The Episcopal Diocese of West Texas is the

diocese In Ecclesiastical polity, church governance, a diocese or bishopric is the ecclesiastical district under the jurisdiction of a bishop. History In the later organization of the Roman Empire, the increasingly subdivided Roman province, prov ...

of the

Episcopal Church in the United States of America The Episcopal Church (TEC), also known as the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America (PECUSA), is a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion, based in the United States. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is ...

whose territory comprises the southernmost part of the state of

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Territory

The see city is

San Antonio San Antonio ( ; Spanish for " Saint Anthony") is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in Greater San Antonio. San Antonio is the third-largest metropolitan area in Texas and the 24th-largest metropolitan area in the ...

, and the diocese includes the cities of Corpus Christi and Brownsville. (The westernmost part of Texas, including

El Paso El Paso (; ; or ) is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States. The 2020 United States census, 2020 population of the city from the United States Census Bureau, U.S. Census Bureau was 678,815, making it the List of ...

, falls under the

Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande The Episcopal Diocese of the Rio Grande is the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, Episcopal Church's diocese in New Mexico and southwest Texas, the portion of the state west of the Pecos River, including the counties of El Paso, Ree ...

, which also covers all of

New Mexico New Mexico is a state in the Southwestern United States, Southwestern region of the United States. It is one of the Mountain States of the southern Rocky Mountains, sharing the Four Corners region with Utah, Colorado, and Arizona. It also ...

History

The Diocese of West Texas was formed on October 26, 1874 when the

General Convention of the Episcopal Church The General Convention is the primary governing and legislative body of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. With the exception of the Bible, the ''Book of Common Prayer'', and the Constitution and Canons, it is the ultimate autho ...

voted in favor of the division of the

Episcopal Diocese of Texas The Episcopal Diocese of Texas is one of the dioceses of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. The diocese consists of all Episcopal congregations in the southeastern quartile of Texas, including the cities of Austin, Beaumont, ...

which led to the formation of the Missionary District of Northern Texas and the Missionary District of Western Texas. The Missionary District of Western Texas was formally established on May 6, 1875. On May 10, 1904, the missionary district was elevated to the status of a diocese, which led to the establishment of the Diocese of West Texas.

Structure

As of 2017, it had 87 churches, 26,000 active baptized members, and an Average Sunday Attendance of 10,592. The diocese and its parishes sponsor twenty-eight

parochial school A parochial school is a private school, private Primary school, primary or secondary school affiliated with a religious organization, and whose curriculum includes general religious education in addition to secular subjects, such as science, mathem ...

s and preschools, including

TMI Episcopal TMI Episcopal is a private school in San Antonio. Previously known as Texas Military Institute, TMI is a selective coeducational Episcopal Church in the United States of America, Episcopal university preparatory school#North America, college prepa ...

(founded as "West Texas Military Academy"), a boarding college-preparatory school on the outskirts of San Antonio. The diocese was also instrumental in the founding of St. Philip's College, which became a public community college in 1942. The largest parishes in the diocese are Christ Church, San Antonio, St Mark's, San Antonio, St Luke's, San Antonio and Good Shepherd, Corpus Christi. The Diocese of West Texas is part of Province VII.

Bishops

There have been eleven diocesan bishops of West Texas and six

suffragan bishop A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led b ...

s: # Robert W. B. Elliott (1874–1887) # James Steptoe Johnston (1888–1916) #

William Theodotus Capers William Theodotus Capers (August 9, 1867 – March 29, 1943) was bishop of the Diocese of West Texas in the Episcopal Church in the United States from 1916 until his death. Early life and education Capers was born on August 9, 1867, in Greenv ...

(1916–1943) #

Everett Holland Jones Everett Holland Jones (June 9, 1902 – November 18, 1995) was the fourth bishop of West Texas in The Episcopal Church. Early life and education Jones was born on June 9, 1902, in San Antonio, Texas, to Richard Clarence Jones and Enid Holland. He ...

(1943–1968)
''*

Richard Earl Dicus Richard Earl Dicus (September 1, 1910 – January 13, 1996) was suffragan bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas, serving from 1955 until his retirement in 1976. Early life and education Dicus was born in Jerome, Arizona Jerome is a ...

, suffragan (1955-1976)'' #

Harold Cornelius Gosnell Harold Cornelius Gosnell (July 17, 1908 – July 18, 1999) was the fifth Bishop of West Texas in The Episcopal Church, serving from December 31, 1968, until March 1, 1977. Early life and education Gosnell was born in Syracuse, New York, on Ju ...

(1968–1977) #

Scott Field Bailey Scott Field Bailey (October 7, 1916 – April 9, 2005) was the 6th diocesan bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas in the Episcopal Church. Early life and education Bailey was born on October 7, 1916, in Houston, Texas, the son of William ...

(1977–1987)
''* Stanley F. Hauser, suffragan (1979-1987)'' # John Herbert MacNaughton (1987–1995)
''* Earl N. McArthur, suffragan (1988-1993)'' # James E. Folts (1996–2006)
''* Robert B. Hibbs, suffragan (1996-2003)'' #

Gary Richard Lillibridge Gary Richard Lillibridge (born May 2, 1956) is an American Episcopal bishop. He was the ninth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas. Early life and education Lillibridge was born on May 2, 1956, in San Antonio, Texas, United States. He w ...

(2006–2017)
''*

David M. Reed David Mitchell Reed (born March 9, 1957) was the tenth diocesan bishop, and formerly suffragan bishop, of the Episcopal Diocese of West Texas. Early life and education Reed was born on March 9, 1957, in Brownsville, Texas, the son of William Wes ...

, suffragan (2006-2015), coadjutor (2015-2017)
* Jennifer Brooke-Davidson, suffragan (2016-2019)'' #

(2017-2023) # David G. Read (2023 - present)
''*

Angela Cortiñas Angela Maria Cortiñas is a Cuban American bishop in the Episcopal Church, currently serving as Bishop Suffragan of West Texas, having previously worked in parishes in Florida and Texas.cathedral A cathedral is a church (building), church that contains the of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, Annual conferences within Methodism, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually s ...

; the diocesan offices are in the Bishop Jones Center in San Antonio.

References

* * *

External links

* *
Journal of the Annual Council, Diocese of West Texas
'

West Texas West Texas is a loosely defined region in the U.S. state of Texas, generally encompassing the desert climate, arid and semiarid climate, semiarid lands west of a line drawn between the cities of Wichita Falls, Texas, Wichita Falls, Abilene, Texa ...

Religious organizations established in 1874 Anglican dioceses established in the 19th century 1874 establishments in Texas Province 7 of the Episcopal Church (United States) {{Texas-stub