Home

 

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE

EPISCOPAL CHURCH IN FLORIDA

                                                                             

The first Convention of the Episcopal Church in Florida was held in Tallahassee on January 17, 1838.  At that time there were seven congregations in the entire state.  Somewhat over half a century later, the Church had grown enough to be divided into the Diocese of Florida and the Missionary Jurisdiction of Southern Florida.

 

At the time of the division in 1892, there were five parishes, 40 organized missions and 11 mission stations in the new Jurisdiction.  Its primary Convention was held on February 21, 1893 at Holy Cross Church in Sanford, presided over by its first Bishop, William Crane Gray.

 

Despite devastating freezes, a plague, the Spanish-American War, and World War I, the Church continued to grow in Florida.  Only a few short years after World War I, there were enough healthy congregations for the Missionary Jurisdiction of Southern Florida to apply for admission as a diocese.  In September, 1922, the Diocese of South Florida was formally admitted, and on January 16, 1923, the primary Convention of the new diocese was held at St. Luke's Cathedral with the Bishop Cameron Mann presiding.

 

During the next four and one half decades, the Church grew rapidly, especially after World War II.  In the 1950s alone, 74 new congregations were started in the Diocese of South Florida, and 25 of these had become parishes by 1966.  At the time the Diocese applied to General Convention for division, there were 204 congregations served by about 250 priests and three bishops.  The Special General Convention of 1969 approved the request for the division of South Florida into three dioceses, and in December of that year, Bishop Henry I. Louttit, Bishop of South Florida presided over the primary Conventions of each new diocese -- Southeast Florida, Southwest Florida, and Central Florida -- for the purpose of electing their Diocesan Bishops.

 

The two Suffragan Bishops were elected to be Diocesan Bishops in the areas in which they had been living and serving.  Bishop William H. Folwell was elected to succeed Bishop Louttit whose retirement coincided with Bishop Folwell's consecration.

 

In the early 1970s, that portion of the Diocese of Florida from Apalachicola west became a part of the newly created Central Gulf Coast Diocese, which also includes the southeast half of Alabama.  Thus, it has come about that the fledgling Church of seven congregations of 150 years ago is now comprised within five dioceses.

 

On December 10, 1988, John W. Howe was elected Bishop Coadjutor of the Diocese of Central Florida and was consecrated April 15, 1989.  Bishop Howe became Diocesan Bishop on January 1, 1990.  On June 1, 1995, Hugo Pina-Lopez became Assistant Bishop of the Diocese and he became the Assisting Bishop on January 1, 2001.  In 2003 John Lewis Said, retired Suffragan Bishop from Southeast Florida, moved into our Diocese and is currently serving as an Assisting Bishop.

 

At the 31st Convention of the Diocese, held at the Cathedral Church of St. Luke in Orlando (January 29, 2000), the delegates unanimously approved a new vision for the Diocese of Central Florida which calls for the revitalization of existing congregations and the establishment of fifteen new congregations in the first ten years of the new millenium. At the 34th Convention of the diocese, held at Trinity Preparatory School in Winter Park (January 25, 2003), the diocese kicked off “From Strength to Strength” - a capital campaign to fund the new vision approved in 2000.  At the 35th Annual Convention the Diocese formally affiliated with the Network of the Anglican Communion Dioceses and Parishes.

 

The Diocese of Central Florida is comprised of five deaneries - Central, Northeast, Northwest, Southeast, and Southwest.  At this writing, there are a total of 11 Missions and 76 Parishes.

 

2/05

Please report broken, outdated links to Webmaster