Episcopal Diocese of Albany
| Diocese of Albany | |
|---|---|
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| Location | |
| Ecclesiastical province | Province II |
| Statistics | |
| Congregations | 112 (2014) |
| Members | 14,765 (2015) |
| Information | |
| Rite | Episcopal |
| Cathedral | Cathedral of All Saints |
| Current leadership | |
| Bishop | William H. Love |
| Map | |
 Location of the Diocese of Albany |
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| Website | |
| www.albanyepiscopaldiocese.org | |
The Episcopal Diocese of Albany is a diocese of the Episcopal Church covering 19 counties in northeastern New York state. It was created in 1868 from a division of the Episcopal Diocese of New York.
The Church of England arrived in 1674 with a chaplain assigned to the British military garrison at Albany. In 1704 the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel sent two missionaries to the Mohawk Valley, where the first Anglican church was erected in 1711.
In 1708 the oldest parish, St. Peter's, was founded in Albany. He extended his ministry to nearby Schenectady, and by 1763, St. George's Church was built in that town. In 1765 the last of the colonial parishes, St. John's in Johnstown, was established. By the beginning of the American Revolutionary War, Anglican missions were springing up in surrounding counties. However, the war proved disastrous to the English church, which for almost ten years after remained leaderless and disorganized.
With the formation of the Episcopal Diocese of New York in 1785 (comprising the entire state), the Church in New York began to reorganize. By 1790, during the "Second Great Awakening", expanded missionary activity begun under strong episcopal leadership was largely sustained by a vigorous laity. By 1810, 14 priests served 25 parishes in buildings made possible by grants from Trinity Parish, New York City.
In 1868, nineteen counties in the northeastern quarter of the state were organized into the Diocese of Albany. Its first bishop, William Croswell Doane, was elected in 1869 by a convention of 62 priests and 127 delegates. Doane's principles and personality had a profound and enduring effect upon the character of the Diocese of Albany. He organized the newly formed diocese after the English model with a cathedral see, and his "high church" leanings found expression in his establishment of St. Agnes School, The Child's Hospital, a community of women religious, and St. Margaret's House and Hospital for Babies.
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Wikipedia