Diocese of Rupert's Land | |
---|---|
Location | |
Ecclesiastical province | Rupert's Land |
Information | |
Rite | Anglican |
Cathedral | Cathedral of St. John, Winnipeg |
Current leadership | |
Bishop | Donald Phillips |
Website | |
rupertsland.ca |
The Diocese of Rupert's Land is a diocese of the Ecclesiastical Province of Rupert's Land of the Anglican Church of Canada. It is named for the historical British North American territory of Rupert's Land, which was contained within the original diocesan boundaries.
The diocese is located in southern Manitoba and north-western Ontario, consisting of the area immediately surrounding Winnipeg, stretching north from the Canada–US border to near the top of Lake Winnipeg, and extending over the Ontario border to incorporate the parishes of the former southern region of the Diocese of Keewatin. Its See city is Winnipeg, and its approximately 14,000 Anglicans on the parish rolls are served by 74 congregations, of which 32 are located in Winnipeg. Major centres, apart from Winnipeg, include Selkirk, Portage la Prairie, and Kenora.
The area of the diocese was the cradle of European settlement in western Canada, and was thus the original locus of Anglican missionary activity there. The first Anglican service was held at the Red River Colony in 1820, and three years later the first Anglican church in western Canada was constructed. In 1849, the diocese was formally established with jurisdiction over all the territory of present-day Canada west of Ontario, as well as parts of northern and western Ontario. The first synod was convened twenty years later, and the diocese was incorporated in 1886.