The Gulf Atlantic Diocese is a diocese of the

Anglican Church in North America The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is a Christian denomination in the Anglican tradition in the United States and Canada. It also includes ten congregations in Mexico, two mission churches in Guatemala, and a missionary diocese in Cuba. ...

, comprising 40 congregations in the American states of

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Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

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and

Mississippi Mississippi ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Deep South regions of the United States. It borders Tennessee to the north, Alabama to the east, the Gulf of Mexico to the south, Louisiana to the s ...

. Florida is the state with the most congregations. The diocese was originally divided into five deaneries: Gainesville,

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and Western. The diocese later changed the division into four deaneries, Central, Northeastern, Southern and Western.

History

The Gulf Atlantic Diocese origin goes back to the founding of the Anglican Alliance, which took place at the third diocesan chapter of the

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, in November 2001, having Stephen Jecko, Bishop of Florida, as the main proponent. His main purposes were stated as to enforce what he and others saw as "orthodox Anglican belief" against "liberal innovations" in the Episcopal Church. The Episcopal Diocese of Florida was then one of the main proponents of this claimed orthodoxy among the Episcopalian dioceses. The diocese was very critical of the consecration of

Gene Robinson Vicky Gene Robinson (born May 29, 1947) is a retired bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire. Robinson was elected Coadjutor bishop, bishop coadjutor in 2003 and succeeded as bishop diocesan in March 2004. Before becoming bishop, he se ...

as the first openly non-celibate gay bishop of the Episcopal Church in 2003. Stephen Jecko stepped down in 2004, after joining Robert Duncan, Bishop of Pittsburgh, and an aggregate of 12 seceding Episcopalian bishops to create the Network of Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes. Jecko's successor as bishop was Samuel Howard, who despite sharing similar beliefs with the seceding bishops and parishes, declined to join the Network. Another move was led by Eric Dudley who left the Episcopal Diocese of Florida to form a new church, St. Peter's Anglican Church, under the auspices of the

Church of Uganda The Church of Uganda (C/U) is a member province of the Anglican Communion. Currently, there are 37 dioceses that make up the Church of Uganda, each headed by a bishop. Each diocese is divided into archdeaconries, each headed by a senior priest k ...

, a move that was coordinated and supported by Stephen Jecko. Other seceding Episcopalians and Anglicans created the Anglican Alliance of North Florida. After the birth of the Anglican Church in North America, the now called Anglican Alliance of North Florida and South Georgia reunited at Advent Christian Village, in

Dowling Park, Florida Dowling Park is an unincorporated community located in Suwannee County, Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, ...

, in a move to pass from a "Diocese in creation" to a full diocese in the newly created church, on August 29, 2009. In the reunion, 47 clergy delegates and 39 lay delegates were present in representation of 20 churches. The Inaugural Synod ratified a Constitution and Canons, electing Neil G. Lebhar as the first bishop of the new diocese. At the final meeting, the name of Gulf Atlantic Diocese was chosen for the new diocese. The Provincial Council of the Anglican Church in North America, held on December 11, 2009, in

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, accepted as a full member the Gulf Atlantic Diocese and recognized Neil Lebhar as their first bishop. On April 30, 2012, Lebhar announced in his pastoral letter that John E. Miller III, from

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, Florida, of the

Anglican Mission in the Americas The Anglican Mission in the Americas (AMiA) or The Anglican Mission (AM) is a self-governing church inheriting its doctrine and form of worship from the Episcopal Church in the United States (TEC) and Anglican Church of Canada with members and ch ...

, recently disaffiliated from the

Anglican Church of Rwanda The Anglican Church of Rwanda (; ) is a province of the Anglican Communion, covering 13 dioceses in Rwanda. The Primate (bishop), primate of the province is Laurent Mbanda, consecrated on 10 June 2018. Official names The Province of the Anglican ...

, would be received at the Gulf Atlantic Diocese as an Assisting Bishop for at least six months, as a temporary measure until the future of the AMiA is defined. It was also suggested the possible affiliation of some of his 20 congregations to the Diocese. Miller, as an Assisting Bishop, a newly created position, will be in charge of the process of transition of the AMiA parishes. The diocese announced that St. Peter's Anglican Church in

, had been declared the new cathedral, St Peter's Cathedral, in January 2018.TALLAHASSEE, FL: St. Peter's named Anglican Cathedral as leadership grows, Virtue Online, 31 January 2018
/ref> On 27 August 2022, the Rev. Charles Alexander Farmer was ordained to the episcopacy and consecrated as the second Ordinary of the diocese at St Peter's Cathedral.

Parishes

Notable parishes in the Gulf Atlantic Diocese include:

References

External links

Gulf Atlantic Diocese Official Website
{{Anglican Church in North America Dioceses of the Anglican Church in North America Anglican dioceses established in the 21st century Anglican realignment dioceses Anglicanism in the United States Protestantism in Alabama Christianity in Florida Protestantism in Florida Christianity in Georgia (U.S. state) Protestantism in Georgia (U.S. state) Protestantism in Louisiana