The Episcopal Diocese of Central Florida 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 ...

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

in Province IV of the Episcopal Church. It is bounded on the north by the

Episcopal Diocese of Florida The Episcopal Diocese of Florida is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (ECUSA). It originally comprised the whole state of Florida, but is now bounded on the west by the Apalachicola River, on the north by the Georg ...

, on the east by the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's five oceans, with an area of about . It covers approximately 20% of Earth's surface and about 29% of its water surface area. It is known to separate the " Old World" of Africa, Europe ...

, on the south by the dioceses of Southeast Florida and

Southwest Florida Southwest Florida is the region along the southwest Gulf coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is known for its beaches, subtropical landscape, and winter resort economy. Definitions of the region vary, though its boundaries are generally ...

and on the west by the

Gulf of Mexico The Gulf of Mexico ( es, Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin, ocean basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, largely surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north and northwest by the Gulf Coast of ...

. The two largest cities in the diocese are

Orlando Orlando () is a city in the U.S. state of Florida and is the county seat of Orange County. In Central Florida, it is the center of the Orlando metropolitan area, which had a population of 2,509,831, according to U.S. Census Bureau figures rele ...

, with over 220,000 people, and

Port St. Lucie Port St. Lucie is a city in St. Lucie County, Florida, United States. It is the most populous municipality in the county with a population of 204,851 at the 2020 census. It is located southeast of Orlando and north of Miami. The Port St. Lu ...

, with over 150,000 people. The

Kennedy Space Center The John F. Kennedy Space Center (KSC, originally known as the NASA Launch Operations Center), located on Merritt Island, Florida, is one of the National Aeronautics and Space Administration's (NASA) ten field centers. Since December 1968 ...

and

Walt Disney World The Walt Disney World Resort, also called Walt Disney World or Disney World, is an entertainment resort complex in Bay Lake and Lake Buena Vista, Florida, United States, near the cities of Orlando and Kissimmee. Opened on October 1, 1971, th ...

are within the boundaries of the diocese. Orlando, where St. Luke's Cathedral is located, is the

see See or SEE may refer to: * Sight - seeing Arts, entertainment, and media * Music: ** ''See'' (album), studio album by rock band The Rascals *** "See", song by The Rascals, on the album ''See'' ** "See" (Tycho song), song by Tycho * Television * ...

city of the diocese. The diocese includes 15 counties, as follows: Brevard,

Citrus ''Citrus'' is a genus of flowering plant, flowering trees and shrubs in the rue family, Rutaceae. Plants in the genus produce citrus fruits, including important crops such as Orange (fruit), oranges, Lemon, lemons, grapefruits, pomelos, and lim ...

, Hardee,

Highlands Highland is a broad term for areas of higher elevation, such as a mountain range or mountainous plateau. Highland, Highlands, or The Highlands, may also refer to: Places Albania * Dukagjin Highlands Armenia * Armenian Highlands Australia *Sou ...

, Indian River,

Lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

, Okeechobee,

Orange Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower *Orange (colour), from the color of an orange, occurs between red and yellow in the visible spectrum * ...

Osceola Osceola (1804 – January 30, 1838, Asi-yahola in Muscogee language, Creek), named Billy Powell at birth in Alabama, became an influential leader of the Seminole people in Florida. His mother was Muscogee, and his great-grandfather was a S ...

Marion Marion may refer to: People *Marion (given name) *Marion (surname) *Marion Silva Fernandes, Brazilian footballer known simply as "Marion" *Marion (singer), Filipino singer-songwriter and pianist Marion Aunor (born 1992) Places Antarctica * Mario ...

Polk Polk may refer to: People * James K. Polk, 11th president of the United States * Polk (name), other people with the name Places *Polk (CTA), a train station in Chicago, Illinois * Polk, Illinois, an unincorporated community * Polk, Missouri ...

Seminole The Seminole are a Native American people who developed in Florida in the 18th century. Today, they live in Oklahoma and Florida, and comprise three federally recognized tribes: the Seminole Nation of Oklahoma, the Seminole Tribe of Florida, an ...

, St. Lucie,

Sumter Sumter may refer to: People Given name * Sumter S. Arnim (1904–1990), American dentist * Sumter de Leon Lowry Jr. (1893–1985), United States Army general Surname * Rowendy Sumter (born 1988), Curaçaoan footballer * Shavonda E. Sumter ( ...

and

Volusia Volusia County (, ) is located in the east-central part of the U.S. state of Florida, stretching between the St. Johns River and the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2020 census, the county was home to 553,543 people, an increase of 11.9% from the 2 ...

History

In 1969 the Diocese of Central Florida, the

Diocese of Southeast Florida The Episcopal Church in Southeast Florida is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (ECUSA) which extends from Key West, Florida on the south, to Jensen Beach on the north and inland to Clewiston on the west. Major ...

, and the Diocese of Southwest Florida were created out of a division of the large Diocese of South Florida. Bishop

Henry I. Louttit Henry Irving Louttit, Jr. (June 13, 1938 – December 31, 2020) served as the ninth Bishop of Georgia. He was the 901st bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (ECUSA). Early and family life Henry I Louttit, Jr. was born ...

, Bishop of South Florida presided over the primary Conventions of each new diocese for the purpose of electing their Diocesan Bishops. The two Suffragan Bishops of South Florida were elected to be Diocesan Bishops in the areas in which they had been living and serving. Bishop

William H. Folwell William Hopkins Folwell (October 26, 1924 – February 7, 2022) was an American Episcopal prelate who served as the Bishop of Central Florida from 1970 until 1989. Early life and education Folwell was born on October 26, 1924, in Port Washing ...

was elected to become the second Bishop of Central Florida. On January 29, 2000 at the 31st Convention of the Diocese, held in

, the delegates approved a new vision for the diocese which called for the revitalization of existing congregations and the establishment of 15 new congregations between 2001 and 2010. At the 34th Convention of the diocese, in January 2003, the diocese kicked off ''From Strength to Strength'' - a campaign to fund the new vision approved in 2000. In 2004, at the 35th Convention, the diocese became a member of the

Anglican Communion Network The Anglican Communion Network (ACN; officially the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes) was a theologically conservative network of Anglican and Episcopalian dioceses and parishes in the United States that was working toward Angl ...

, a decision which was reversed when the diocese withdrew from the Network in 2008. The diocese comprises five

deaneries A deanery (or decanate) is an ecclesiastical entity in the Roman Catholic Church, the Eastern Orthodox Church, the Anglican Communion, the Evangelical Church in Germany, and the Church of Norway. A deanery is either the jurisdiction or residenc ...

: Central, Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and Southwest. As of 2006 there were 75 parishes and 11 missions in the diocese. The diocesan cathedral is the Cathedral Church of St. Luke in Orlando.

List of bishops

Diocesan organizations and facilities

Besides managing 7 retirement homes, 4 prep-schools, and 20 day schools the diocese has the following facilities:
Camp Wingmann Church CampCanterbury Retreat & Conference CenterThe Institute for Christian Studies

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Central Florida

Central Florida Central Florida is a region of the U.S. state of Florida. Different sources give different definitions for the region, but as its name implies it is usually said to comprise the central part of the state, including the Tampa Bay area and the Gr ...

Episcopal Church in Florida Christian organizations established in 1969 Province 4 of the Episcopal Church (United States) 1969 establishments in Florida