Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island

Diocese of Rhode Island
Location
Ecclesiastical province	Province I
Statistics
Congregations	51
Members	17,618 (2015)
Information
Rite	Episcopal
Current leadership
Bishop	W. Nicholas Knisely
Map
Location of the Diocese of Rhode Island
Website
episcopalri.org

The Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, encompassing the state of Rhode Island. It is one of seven New England dioceses that make up Province 1.

The former Episcopal seat of the diocese, the Cathedral of St. John is at 271 North Main Street in the see city of Providence. It has subsequently been closed. There are 51 parishes in the diocese, with more than 17,000 communicants. The bishop is the Right Reverend W. Nicholas Knisely, the thirteenth office holder.

The diocese was founded in 1790 by two clergy and five members of the laity, representatives of the four charter churches of the diocese, King's Church in Providence (1722), Trinity Church in Newport (1698), St. Paul's in Narragansett (1707), and St. Michael's in Bristol (1720). Without sufficient resources to support a bishop of their own, they elected Samuel Seabury, who was bishop of Connecticut, to hold the office of bishop of Rhode Island as well. Under Rhode Island's third bishop, Alexander Viets Griswold, the Episcopal Church in Rhode Island expanded from 200 communicants in four parishes to almost 2,000 in seventeen parishes. This growth continued under the next two bishops, John P. K. Henshaw and Thomas M. Clark, and this trend was supported by the immigration of many English Anglicans. By the end of the 19th century, the diocese had grown to 35 parishes.

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Wikipedia