Diocese of New Westminster

Diocese of New Westminster
Location
Ecclesiastical province	British Columbia and Yukon
Information
Rite	Anglican
Cathedral	Christ Church Cathedral, Vancouver
Current leadership
Bishop	The Right Rev. Michael Ingham
Website
vancouver.anglican.ca

The Diocese of New Westminster is one of six dioceses of the Ecclesiastical Province of British Columbia and the Yukon of the Anglican Church of Canada. The See city is Vancouver. The current bishop (the diocese's eighth) is the Right Rev. Michael Ingham and the Dean of New Westminster is the Very Rev. Peter Elliott. The diocese encompasses about 78,000 square kilometres of the Lower Mainland in the civil province of British Columbia, comprising the Regional Districts of Greater Vancouver, Fraser Valley, Sunshine Coast, Powell River and part of the Regional District of Squamish-Lillooet (including Squamish and Whistler).

The Diocese was founded in New Westminster in 1879, but with the phenomenal growth of the City of Vancouver, the See city was moved there in 1912. There are, therefore, two churches styled as "cathedrals" in the diocese — Christ Church Cathedral in Vancouver has been the cathedral since 1929, while Holy Trinity Cathedral in New Westminster was the cathedral from 1892 to that date. Although no longer a cathedral, the Diocesan Synod allowed Holy Trinity to keep the title "cathedral" as a courtesy for historical reasons (it is, strictly speaking, a pro-cathedral).

The diocese has 76 parishes, 79 active congregations, and approximately 30,000 on its parish rolls, according to the 2006 Anglican Church Directory.

The diocese has traditionally been at the forefront of progressive causes in the Anglican Communion. In 1976, the Most Rev. David Somerville was one of the first bishops of the Canadian Church to ordain women. In 2003, the diocese became the centre of an international controversy within the Anglican Communion due to its decision to bless same-sex unions. Several conservative ecclesiastical provinces in the Communion, particularly those in Africa, have severed relations with the diocese over the issue (see Anglican views of homosexuality).

Crest and Badge

Diocesan Crest

The Crest and Badge are both official marks for the diocese. In practice, the crest is generally used more when the bishop is involved directly, and the badge when specifically referencing only the diocese.

The Crest, with much history behind it, was acquired by Bishop Gower in 1960.

The Badge (a blue circle, gold cross and birds over white wave) was created for the diocesan Communications Committee with the help of Robert Watt, Chief Herald of Canada.

See the complete description of the Badge, comparison of the Crest and Badge and Permitted Usage

The badge is a proper heraldic symbol for use on diocesan and parish materials. It incorporates key elements of the diocesan Coat of Arms, but is less detailed, and the Badge is easier to reproduce properly than the very detailed Coat of Arms.

Parishes

All Saints, Agassiz All Saints, Burnaby All Saints, Ladner All Saints, Ladner All Saints, Mission Christ Church Cathedral Christ Church, Hope Christ the Redeemer Church of the Epiphany Church of the Holy Spirit Good Shepherd Holy Cross, Vancouver Holy Trinity Cathedral Holy Trinity, Vancouver Holy Trinity, White Rock Jubilee Cluster St. Agnes St. Alban St. Alban, Richmond St. Andrew, Langley St. Anne, Steveston St. Anselm St. Augustine St. Barnabas St Barnabas Anglican Church St. Bartholomew, Gibsons St. Catherine, North Vancouver St. Catherine, Port Coquitlam St. Chad St. Christopher St. Clare-in-the-Cove St. Clement St. Columba, Pitt Meadows St. Cuthbert, Delta St. David / St. Paul, Powell River St. David, Delta St. David, Vancouver St. Dunstan Aldergrove St. Edward, Richmond St. Faith

St. Francis-in-the-Wood St. George, Fort Langley St. George, Maple Ridge St. George, Vancouver St. Helen, Surrey St. Helen, Vancouver St. Hilda, Sechelt St. James St. John the Evangelist, North Vancouver St. John, Maple Ridge St. John, Port Moody St. John, Sardis St. John, Shaughnessy St. John, Squamish St. Laurence St. Margaret of Scotland St. Margaret, Cedar Cottage St. Mark, Ocean Park St. Mark, Vancouver St. Martin St. Mary the Virgin, Sapperton St. Mary, Kerrisdale St. Mary, South Hill St. Matthew, Abbotsford St. Matthias & St. Luke St. Michael, Surrey St. Michael, Vancouver St. Monica St. Oswald, Port Kells St. Paul St. Philip St. Richard St. Stephen, Burnaby St. Stephen, West Vancouver St. Thomas, Chilliwack St. Thomas, Vancouver St. Timothy Whistler Village Church

See also

Anglicanism portal

• Christ Church Cathedral, Vancouver
• Anglican Church of Canada
• Peter Elliott
• Michael Ingham
• Sir Francis Heathcote, 9th Baronet

References

External links

• Diocese of New Westminster