The Diocese of Norwich is an ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

, forming 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 consi ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. Its origins trace back to the early medieval bishopric of Elmham and

Thetford Thetford is a market town and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Breckland District of Norfolk, England. It is on the A11 road (England), A11 road between Norwich and London, just east of Thetford Forest. The civil parish, coverin ...

, which were subsequently merged and relocated to

Norwich Norwich () is a cathedral city and district of the county of Norfolk, England, of which it is the county town. It lies by the River Wensum, about north-east of London, north of Ipswich and east of Peterborough. The population of the Norwich ...

in 1095 under Bishop

Herbert de Losinga Herbert de Losinga (died 22 July 1119) was the first Bishop of Norwich. He founded Norwich Cathedral in 1096 when he was Bishop of Thetford. Life Losinga was born in Exmes, near Argentan, Normandy, the son of Robert de LosingaDoubleday and Pa ...

. Historically, the diocese has overseen numerous parishes across

Norfolk Norfolk ( ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in England, located in East Anglia and officially part of the East of England region. It borders Lincolnshire and The Wash to the north-west, the North Sea to the north and eas ...

and

Suffolk Suffolk ( ) is a ceremonial county in the East of England and East Anglia. It is bordered by Norfolk to the north, the North Sea to the east, Essex to the south, and Cambridgeshire to the west. Ipswich is the largest settlement and the county ...

, and it played a significant role in the religious and political developments of medieval England. Today, it continues to function as an important administrative and spiritual centre within the

Anglican Church Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

History

The Diocese of Norwich traces its origins to the early medieval Bishopric of

East Anglia East Anglia is an area of the East of England, often defined as including the counties of Norfolk, Suffolk and Cambridgeshire, with parts of Essex sometimes also included. The name derives from the Anglo-Saxon kingdom of the East Angles, ...

, founded in 630 at Dommoc (likely

Dunwich Dunwich () is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England. It is in the Suffolk & Essex Coast & Heaths National Landscape around north-east of London, south of Southwold and north of Leiston, on the North Sea coast. In the Anglo-Saxon ...

or nearby). Like many

Anglo-Saxon The Anglo-Saxons, in some contexts simply called Saxons or the English, were a Cultural identity, cultural group who spoke Old English and inhabited much of what is now England and south-eastern Scotland in the Early Middle Ages. They traced t ...

bishoprics, it relocated over time, moving to Elmham in 673. Following the

Norman Conquest The Norman Conquest (or the Conquest) was the 11th-century invasion and occupation of England by an army made up of thousands of Normans, Norman, French people, French, Flemish people, Flemish, and Bretons, Breton troops, all led by the Du ...

, it was transferred to Thetford in 1070 before finally settling in Norwich in 1095 under Bishop Herbert de Losinga. It currently oversees 563 parishes and 656 churches, covering nearly all of

except for the extreme west beyond the

River Great Ouse The River Great Ouse ( ) is a river in England, the longest of several British rivers called "Ouse". From Syresham in Northamptonshire, the Great Ouse flows through Buckinghamshire, Bedfordshire, Cambridgeshire and Norfolk to drain into the ...

, which falls under 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 Bisho ...

. The diocese also includes the deanery of Lothingland, encompassing the port of

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 ...

and its surrounding areas in Suffolk. This totals an area of over with a population of approximately 867,000 (as of 2008). Like most older dioceses, its territory has gradually reduced over time. Until the formation of the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich in 1914, Suffolk was included, along with other areas in earlier periods.

Organisation

Bishops

The

Bishop of Norwich The Bishop of Norwich is the Ordinary (Catholic Church), ordinary of the Church of England Anglican Diocese of Norwich, Diocese of Norwich in the Province of Canterbury. The diocese covers most of the county of Norfolk and part of Suffolk. Th ...

( Graham Usher) leads the diocese and is assisted by two suffragan bishops, the

Bishop of Thetford The Bishop of Thetford is an episcopal title which takes its name after the market town of Thetford in Norfolk, England. The title was originally used by the Normans in the 11th century, and is now used by a Church of England suffragan bishop. ...

( Ian Bishop) and the

Bishop of Lynn The Bishop of Lynn is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Anglican Diocese of Norwich, Diocese of Norwich, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the town of Kin ...

( Jane Steen). The suffragan sees of Ipswich and of Thetford were both created by the

Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 The Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 ( 26 Hen. 8. c. 14) is an act of the Parliament of England that authorised the appointment of suffragan (i.e., assistant) bishops in England and Wales. The tradition of appointing suffragans named after a town in ...

but went into abeyance after one incumbent; Thetford was next filled in 1894 and Ipswich in 1899. The See of Ipswich has been in abeyance since before the diocesan see including that city's name was created; a new second suffragan see – of Lynn – was therefore founded in 1963.

Alternative episcopal oversight 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 w ...

(for parishes in the diocese which do not accept the ordination of women as priests) is provided by 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 w ...

, Norman Banks, Bishop suffragan of Richborough, who is licensed as an honorary assistant bishop of the diocese to facilitate his ministry. There are also seven 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: *2000–present: Malcolm Menin, retired Bishop suffragan of Knaresborough, lives in Lakenham. *2001–present: Richard Garrard, retired Director of the Anglican Centre in Rome & Archbishop's Representative to the Holy See and former

Bishop of Penrith The Bishop of Penrith is an Episcopal polity, episcopal title named after the town of Penrith, Cumbria, Penrith in Cumbria. The title was first mentioned "as Pereth" in the Suffragan Bishops Act 1534 (alongside a see for Penreth – now called Bi ...

, lives in Upper Stoke and is also licensed in the

Diocese in Europe The Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe, known simply as the Diocese in Europe (DiE), is a diocese of the Church of England. It was originally formed in 1842 as the Diocese of Gibraltar. It is geographically the largest diocese of the Church of Englan ...

. *2003–present:

David Leake David Leake CBE (born 26 June 1935) was the assistant Bishop in Northern Argentina from 1969 to 1979 when he became diocesan Bishop, and, for the latter part of that post, also Primate of the Southern Cone. Born to missionary parents serving in ...

, retired Bishop of Argentina and former Presiding Bishop in the

Southern Cone The Southern Cone (, ) is a geographical and cultural subregion composed of the southernmost areas of South America, mostly south of the Tropic of Capricorn. Traditionally, it covers Argentina, Chile, and Uruguay, bounded on the west by the Pac ...

, lives in

East Runton East Runton is a village in the civil parish of Runton in the England, English county of Norfolk. East Runton is located west of Cromer and north of Norwich. The village lies on the A149 road, A149 coast road but most of the dwellings can be ...

. *2004–present: Tony Foottit, retired Bishop suffragan of Lynn, lives in Reepham. *2006–present: Peter Fox, former Bishop of Port Moresby,

Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea, officially the Independent State of Papua New Guinea, is an island country in Oceania that comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea and offshore islands in Melanesia, a region of the southwestern Pacific Ocean n ...

is Vicar of the Lakenham Group. *2008–present: David Gillett, retired Bishop suffragan of Bolton, lives in Diss. *2009–present:

Lindsay Urwin Lindsay Goodall Urwin Oratory of the Good Shepherd, OGS (born 13 March 1956) is an Australian Anglicanism, Anglican bishop. Urwin was the area Bishop of Horsham in the Diocese of Chichester, in southern England, from 1993 to 2009, and was also th ...

, Administrator of the Shrine of

Our Lady of Walsingham Our Lady of Walsingham is a title given to Mary, the mother of Jesus, venerated by Catholics and high-church Anglicans. According to tradition, the title is linked to a Marian vision experienced in 1061 by Lady Richeldis de Faverches, an Angl ...

, is a former area

Bishop of Horsham The Bishop of Horsham is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop (area bishop from 1984 to 2013) of the Church of England Diocese of Chichester, in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the market town of Horsh ...

. He is also licensed in Ely,

Peterborough Peterborough ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in the City of Peterborough district in the Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county of Cambridgeshire, England. The city is north of London, on the River Nene. A ...

and

Chichester Chichester ( ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and civil parish in the Chichester District, Chichester district of West Sussex, England.OS Explorer map 120: Chichester, South Harting and Selsey Scale: 1:25 000. Publisher ...

dioceses.

Archdeaconries and deaneries

The former deaneries of Ingworth and Sparham were combined in 2018. The deaneries of St Benet at Waxham and Tunstead were combined in 1996. The deanery of Hingham and Mitford was split between the deaneries of Dereham and Humbleyard in 1995. *including Cathedral **including Walsingham Shrine

Churches

Not in a deanery

Deanery of Norwich East

Deanery of Norwich North

Deanery of Norwich South

Deanery of Blofield

Deanery of Depwade

Deanery of Great Yarmouth

Deanery of Humbleyard

Deanery of Loddon

Deanery of Lothingland

Deanery of Redenhall

Deanery of St Benet at Waxham & Tunstead

Deanery of Thetford & Rockland

Deanery of Breckland

Deanery of Burnham & Walsingham

Deanery of Dereham in Mitford

Deanery of Heacham & Rising

Deanery of Holt

Deanery of Ingworth and Sparham

Deanery of Lynn

Deanery of Repps

Dedications

This table is drawn from the above lists. More than half of the churches in the diocese have just four dedications: St Mary, St Andrew, All Saints and St Peter.

References

Church of England Statistics

External links

*
Churches in the Diocese of Norwich ("A Church Near You")
{{authority control 630 establishments

Religion in Norfolk Norwich