The Diocese of Niagara is one of thirty regional divisions in the

Anglican Church of Canada The Anglican Church of Canada (ACC or ACoC) is the Ecclesiastical province#Anglican Communion, province of the Anglican Communion in Canada. The official French-language name is ''l'Église anglicane du Canada''. In 2017, the Anglican Church co ...

. The see city of the diocese is

Hamilton Hamilton may refer to: People * Hamilton (name), a common British surname and occasional given name, usually of Scottish origin, including a list of persons with the surname ** The Duke of Hamilton, the premier peer of Scotland ** Lord Hamilt ...

, with the bishop's cathedra located at Christ's Church Cathedral on James Street North. Located within the

ecclesiastical province of Ontario The Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario is one of four ecclesiastical provinces in the Anglican Church of Canada. It was established in 1912 out of six dioceses of the Ecclesiastical Province of Canada located in the civil province of Ontario, and t ...

, it borders the Dioceses of

Huron Huron may refer to: People * Wyandot people (or Wendat), indigenous to North America * Wyandot language, spoken by them * Huron-Wendat Nation, a Huron-Wendat First Nation with a community in Wendake, Quebec * Nottawaseppi Huron Band of Potawatomi ...

and

Toronto Toronto ( ; or ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of Ontario. With a recorded population of 2,794,356 in 2021, it is the most populous city in Canada and the fourth most populous city in North America. The city is the ancho ...

. The area enclosed by the Diocese of Niagara includes much of the

Golden Horseshoe The Golden Horseshoe is a secondary region of Southern Ontario, Canada, which lies at the western end of Lake Ontario, with outer boundaries stretching south to Lake Erie and north to Lake Scugog, Lake Simcoe and Georgian Bay of Lake Huron. The r ...

, and moves north to include Erin and Orangeville as far as Shelburne. Moving sharply south the line includes Mount Forest and widens, south-westerly to include Elora and

Guelph Guelph ( ; 2021 Canadian Census population 143,740) is a city in Southwestern Ontario, Canada. Known as "The Royal City", Guelph is roughly east of Kitchener and west of Downtown Toronto, at the intersection of Highway 6, Highway 7 and Wel ...

. Skirting

Brantford Brantford (Canada 2021 Census, 2021 population: 104,688) is a city in Ontario, Canada, founded on the Grand River (Ontario), Grand River in Southwestern Ontario. It is surrounded by County of Brant, Brant County, but is politically separate with ...

and the Territory of the Six Nations Confederacy, the line then travels, again, south-westerly to Nanticoke and

Lake Erie Lake Erie ( "eerie") is the fourth largest lake by surface area of the five Great Lakes in North America and the eleventh-largest globally. It is the southernmost, shallowest, and smallest by volume of the Great Lakes and therefore also has t ...

to include the entire

Niagara Peninsula The Niagara Peninsula is an area of land lying between the southwestern shore of Lake Ontario and the northeastern shore of Lake Erie, in Ontario, Canada. Technically an isthmus rather than a peninsula, it stretches from the Niagara River in the ...

. Major urban centres within its borders are

St. Catharines St. Catharines is the largest city in Canada's Niagara Region and the sixth largest urban area in the province of Ontario. As of 2016, it has an area of , 136,803 residents, and a metropolitan population of 406,074. It lies in Southern Ontario ...

, Niagara Falls, Hamilton, Guelph, Oakville, Milton,

Burlington Burlington may refer to: Places Canada Geography * Burlington, Newfoundland and Labrador * Burlington, Nova Scotia * Burlington, Ontario, the most populous city with the name "Burlington" * Burlington, Prince Edward Island * Burlington Bay, no ...

, and Orangeville. The current bishop of Niagara is The Right Reverend Susan Bell, who succeeded The Right Reverend Michael Bird as diocesan bishop on June 1, 2018. She was elected bishop by the synod of the Diocese of Niagara in March 2018, and consecrated and installed as a bishop in May of that year. There are just over 80 parishes within the diocese served by approximately 120 licensed parish priests, with a number of honorary clergy, vocational deacons and licensed lay people. The diocese is divided into five regional deaneries: Brock, Lincoln, Hamilton-Haldimand, Greater Wellington and Trafalgar. Each deanery is overseen by a regional archdeacon and regional dean.

Early history

The first Anglican presence in what would become the Diocese of Niagara begin with St Mark's Church in Newark (now

Niagara-on-the-Lake Niagara-on-the-Lake is a town in Ontario, Canada. It is located on the Niagara Peninsula at the point where the Niagara River meets Lake Ontario, across the river from New York, United States. Niagara-on-the-Lake is in the Niagara Region of On ...

), the former capital of

Upper Canada The Province of Upper Canada (french: link=no, province du Haut-Canada) was a part of British Canada established in 1791 by the Kingdom of Great Britain, to govern the central third of the lands in British North America, formerly part of the ...

. The parish was founded in 1790 as

Loyalist Loyalism, in the United Kingdom, its overseas territories and its former colonies, refers to the allegiance to the British crown or the United Kingdom. In North America, the most common usage of the term refers to loyalty to the British Cro ...

immigrants arrived from the former American colonies, in what would become the province of Ontario. At this time the area was part of the Diocese of Nova Scotia, and subsequently became part of the Diocese of Quebec, then of the Diocese of Toronto. The diocese was formed by an act of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada; 39 Vic Chapter 107 in 1875. Royal assent was given in 1876. The first bishop was Thomas Brock Fuller, Archdeacon of Niagara and godson of

Sir Isaac Brock Major-General Sir Isaac Brock KB (6 October 1769 – 13 October 1812) was a British Army officer and colonial administrator from Guernsey. Brock was assigned to Lower Canada in 1802. Despite facing desertions and near-mutinies, he com ...

, the hero of the

Battle of Queenston Heights The Battle of Queenston Heights was the first major battle in the War of 1812. Resulting in a British victory, it took place on 13 October 1812 near Queenston, Upper Canada (now Ontario). The battle was fought between United States regulars wit ...

Parishes by Region

Region of Greater Wellington

*St. Alban the Martyr, Acton *Grace Church, Arthur *St. John, Elora *All Saints, Erin *St. James, Fergus *All Saints Lutheran Anglican Church, Guelph *Church of the Apostles (St. James & St. Matthias), Guelph *St. George, Guelph *St. Paul, Mount Forest *St. Mark, Orangeville *St. John, Rockwood *St. Paul's Church, Shelburne

Region of Trafalgar

*St. Christopher, Burlington *St. Elizabeth, Burlington *St. John, Burlington *St. Luke, Burlington *St. Matthew on-the-Plains, Burlington * St. George's, Georgetown *St. Alban the Martyr, Glen Williams *St. Stephen, Hornby *St. George Church Lowville, Campbellville *Grace, Milton *St. John, Campbellville (Nassagaweya) *St. Paul, Norval *The Church of the Epiphany, Oakville *Church of the Incarnation, Oakville *St. Aidan, Oakville *St. Cuthbert, Oakville *St. Jude, Oakville *St. Simon, Oakville *St. Luke, Oakville *St. John, Stewarttown *Grace, Waterdown

Region of Hamilton-Haldimand

*St. John, Ancaster *St. Paul, Caledonia *St. John the Divine, Cayuga *St. John, Cheapside *St. James, Dundas *St. Paul, Dunnville *The Dunn Parish: Christ Church & St John the Evangelist, Dunnville *Christ Church, Flamborough * All Saints, Hamilton * Christ's Church Cathedral, Hamilton *Church of the Nativity, Hamilton *Church of the Resurrection, Hamilton *St. John the Evangelist, Hamilton *St. Michael, Hamilton *St. Paul (Westdale), Hamilton *St. Stephen on the Mount, Hamilton *St. Paul, Jarvis *The Church of the Ascension, Hamilton *St. Paul (Glanford), Mount Hope *The Church of Our Saviour The Redeemer, Stoney Creek *St. John the Evangelist, Winona *Christ Church, Woodburn (Hannon)

Region of Lincoln

*St. Alban, Beamsville *St. Andrew, Grimsby *St. John, Jordan *Christ Church, McNab *St. Mark, Niagara-on-the-Lake *St. Saviour, The Brock Memorial Church, Queenston *St. Luke, Smithville *St. Barnabas, St. Catharines *St. Columba, St. Catharines *St. George, St. Catharines *St. John, (Port Dalhousie) St. Catharines *St. Thomas, St. Catharines *Transfiguration, St. Catharines *St. John the Evangelist, Thorold

Region of Brock

*Holy Trinity, Fonthill *St. Paul, Fort Erie *Christ Church, Niagara Falls *Holy Trinity (Chippawa), Niagara Falls *St. John the Evangelist, Niagara Falls *The Parish of St. James and St. Brendan, Port Colborne *St. John, Ridgemount *All Saints, Ridgeway *Christ Church, Wainfleet *All Saints Church (Dain City), Welland *Holy Trinity, Welland *St. David, Welland

Educational institutions

* Appleby College, Oakville, founded 1911. *St. Mildred's-Lightbourn School, Oakville, founded as St. Mildred's College,

, 1908. *

Ridley College Ridley College (also known as RC, Ridley) is a private boarding and day university-preparatory school located in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, 20 miles (32 km) from Niagara Falls. The school confers the Ontario Secondary School Diploma ...

, founded 1889. *St. John's-Kilmarnock School, Breslau, founded 1972 The diocese also has connections to campus ministries at three universities in its jurisdiction. The

University of Guelph , mottoeng = "to learn the reasons of realities" , established = May 8, 1964 ()As constituents: OAC: (1874) Macdonald Institute: (1903) OVC: (1922) , type = Public university , chancellor ...

, Brock University and McMaster University all have chaplains whose ministries are affiliated with the Diocese of Niagara and its ecumenical partners.

Diocesan Bishops of Niagara

Thomas Fuller Thomas Fuller (baptised 19 June 1608 – 16 August 1661) was an English churchman and historian. He is now remembered for his writings, particularly his ''Worthies of England'', published in 1662, after his death. He was a prolific author, and ...

, 1875–1884 #

Charles Hamilton Charles Hamilton may refer to: People in Canada * Charles Hamilton (bishop) (1834–1919), Anglican bishop of Ottawa * Charles Edward Hamilton (1844–1919), Canadian politician * Sir Charles Hamilton, 2nd Baronet, of Marlborough House (1767–184 ...

, 1884–1896 # Philip Du Moulin, 1896–1911 # William Clark, 1911–1925 # Derwyn Owen, 1925–1932 Primate of All Canada, 1934–1947 # Lewis Broughall, 1932–1949 #

Walter Bagnall Walter Edward Bagnall (1903–1984) was a Canadian Anglican bishop Born in Birr, County Offaly, Ireland in 1903 and educated at the University of Western Ontario he was ordained in 1928. He was Curate of All Saints, Windsor and then held incum ...

, 1949-1973 # John Bothwell, 1973–1991 Archbishop of Niagara and Metropolitan of Ontario, 1985–1991 # Walter Asbil, 1991–1997 # Ralph Spence, 1998–2008 # Michael Bird, 2008–2018 # Susan Bell, 2018–present

Litigation

The diocese was involved with litigation against several former parishes affiliated with Anglican Network in Canada. The courts have generally upheld the diocese as owner of the church buildings and ejected the illegally assumed leadership.

References

External links

Anglican Diocese of Niagara

Anglican Church of Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Niagara Religious organizations established in 1875 Niagara, Anglican Diocese of Regional Municipality of Niagara Anglican Church in Ontario Anglican dioceses established in the 19th century Anglican bishops of Niagara Deans of Niagara 1875 establishments in Ontario Anglican Province of Ontario