The ancient pattern, common to the historic Churches of both East and West, is for local congregations to be organised into geographic Dioceses. The first Constitution of the Free Church of England in 1863 therefore made provision for separate dioceses, each under the pastoral oversight of a bishop.
In the early decades the situation was very much one of mission and church planting, and it naturally took some time for fully developed dioceses to be organised. By the 1880's, a Diocesan structure with a regular succession of bishops had been established.
The Northern Diocese comprises all congregations, churches and missions north of the river Trent – in other words, the northern counties of England, the Isle of Man and reaching up into Scotland. There have been parishes in many parts of the North, but historically there has always been a concentration in Lancashire, and that is still true today.
We have had congregations in Scotland in the past, particularly in the Glasgow area and some of which suffered bombing in the Second World War and were never re-opened. The last Scottish congregation closed in the 1970's, but we would be happy to re-establish a presence in Scotland - we are glad for our current outreach through our dispersed membership and an active Cell in the region!
In the early decades the situation was very much one of mission and church planting, and it naturally took some time for fully developed dioceses to be organised. By the 1880's, a Diocesan structure with a regular succession of bishops had been established.
The Northern Diocese comprises all congregations, churches and missions north of the river Trent – in other words, the northern counties of England, the Isle of Man and reaching up into Scotland. There have been parishes in many parts of the North, but historically there has always been a concentration in Lancashire, and that is still true today.
We have had congregations in Scotland in the past, particularly in the Glasgow area and some of which suffered bombing in the Second World War and were never re-opened. The last Scottish congregation closed in the 1970's, but we would be happy to re-establish a presence in Scotland - we are glad for our current outreach through our dispersed membership and an active Cell in the region!
Diocesan structures
As an Anglican church, we are ecclesiastically under the spiritual and teaching authority of the bishop, who serves as the head of the diocese. He is sometimes assisted by other bishops in large geographic areas or when numbers are great, though these assistant roles often fall to other ministers and laity. Some of their roles are highlighted below.
- Diocesan secretary
- Diocesan treasurer
- Church planting coordinator
- Bishop's chaplain
- Examining chaplain
- Prayer Link coordinator
- Ordained and lay representatives to General Council
A 'Northern Powerhouse' once more!
We see the great legacy of what is popularly known as the 'Northern Powerhouse' in the region covered by our Diocese and believe that God is calling faithful witnesses to the Gospel of Jesus Christ to reach our increasingly secular society. We seek to lean into the legacy of this Northern Powerhouse and the heritage of the Great Disruption north of the border in order to equip and evangelise our local communities with the Good News.
