Diocese of Niagara

Diocese of Niagara
Location
Ecclesiastical province	Ontario
Archdeaconries	6
Statistics
Parishes	93
Information
Rite	Anglican
Cathedral	Christ's Church Cathedral, Hamilton
Current leadership
Bishop	The Right Reverend Michael A. Bird
Website
niagaraanglican.ca

The Diocese of Niagara is one of thirty regional divisions (29 dioceses and one former diocese) in the Anglican Church of Canada. The see city of the diocese is Hamilton with the Bishop's seat being located at Christ's Church Cathedral on James Street North. Located within the ecclesiastical province of Ontario, it borders the Dioceses of Huron and Toronto. The area enclosed by the Diocese of Niagara includes much of the Golden Horseshoe, and moves north to include Erin and Orangeville as far as Shelburne. Moving sharply south the line includes Mount Forest and widens, south-westerly to include Elora and Guelph. Skirting Brantford and the Territory of the Six Nations Confederacy, the line then travels, again, south-westerly to Nanticoke and Lake Erie to include the entire Niagara Peninsula. Major urban centres within its borders are St. Catharines, Hamilton, Guelph, Oakville, Burlington, and Orangeville.

The current Bishop of Niagara is the Right Reverend Michael Bird, who was installed as Diocesan Bishop on March 2, 2008. There are just over 90 parishes within the diocese served by approximately 120 licensed parish priests, with a number of honorary clergy, vocational deacons and licensed lay people. The diocese is divided into six regional deaneries: Brock, Lincoln, Mohawk, Undermount, Greater Wellington and Trafalgar. Each deanery is overseen by a Regional Archdeacon and Regional Dean.

Early History

The first Anglican presence in what would become the Diocese of Niagara begin with St Mark’s Church in Newark (now Niagara-on-the-Lake), the former capital of Upper Canada. The parish was founded in 1790 as Loyalist immigrants arrived from the former American colonies, in what would become the province of Ontario. At this time the area was part of the Diocese of Nova Scotia, and subsequently became part of the Diocese of Quebec, then of the Diocese of Toronto.

The diocese was formed by an act of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada; 39 Vic Chapter 107 in 1875. Royal assent was given in 1876. The first bishop was Thomas Brock Fuller, Archdeacon of Niagara and godson of Sir Isaac Brock, the hero of the Battle of Queenston Heights.

Parishes by Region

Region of Greater Wellington

• St. Alban the Martyr, Acton
• Grace Church, Arthur
• St. John, Elora
• All Saints, Erin
• St. James, Fergus
• St. Alban's, Grand Valley
• St. George's, Guelph
• St. James the Apostle, Guelph
• St. Matthias, Guelph
• St. David and St. Patrick, Guelph
• St. Paul's, Mount Forest
• St. Mark's, Orangeville
• St. John, Rockwood
• St. Paul's Anglican Church, Shelburne

Region of Trafalgar

• St. Christopher, Burlington
• St. Elizabeth's, Burlington
• St. John, Burlington
• St. Luke, Burlington
• St. Matthew on-the-Plains, Burlington
• St. George's, Georgetown
• St. Alban the Martyr, Glen Williams
• St. Stephen's, Hornby
• St. George's Anglican Church Lowville, Campbellville
• Grace, Milton
• St. John, Campbellville
• St. Paul, Norval
• The Church of the Epiphany, Oakville
• Church of the Incarnation, Oakville
• St. Aidan's, Oakville
• St. Cuthbert's, Oakville
• St. Jude, Oakville
• St. Simon, Oakville
• St. Luke, Oakville
• St. John's, Stewarttown
• Grace, Waterdown

Region of Mohawk

• St. John's, Ancaster
• St. Paul's, Caledonia
• St. John the Divine, Cayuga
• St. John, Cheapside
• St. James, Dundas
• Christ Church, Flamborough
• St. Paul's (Glanford), Mount Hope
• All Saints Church, Hagersville
• Holy Trinity, Hamilton
• Church of the Resurrection, Hamilton
• St. Michael's, Hamilton
• St. Stephen on the Mount, Hamilton
• St. Paul's, Jarvis
• Christ Church, Hannon
• St. John's, York

Region of Undermount

• St. Alban the Martyr, Hamilton
• All Saints, Hamilton
• The Church of the Ascension, Hamilton
• Christ's Church Cathedral, Hamilton
• St. John the Evangelist, Hamilton
• St. Luke's, Hamilton
• San Gabriel, Hamilton
• St. Peter, Hamilton
• The Church of Our Saviour The Redeemer, Stoney Creek
• St. John the Evangelist, Winona
• Church of the Nativity, Hamilton
• St. Paul's (Westdale), Hamilton

Region of Lincoln

• St. Alban, Beamsville
• St. Andrew, Grimsby
• St. George's (Homer), Niagara-on-the-Lake
• St. John's, Jordan
• Christ Church, McNab
• St. Mark, Niagara-on-the-Lake
• St. Saviour, The Brock Memorial Church, Queenston
• Grace Church, St. Catharines
• St. Barnabas, St. Catharines
• St. Columba, St. Catharines
• St. George's, St. Catharines
• St. James (Merriton), St. Catharines
• St. John's, St. Catharines
• St. Thomas, St. Catharines
• Transfiguration, St. Catharines
• St. Luke, Smithville
• St. John the Evangelist, Thorold

Region of Brock

• St. Paul's, Dunnville
• The Dunn Parish: Christ Church & St John the Evangelist, Dunnville
• Holy Trinity, Fonthill
• St. Paul's, Fort Erie
• Christ Church, Niagara Falls
• Holy Trinity (Chippawa), Niagara Falls
• St. John the Evangelist, Niagara Falls
• St. Paul, Port Robinson
• St. John's, Ridgemount
• All Saints, Ridgeway
• Christ Church, Wainfleet
• All Saints Church (Dain City), Welland
• Holy Trinity, Welland
• St. David's Parish, Welland
• The Parish of St. James and St. Brendan, Port Colborne

Educational institutions

• Appleby College, Oakville, founded 1911.
• St. Mildred's-Lightbourn School, Oakville, founded as St. Mildred's College, Toronto,1908.
• Ridley College, St. Catharines, founded 1889.
• St. John's-Kilmarnock School, Breslau, founded 1972

The diocese also has connections to campus ministries at three universities in its jurisdiction. The University of Guelph, Brock University and McMaster University all have chaplains whose ministries are affiliated with the Diocese of Niagara and its ecumenical partners.

Diocesan Bishops of Niagara

1. Thomas Fuller, 1875–1884
2. Charles Hamilton, 1884–1896
3. Philip Du Moulin, 1896–1911
4. William Clark, 1911–1925
5. Derwyn Owen, 1925–1932 Primate of All Canada, 1934–1947
6. Lewis Broughall, 1932–1949
7. Walter Bagnall, 1949-1973
8. John Bothwell, 1973–1991 Archbishop of Niagara and Metropolitan of Ontario, 1985–1991
9. Walter Asbil, 1991–1997
10. Ralph Spence, 1998–2008
11. Michael Bird, 2008–present

Litigation

The Diocese was involved with litigation against several former parishes affiliated with Anglican Network in Canada. The courts have generally upheld the diocese as owner of the church buildings and ejected the congregations.

External links

• Anglican Diocese of Niagara
• Anglican Church of Canada