Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin
| Diocese of San Joaquin | |
|---|---|
| Location | |
| Ecclesiastical province | VIII |
| Statistics | |
| Parishes | 20 (2014) |
| Members | 2,131 (2014) |
| Information | |
| Rite | Episcopal |
| Current leadership | |
| Bishop | David Rice (Provisional) |
| Map | |
 Location of the Diocese of San Joaquin |
|
| Website | |
| diosanjoaquin.org | |
The Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin (EDSJ) is a diocese of the Episcopal Church (TEC), located in central California with its headquarters in Modesto. It can trace its roots back to the earliest days of American settlement in California.
In 1910, the Episcopal Diocese of California petitioned the General Convention to create the Missionary District of San Joaquin from a portion of its territory. The Diocese of California ceded 14 counties in central California (and the 23 Episcopal congregations within those counties) back to the General Convention. The General Convention formed those 14 counties into the Missionary District of San Joaquin. In 1961, the Missionary District of San Joaquin petitioned the General Convention for "consent to the formation of a new Diocese out of the whole of the Missionary District of San Joaquin." The General Convention accepted the petition and approved the proposed diocesan constitution and canons, thus forming the Episcopal Church's Diocese of San Joaquin.
Over the years, the diocese had become known as one of the more conservative dioceses within the Episcopal Church. Due to ongoing disagreements with the national church in matters such as the blessing of same-sex relationships and the ordination of women a rift developed within the diocese between those who wished to remain in the Episcopal Church and a majority who wished to leave. On December 8, 2007, a majority of the delegates at the diocese's convention voted to leave the Episcopal Church in order to form the Anglican Diocese of San Joaquin. The remaining clergy and laity who did not vote to leave continue to constitute the Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin. Various court decisions have determined that those who left largely did so as individuals and not as a diocese.
Until this vote, the diocese was one of the most conservative within the Episcopal Church. The diocese had been one of the last three that did not ordain women (the others were the dioceses of Quincy and Fort Worth). The pre-separation Episcopal Diocese of San Joaquin had a membership of approximately 8,500.
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