The Bishop of Worcester is the

head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, and mouth, each of which aid in various sensory functions such as sight, hearing, smell, and taste. Some very simple ani ...

of the

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, ...

Diocese of Worcester in the

Province of Canterbury The Province of Canterbury, or less formally the Southern Province, is one of two ecclesiastical provinces which constitute the Church of England. The other is the Province of York (which consists of 12 dioceses). Overview The Province consi ...

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

. The title can be traced back to the foundation of the diocese in the year 680. From then until the 16th century, the bishops were in

full communion Full communion is a communion or relationship of full agreement among different Christian denominations or Christian individuals that share certain essential principles of Christian theology. Views vary among denominations on exactly what constit ...

with the

Catholic Church The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwid ...

. During the

Reformation The Reformation, also known as the Protestant Reformation or the European Reformation, was a time of major Theology, theological movement in Western Christianity in 16th-century Europe that posed a religious and political challenge to the p ...

, the church in England broke away from the authority of the

Pope The pope is the bishop of Rome and the Head of the Church#Catholic Church, visible head of the worldwide Catholic Church. He is also known as the supreme pontiff, Roman pontiff, or sovereign pontiff. From the 8th century until 1870, the po ...

and the Catholic Church, at first temporarily and later more permanently. Since the Reformation, the Bishop and Diocese of Worcester has been part of the

and 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, ...

. 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 ...

covers most of the county of

Worcestershire Worcestershire ( , ; written abbreviation: Worcs) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in the West Midlands (region), West Midlands of England. It is bordered by Shropshire, Staffordshire, and the West Midlands (county), West ...

, including the

Metropolitan Borough of Dudley The Metropolitan Borough of Dudley is a metropolitan borough of West Midlands, England. It was created in 1974 following the Local Government Act 1972, through a merger of the existing Dudley County Borough with the municipal boroughs of Stou ...

and parts of the

City of Wolverhampton Wolverhampton ( ) is a city and metropolitan borough in the West Midlands of England. Located around 12 miles (20 km) north of Birmingham, it forms the northwestern part of the West Midlands conurbation, with the towns of Walsall to the east an ...

. The

Episcopal see An episcopal see is the area of a bishop's ecclesiastical jurisdiction. Phrases concerning actions occurring within or outside an episcopal see are indicative of the geographical significance of the term, making it synonymous with ''diocese'' ...

is in the city of

Worcester Worcester may refer to: Places United Kingdom * Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England ** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament * Worcester Park, London, Engl ...

where the

bishop's throne A ''cathedra'' is the throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principal c ...

is located at the Cathedral Church of Christ and the Blessed Virgin Mary. The bishop's official residence is

the Old Palace, Worcester The Old Palace, Worcester is an English listed historic building, built c.1200, adjacent to Worcester Cathedral in the Church of England Diocese of Worcester, which is within the Province of Canterbury. History The old palace was built for ...

. The bishops had two residences outside the city:

Hartlebury Castle Hartlebury Castle, a Grade I listed building, near Hartlebury in Worcestershire, central England, was built in the mid-13th century as a fortified manor house, on manorial land earlier given to the Bishop of Worcester by King Burgred of Mercia, ...

near

Kidderminster Kidderminster is a market town and civil parish in Worcestershire, England, south-west of Birmingham and north of Worcester, England, Worcester. Located north of the River Stour, Worcestershire, River Stour and east of the River Severn, in th ...

from the 13th century to 2007 and a palace at

Alvechurch Alvechurch ( ) is a large village and civil parishes in England, civil parish in the Bromsgrove (district), Bromsgrove district in northeastern Worcestershire, England, in the valley of the River Arrow, Worcestershire, River Arrow. The Lickey H ...

until it was pulled down in the 17th century. From the elevations of

Oswald of Worcester Oswald of Worcester (died 29 February 992) was Archbishop of York from 972 to his death in 992. He was of Danish ancestry, but brought up by his uncle, Oda of Canterbury, who sent him to France to the abbey of Fleury to become a monk. After a ...

in 961 at Worcester and 972 at York, until 1023 the see was usually held jointly with the (then rather poorer)

Archbishopric of York The archbishop of York is a senior bishop in the Church of England, second only to the archbishop of Canterbury. The archbishop is the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of York and the metropolitan bishop of the province of York, which covers the ...

List of bishops

Pre-Conquest

Conquest to Reformation

During the Reformation

Post-Reformation

Assistant bishops

Among those who have served as

assistant bishop An assistant bishop in the Anglican Communion is a bishop appointed to assist a diocesan bishop. Church of England In the established Church of England, assistant bishops are usually retired (diocesan or suffragan bishop, suffragan) bishops – in ...

s of the diocese are: *19361944 (d.): Ridley Duppuy,

Canon Residentiary Canon () is a Christian title usually used to refer to a member of certain bodies in subject to an ecclesiastical rule. Originally, a canon was a cleric living with others in a clergy house or, later, in one of the houses within the precinct of ...

Worcester Cathedral Worcester Cathedral, formally the Cathedral Church of Christ and Blessed Mary the Virgin, is a Church of England cathedral in Worcester, England, Worcester, England. The cathedral is the seat of the bishop of Worcester and is the Mother Church# ...

Archdeacon of Worcester An archdeacon is a senior clergy position in the Church of the East, Chaldean Catholic Church, Syriac Orthodox Church, Anglican Communion, St Thomas Christians, Eastern Orthodox churches and some other Christian denominations, above that of most ...

(from 1938), Vice-

Dean of Worcester The Dean of Worcester is the head of the Chapter of Worcester Cathedral in Worcester, England. The current dean is Stephen Edwards. The dean lives at The Deanery, College Green, Worcester. List of deans Early modern *1541–1544 Henry Holb ...

(from 1940) and former

Bishop of Victoria The Bishop of Victoria, Hong Kong was (from 1849 to 1951) the Ordinary of a corporation sole including Hong Kong and South China that ministered to 20,000 Anglicans. Bishops *18491865 (ret.): George SmithHandbook to the Diocese of Victoria (Hong ...

*1946January 1953 (ret.): Bertram Lasbrey, Rector of St Andrew's &c.

and former

Bishop on the Niger The Anglican Diocese on the Niger is the mother diocese (oldest diocese) of the Church of Nigeria (Anglican Communion). It is one of 10 Anglican dioceses in the Anglican Province of the Niger within the Church of Nigeria. The diocese was created ...

*19531965 (ret.):

Cyril Stuart Simon Cyril Edgar Stuart (27 November 1892 – 23 August 1982) was Bishop of Uganda from 1932 to 1952 before returning to England to be Assistant Bishop of Worcester. Early life Born on 27 November 1892, Stuart was educated at Repton School, t ...

, Rector of St Andrew's &c. Worcester (until 1965), Canon of Worcester thereafter, and former

Bishop of Uganda The Anglican dioceses of Buganda are the Anglican Communion, Anglican presence in the Central Region, Uganda (equivalent to the old Buganda kingdom); they are part of the Church of Uganda. The remaining dioceses of the Church are in the areas Angli ...

*19681991 (ret.):

Nicholas Allenby David Howard Nicholas Allenby SSM, (28 January 1909 – 28 February 1995) was an English clergyman in the Anglican Church and a member of the religious order the Society of the Sacred Mission. He held the position of Bishop of Kuching from 19 ...

, former

Bishop of Kuching The Bishop of Kuching is the ordinary of the Anglican Diocese of Kuching in the Church of the Province of South East Asia. The bishop exercises episcopal authority over Anglican churches in the Malaysian state of Sarawak and in the independent ...

*19892008 (d.): Kenneth Woollcombe, assistant priest in

Upton Snodsbury Upton Snodsbury is a village in Worcestershire, England, located five miles east of Worcester just off the A422 road. It is surrounded by low hills and farmland. The civil parish population was 392 in 2021. History The church is dedicated to ...

(1989–?), former

Bishop of Oxford The Bishop of Oxford is the diocesan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Oxford in the Province of Canterbury; his seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford. The current bishop is Steven Croft (bishop), Steven Croft, following the Confirm ...

and

Assistant Bishop of London The bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England's Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury. By custom the Bishop is also Dean of the Chapel Royal since 1723. The diocese covers of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of ...

for Westminster

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

* * * *

External links

Diocese of Worcester
{{Anglican Bishops & Archbishops - Great Britain

Bishops of Worcester The Bishop of Worcester is the head of the Church of England Diocese of Worcester in the Province of Canterbury, England. The title can be traced back to the foundation of the diocese in the year 680. From then until the 16th century, the bi ...

Christianity in Worcester, England Christianity in Worcestershire Anglican Diocese of Worcester 680 establishments