Anglican Diocese of New Westminster

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Vancouver was previously the Roman Catholic 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 Rt. Rev. Melissa M. Skelton
Website
vancouver.anglican.ca

The Diocese of New Westminster is one of five 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 is the Right Reverend Melissa Skelton. Bishop Skelton was consecrated and installed March 1st, 2014. She is the 9th Bishop of the diocese, the first woman, the first American and the first person who had a previous career prior to ordination to the priesthood to be elected bishop of the 135-year-old diocese. The Dean of New Westminster and Rector of the Cathedral Church, Christ Church is the Very Rev. Peter Elliott and the Executive Archdeacon of the Diocese is the Venerable G. Douglas Fenton.

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 66 active parishes and 2 emerging faith communities with approximately 18,000 members on its parish rolls according to the recent statistics stated in the official publication Topic.

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 2002, 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 Homosexuality and the Anglican Communion).

The diocesan offices, gathering space, meeting rooms and archives are located at 1410 Nanton Avenue in the Shaughnessy section of the City of Vancouver, BC. V6H 2E2

Coat of Arms and Badge

The Coat of Arms 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 Coat of Arms, 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 and officially adopted at the 2007 Diocesan Synod

See the complete description of the Badge, comparison of the Coat of Arms 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 Holy Cross, Vancouver Holy Trinity Cathedral Holy Trinity, Vancouver Holy Trinity, White Rock 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. Clement St. Columba, Pitt Meadows St. Cuthbert, Delta St. David / St. Paul, Powell River St. David, Delta St. Dunstan Aldergrove 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, 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. Oswald, Port Kells St. Paul’s Anglican Church of the West End, Vancouver St. Philip St. Stephen, Burnaby St. Stephen, West Vancouver St. Thomas, Chilliwack St. Thomas, Vancouver St. Timothy

Bishops of New Westminster

Bishop	Name	Dates	Notes
1st	Acton Sillitoe	1879–1894
2nd	John Dart	1895–1910
3rd	Adam de Pencier	1910–1940	Metropolitan of British Columbia and Yukon, 1925–1940
4th	Sir Francis Heathcote	1940–1951
5th	Godfrey Gower	1951–1971	Metropolitan of British Columbia and Yukon, 1969–1971
6th	David Somerville	1971–1980	Metropolitan of British Columbia and Yukon, 1975–1980
7th	Douglas Hambidge	1980–1993	Metropolitan of British Columbia and Yukon, 1981–1993
8th	Michael Ingham	1994–2014
9th	Melissa Skelton	2014–present

See also

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

References

External links

• Diocese of New Westminster