Diocese of Oxford | |
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The Cathedral Church of Christ, Oxford
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Location | |
Ecclesiastical province | Canterbury |
Archdeaconries | Oxford, Buckingham, Berkshire, Dorchester |
Statistics | |
Parishes | 624 |
Churches | 847 |
Information | |
Cathedral | Christ Church |
Current leadership | |
Bishop | Steven Croft, Bishop of Oxford |
Suffragans |
Colin Fletcher, area Bishop of Dorchester Alan Wilson, area Bishop of Buckingham Andrew Proud, area Bishop of Reading |
Archdeacons |
Martin Gorick, Archdeacon of Oxford Olivia Graham, Archdeacon of Berkshire Judy French, Archdeacon of Dorchester Guy Elsmore, Archdeacon of Buckingham |
Website | |
oxford.anglican.org |
The Diocese of Oxford is a Church of England diocese that forms part of the Province of Canterbury. The diocese is led by the Bishop of Oxford (currently Steven Croft), and the bishop's seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford.
The Diocese of Oxford was created by letters patent from Henry VIII on 1 September 1542, out of part of the Diocese of Lincoln. Osney Abbey was designated the original cathedral, but in 1545 this was changed to St. Frideswide's which became Christ Church Cathedral.
In 1836 the Archdeaconry of Berkshire was transferred from the Diocese of Salisbury to Oxford. This comprises the county of Berkshire and parts of Wiltshire.
In 1837 the County of Buckingham was similarly transferred from the then Diocese of Lincoln, to become the Archdeaconry of Buckingham, although this annexation did not take effect until 1845.
In 2013 and 2014, the Diocese of Oxford discussed and resolved to undertake some pastoral alterations; the new archdeaconry of Dorchester was created on 1 March 2014. On 3 March 2014, it was announced that Judy French would become the first Archdeacon of Dorchester from June 2014.
The diocesan Bishop of Oxford is assisted by the area bishops of Dorchester, Buckingham, and Reading. The suffragan See of Buckingham was created in 1914, and was the suffragan bishop for the whole diocese until 1939 when the See of Dorchester was created; the See of Reading was re-created in 1942, after having been 'in abeyance' since 1909.