The Diocese of Colombo (

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

Church of Ceylon The Church of Ceylon () is the Anglican Church in Sri Lanka. It is an extraprovincial jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Canterbury, who serves as its Metropolitan bishop, Metropolitan. It was established in 1845 with the appointment of the fir ...

) is based in

Colombo Colombo, ( ; , ; , ), is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. The Colombo metropolitan area is estimated to have a population of 5.6 million, and 752,993 within the municipal limits. It is the ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

. The diocesan bishop's seat is

Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour The Cathedral of Christ the Living Saviour is located in Cinnamon Gardens (Colombo 07) a suburb of Colombo, Sri Lanka. It is the primary Anglican cathedral, affiliated to the Church of Ceylon. The decision to build the Anglican cathedral in Colom ...

. The current bishop of Colombo is

Dushantha Lakshman Rodrigo Dushantha Lakshman Rodrigo (born 5 October 1968) is the 16th and current Anglican Bishop of Colombo. Early life Dushantha Lakshman Rodrigo was born in Trincomalee on 5 October 1968, the son of Arthur William Rodrigo and Ruth Adlene De Alwis, h ...

. The Diocese of Colombo covers the

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

, Southern,

Eastern Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...

Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North North is one of the four compass points or cardinal directions. It is the opposite of south and is perpendicular to east and west. ''North'' is a noun, adjective, or adverb indicating ...

and

Uva Province The Uva Province (, , ) is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka. The province has an area of 8,500 km2 and a population of 1,266,463, making it the 2nd least populated province. The provincial capital is Badulla. Uva is bordered by the East ...

s together with the

Ratnapura Ratnapura (, ; , ) ("City of Gems" in Sinhala and Tamil) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Sabaragamuwa Province, as well as the Ratnapura District, and is a traditional centre for the Sri Lankan gem trade. It is loca ...

Nuwara Eliya Nuwara Eliya ( ; ) is a city in the hill country of the Central Province, Sri Lanka. Its name means "city on the plain (table land)" or "city of light". The city is the administrative capital of Nuwara Eliya District, with a picturesque landsc ...

and

Puttalam Puttalam (; ) is the largest town in Puttalam District, North Western Province, Sri Lanka, North Western Province, Sri Lanka. Puttalam is the administrative capital of the Puttalam District and governed by a municipal council. Climate Under the ...

districts.

History

The first

Church of England The Church of England (C of E) is the State religion#State churches, established List of Christian denominations, Christian church in England and the Crown Dependencies. It is the mother church of the Anglicanism, Anglican Christian tradition, ...

services were held on the island in 1796. In 1818, missionaries were sent to Ceylon to spread the church. Originally, it had been part of the diocese of Calcutta and later Madras. In 1930, the

Church of India, Burma and Ceylon The Church of India, Burma and Ceylon (CIBC) was the autonomous ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion, associated with the Church of England, in British India. The first Anglican diocese in India was established in 1813, the Dioces ...

became autonomous. The Diocese of Colombo was founded in 1845, as the diocese of the Church of England in Ceylon with the appointment of its first bishop, James Chapman. It was established by law in 1886. In 1947, the churches of South India united to form the new

Church of South India The Church of South India (CSI) is a united Protestant Church in India. It is the result of union of a number of Protestant denominations in South India that occurred after the independence of India. With a membership of over 4.5 million, it ...

. The churches in North India and Pakistan followed soon after. Burma and Bangladesh formed their own church. Sri Lanka therefore became extraprovincial within the

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is a Christian Full communion, communion consisting of the Church of England and other autocephalous national and regional churches in full communion. The archbishop of Canterbury in England acts as a focus of unity, ...

under the metropolitical authority of the

Archbishop of Canterbury The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the Primus inter pares, ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the bishop of the diocese of Canterbury. The first archbishop ...

. In 1946, the Diocese of Kurunegala was formed out of the diocese of Colombo to include parts of the North-Western, North-Central and Central Provinces of Sri Lanka. The Diocese of Kurunagala was legally recognised in 1972. Together, the Diocese of Colombo and Kurunagala constitute the

List of Bishops in Diocese of Colombo

References

External links

Church of Ceylon - The Anglican Church in Sri Lanka

One hundred years in Ceylon, or, The centenary volume of the Church Missionary Society in Ceylon, 1818-1918 (1922) Author: Balding, John William
Madras: Printed at the Diocesan Press.
The Church of Ceylon - her faith and mission
Published in 1945, Printed at the Daily News Press by Bernard de Silva for the Church of Ceylon.
The Church of Ceylon: A history, 1945-1995
Editor: Medis, Published for the Diocese of Colombo.
The Church of Ceylon (Anglican Communion)

Anglican Church of Ceylon News

Official website of the Church of Ceylon, Diocese of Colombo
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diocese of Colombo Religious organizations established in 1845 Church of Ceylon 1845 establishments in Ceylon Church of India, Burma and Ceylon Anglican dioceses in Asia

History

List of Bishops in Diocese of Colombo

See also

References

External links