The Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich 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 Brit ...

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 associ ...

based in

Ipswich Ipswich () is a port town and borough in Suffolk, England, of which it is the county town. The town is located in East Anglia about away from the mouth of the River Orwell and the North Sea. Ipswich is both on the Great Eastern Main Line ...

, covering

Suffolk Suffolk () is a ceremonial county of England in East Anglia. It borders Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south; the North Sea lies to the east. The county town is Ipswich; other important towns include ...

(excluding

Lowestoft Lowestoft ( ) is a coastal town and civil parish in the East Suffolk (district), East Suffolk district of Suffolk, England.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . As the List of extreme points of the United Kingdom, most easterly UK se ...

). The cathedral is St Edmundsbury Cathedral, and the bishop is the

Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich The Bishop of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich is the Ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich in the Province of Canterbury. The current bishop is Martin Seeley. The Bishop's residence is the Bishop's House, Ipswic ...

. It is part of the

Province of Canterbury The Province of Canterbury, or less formally the Southern Province, is one of two ecclesiastical provinces which constitute the Church of England. The other is the Province of York (which consists of 12 dioceses). Overview The Province consist ...

. The diocese was formed on 23 January 1914 from part of the Diocese of Norwich and the

Diocese of Ely The Diocese of Ely is a Church of England diocese in the Province of Canterbury. It is headed by the Bishop of Ely, who sits at Ely Cathedral in Ely, Cambridgeshire, Ely. There is one suffragan bishop, suffragan (subordinate) bishop, the Bish ...

. Though the diocesan offices, the bishops' offices and residences are all in

– only the cathedral (and its offices) are in

Bury St Edmunds Bury St Edmunds (), commonly referred to locally as Bury, is a historic market, cathedral town and civil parish in Suffolk, England.OS Explorer map 211: Bury St.Edmunds and Stowmarket Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher:Ordnance Survey – Southampton ...

– the diocese is nonetheless often referred to as ''St Edmundsbury diocese''. Both the diocese and the diocesan bishop are commonly called "(St) Eds and Ips."

Bishops

Alongside the diocesan

( Martin Seeley), the Diocese has one suffragan bishop: the Bishop suffragan of Dunwich ( Mike Harrison since 24 February 2016.)St Edmundsbury & Ipswich — The next Bishop of Dunwich announced
(Accessed 16 December 2015) There are also some retired bishops living in the diocese who are licensed as

honorary assistant bishop An assistant bishop in the Anglican Communion is a bishop appointed to assist a diocesan bishop. Church of England In the established Church of England, assistant bishops are usually retired (diocesan or suffragan) bishops – in which case they ...

s: *2008–present:

Gavin Reid Gavin Hunter Reid OBE (born 24 May 1934) was the Bishop of Maidstone from 1992 until 2001."Reid, Rt Rev. Gavin Hunter", ''Who's Who 2012'', A & C Black, 2012; online edn, Oxford University Press, Dec 2011; online edn, Nov 201 accessed 9 July 201 ...

, former Bishop of Maidstone, lives in

Beccles Beccles ( ) is a market town and civil parish in the English county of Suffolk.OS Explorer Map OL40: The Broads: (1:25 000) : . The town is shown on the milestone as from London via the A145 and A12 roads, north-east of London as the crow fl ...

. *2008–present: Jeremy Walsh, retired Bishop suffragan of Tewkesbury, lives in Martlesham. *2012–present: Retired

Dean of St Paul's The dean of St Paul's is a member of, and chair of the Chapter of St Paul's Cathedral in London in the Church of England. The dean of St Paul's is also ''ex officio'' dean of the Order of the British Empire. The current dean is Andrew Tremlet ...

and former Bishop of Sodor and Man

Graeme Knowles Graeme Paul Knowles (born 25 September 1951) is a retired Anglican bishop. He served latterly as the Acting Dean of St Edmundsbury, having previously served as Bishop of Sodor and Man and as Dean of St Paul's. Biography Knowles was educated ...

lives in

(and is also licensed in neighbouring Ely diocese.) *2012–present: Former vicar of HTB

Sandy Millar John Alexander Kirkpatrick Millar (born 13 November 1939), known as Sandy Millar, is a retired Anglican bishop who, on 27 November 2005, was consecrated in Kampala as an assistant bishop in the Province of Uganda, in a joint initiative of Henry Lu ...

lives in

Aldeburgh Aldeburgh ( ) is a coastal town in the county of Suffolk, England. Located to the north of the River Alde. Its estimated population was 2,276 in 2019. It was home to the composer Benjamin Britten and remains the centre of the international Ald ...

and is also an

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

. *2015–present: Tim Stevens. retired Bishop of Leicester and former Bishop of Dunwich. Alternative episcopal oversight (for parishes in the diocese which reject the ministry of priests who are women) is provided by the provincial episcopal visitor, Norman Banks, Bishop suffragan of Richborough, who is licensed as an honorary assistant bishop of the diocese in order to facilitate his work there.

Archdeaconries and deaneries

The Archdeacon of Ipswich now only has oversight of the Deanery of Ipswich and Inspiring Ipswich mission project. *including Cathedral

Archdeacon for Rural Mission

On 11 January 2019, it was announced that Sally Gaze, the Diocese's "Dean of Rural Mission Consultancy" since 2017, would become "Archdeacon for Rural Mission". She was collated archdeacon and installed a

Diocesan 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 associate ...

Canon Residentiary A canon (from the Latin , itself derived from the Greek , , "relating to a rule", "regular") is a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, i ...

of St Edmundsbury Cathedral on 10 February 2019; the post is new and has no territorial archdeaconry attached.

List of churches

Not in a deanery

Deanery of Bosmere

Deanery of Colneys

Deanery of Hadleigh

Deanery of Ipswich

Deanery of Samford

Deanery of Stowmarket

Deanery of Woodbridge

Deanery of Clare

Deanery of Ixworth

Deanery of Lavenham

Deanery of Mildenhall

Deanery of Sudbury

Deanery of Thingoe

Deanery of Hartismere

Deanery of Hoxne

Deanery of Loes

Deanery of Saxmundha

Deanery of Waveney and Blyth

Notes

References

Church of England Statistics 2002

External links

*
Diocese of Saint Edmundsbury and Ipswich
{{authority control Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, Christian organizations established in 1914 Saint Edmundsbury and Ipswich Religion in Suffolk