Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts
The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts has one of the nine original Dioceses of the Episcopal Church in the United States. It consists of 194 congregations with 77,000 members.
The colony of Massachusetts was founded by Puritans, the essential aspects of the Church of England, such as bishops and the Book of Common Prayer refused. The first Anglican church in the Massachusetts Bay Colony was King's Chapel in Boston, founded in 1688, 58 years after the city. After the American Revolution, however, King's Chapel became the first Unitarian church in North America, so that the oldest remaining church of the diocese now St. Paul's in Newburyport, which was founded in 1711.
The diocese was organized in 1784, five years before founding the Episcopal Church itself The first bishop, however, was not consecrated until 1795.
Today it is one of the largest dioceses of the Church in terms of the number of members. Geographically, it comprises the part of Massachusetts, which is located east of Worcester County.
The diocese was the first in the Anglican Communion, the woman elected to the episcopate: Barbara Harris in 1989 became Weihbischöfin of the diocese.
The incumbent diocesan bishop is the Right Reverend M. Thomas Shaw. He was consecrated bishop coadjutor in 1994, and was followed by David Elliot Johnson in office when this passed away in January 1995.
The Diocese traditionally tended to Low Church tradition; However, there are some Anglo- Catholic churches, of which the Church of the Advent is best known in Boston. The most popular low- Church community is the Holy Trinity Church on Copley Square in Boston.
- Bishop's seat is Boston.
- The Episcopal Divinity School is located in this diocese. Many members of the diocesan clergy are graduates of the EDS.
Bishops
Diocesan offices are located at 138 Tremont Street, next to the Cathedral Church of St. Paul.