering Devon and Cornwall. It is now ...

and the Bishop of Plymouth. The See of Crediton was created in 1897 and the See of Plymouth in 1923.

History

The Diocese of Crediton was created out of the

Diocese of Sherborne The Bishop of Salisbury is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of Salisbury in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers much of the counties of Wiltshire and Dorset. The see is in the City of Salisbury where the bishop's sea ...

in AD 909 to cover the area of

and

Cornwall Cornwall (; kw, Kernow ) is a historic county and ceremonial county in South West England. It is recognised as one of the Celtic nations, and is the homeland of the Cornish people. Cornwall is bordered to the north and west by the Atlantic ...

. Crediton was chosen as the site for its cathedral, possibly due it having been the birthplace of Saint Boniface and also the existence of a monastery there.Exeter: Ecclesiastical History
Retrieved 5 June 2008. In 1046, Leofric became the Bishop of Crediton: following his appointment he decided that the see should be moved to the larger, more culturally significant and defensible walled town of Exeter. In 1050, King Edward the Confessor authorised that Exeter was to be the seat of the bishop for Devon and Cornwall and that a cathedral was to be built there for the bishop's throne. Thus, Leofric became the last diocesan Bishop of Crediton and the first Bishop of Exeter. The diocese remained unchanged until 1876, when the former

Archdeaconry of Cornwall The Archdeacon of Cornwall is a senior cleric in the Church of England Diocese of Truro. History and composition The archdeaconry of Cornwall was created in the Diocese of Exeter in the late 11th century. The area and the archdeacon remained par ...

became the independent Diocese of Truro.

Organisation

Bishops

The current diocesan Bishop of Exeter is

, who is assisted by

Jackie Searle Jacqueline Ann "Jackie" Searle (born 26 September 1960) is a British Anglican bishop. Since 2018, she has served as the Bishop of Crediton, a suffragan bishop of the Diocese of Exeter. She had previously been the Archdeacon of Gloucester betwee ...

, Bishop suffragan of Crediton and

James Grier James Grier (born 1974) is an English Anglican bishop. He currently serves as Bishop of Plymouth. Early life James Grier was born in 1974, to Sara and John Grier. His father was an NHS GP, and his mother was a nurse who went on to become Pre ...

, Bishop suffragan of Plymouth. The

provincial episcopal visitor A provincial episcopal visitor (PEV), popularly known as a flying bishop, is a Church of England bishop assigned to minister to many of the clergy, laity and parishes who on grounds of theological conviction, "are unable to receive the ministry of ...

(for parishes in this diocese – among twelve others in the western part of the Province of Canterbury – which do not accept the ordination of women as priests, since 1994) is the Bishop suffragan of Ebbsfleet (for traditional Anglo-Catholics), and

Rod Thomas Rod Thomas (born 11 January 1947) is a Welsh former professional footballer who represented Wales at International level. During his career Thomas played for Gloucester City, Swindon Town, Derby County, Cardiff City, Gloucester for a second ...

Bishop of Maidstone The Bishop of Maidstone is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Canterbury, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the county town of Maidstone in Kent. Canterbury suf ...

(for Conservative Evangelicals); they are licensed as honorary assistant bishops in the diocese. There are three former bishops licensed as honorary assistant bishops in the diocese: *2005–present:

Richard Hawkins Admiral Sir Richard Hawkins (or Hawkyns) (c. 1562 – 17 April 1622) was a 17th-century English seaman, explorer and privateer. He was the son of Admiral Sir John Hawkins. Biography He was from his earlier days familiar with ships and the s ...

, retired former Bishop suffragan of Plymouth and of Crediton, lives in Whipton. *2010–present:

Martin Shaw Martin Shaw (born 21 January 1945) is an English actor. He came to national recognition as Doyle in ITV crime-action television drama series '' The Professionals'' (1977–1983). Further notable television parts include the title roles in '' ...

, a retired former Bishop of Argyll and the Isles, lives in Exeter itself. *2018–present:

Mark Rylands Mark James Rylands (born 11 July 1961) is a British former Anglican bishop. From 2009 until 2018, he was the area Bishop of Shrewsbury in the Church of England. Early life Rylands was born on 11 July 1961, the son of Michael Rylands and Denise ...

, former Bishop of Shrewsbury, lives in Ashburton

Archdeaconries and deaneries

The diocese is divided into four archdeaconries. The Bishop suffragan of Crediton generally oversees the Archdeaconries of Barnstaple and Exeter and the Bishop suffragan of Plymouth the Archdeaconries of Plymouth and Totnes. The following mergers of deaneries have taken place: * the deaneries of Tiverton and Cullompton merged in 2012 to form the deanery of Tiverton & Cullompton * the deaneries of Devonport, Moorside and Sutton merged in 2015 to form the deanery of Plymouth City. *including Cathedral

Coat of arms

The arms of the diocese are Gules two keys in saltire Or a sword hilt downwards in pale Argent with hilt Or surmounted by a mitre. The charges are emblems of Saints Peter (keys) and Paul (sword) who are the patron saints of the cathedral.''Exeter Diocese: Resources'' in "CCEd, the

Clergy of the Church of England database The Clergy of the Church of England database (CCEd) is an online database of clergy of the Church of England between 1540 and 1835. The database project began in 1999 with funding from the Arts and Humanities Research Council, and is ongoing as a ...

" (Accesse
online
5 February 2014)

List of churches

''Last fully updated 5 October 2018.''

Outside deanery structures

Deanery of Aylesbeare

Deanery of Cadbury

¹part of the North Creedy West Mission Community ²part of the North Creedy East Mission Community

Deanery of Christianity

¹part of the East Exeter Mission Community ²part of the West Exe Mission Community

Deanery of Honito

Deanery of Kenn

Deanery of Ottery

Deanery of Tiverton & Cullompton

¹part of the Tiverton Mission Community

Deanery of Moreton

¹part of the Bovey Valley Mission Community

Deanery of Newton Abbot and Ipplepen

¹part of the Abbotskerswell Mission Community

Deanery of Okehampton

Deanery of Torba

¹part of the Our Lady & All the Saints Mission Community ²part of the West Torquay Mission Community ³part of the All Saints & St Luke Mission Community

Deanery of Totnes

¹part of the Three Rivers Mission Community

Deanery of Woodleigh

Deanery of Barnstaple

¹part of the Coast and 'Combe Mission Community (which also includes the parishes of Berrynarbor and Combe Martin from Shirwell deanery) ²part of the Barnstaple Mission Community

Deanery of Hartland

Deanery of Holsworthy

¹part of the Holsworthy Mission Community

Deanery of Shirwell

¹part of the Coast and 'Combe Mission Community (which also includes seven churches from Barnstaple deanery) ²part of the Lyn Valley Mission Community

Deanery of South Molton

Deanery of Torrington

¹part of the Winkleigh Mission Community

Deanery of Ivybridge

¹part of the South Dartmoor Mission Community ²part of the Yealm & Erme Mission Community ³part of the Yealmside Mission Community

Deanery of Plymouth City

¹part of the Holy Family Mission Community ²part of the Sacred Heart Mission Community

Deanery of Tavistock

¹part of the Tamar Mission Community ²part of the Tavy Mission Community

References

External links

Diocese of Exeter
– from the Catholic Encyclopedia
Diocesan prayer diaries giving lists of Mission Communities within the diocese
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diocese Of Exeter Exeter Exeter Christianity in Devon Christianity in Cornwall