Diocese of Ripon and Leeds

The Diocese of Ripon and Leeds is an administrative division of the Church of England, part of the Province of York. It covers an area in Yorkshire and County Durham- the cities of Ripon and Leeds, the towns of Harrogate, Richmond, Knaresborough, Hawes and Bedale and the surrounding countryside. Its northern boundary is the River Tees.

It is headed by the Bishop of Ripon and Leeds, and its cathedral-church is at Ripon. The diocese is also served by a suffragan Bishop of Knaresborough and two archdeacons at Richmond and Leeds.

History

The diocese of Ripon was originally created out of the dioceses of York and Diocese of Chester in 1836 with Charles Thomas Longley consecrated as its first bishop. On September 3 1999 the diocese was renamed 'The Diocese of Ripon & Leeds' in order to reflect the demographic importance of Leeds within its boundaries.

References

*Church of England Statistics 2002

External link

*Diocese page