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Diocese of Canterbury
 
 
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The Diocese of Canterbury is a Church of England
Church of England

The Church of England is the State religion Christianity Ecclesia in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the oldest among the communion's thirty-eight independent national and regional churches....
 diocese covering eastern
East Kent

East Kent and West Kent are one-time traditional subdivisions of the England county of Kent, kept alive by the Association of the Men of Kent and Kentish Men: an organisation formed in 1913....
 Kent
Kent

Kent is a Counties of England in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the River Thames estuary....
, founded by St Augustine in 597. It is centred on (and named after) Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral

Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christianity structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....
, and is the oldest see
Episcopal See

An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral....
 of the Church of England.

The diocesan bishop is the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury

The Archbishop of Canterbury is the chief bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the Diocesan Bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury, the Episcopal see that churches must be in communion with in order to be a part of the Anglican Communion....
; but because of his roles as Metropolitan of the Province of Canterbury
Province of Canterbury

The Province of Canterbury, also called the Southern Province, is one of two ecclesiastical provinces making up the Church of England. It consists of 30 dioceses, covering roughly the southern two-thirds of England, along with the Channel Islands, the Falkland Islands, a few parishes in Wales, and the mainland of Europe....
, Primate
Primate (religion)

Primate is a title or rank bestowed on some bishops in certain Christianity churches. Depending on the particular tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority or ceremonial precedence ....
 of All England, and worldwide head of the Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion

The Anglican Communion is an international association of national Anglican churches. There is no single "Anglican Church" with universal juridical authority as each national or regional church has full autonomy....
, the archbishop (whose primary residence, moreover, is at Lambeth Palace
Lambeth Palace

Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is located in Lambeth, on the south bank of the River Thames a short distance upstream of the Palace of Westminster on the opposite shore....
 in London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
) is often away.






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The Diocese of Canterbury is a Church of England
Church of England

The Church of England is the State religion Christianity Ecclesia in England, the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the oldest among the communion's thirty-eight independent national and regional churches....
 diocese covering eastern
East Kent

East Kent and West Kent are one-time traditional subdivisions of the England county of Kent, kept alive by the Association of the Men of Kent and Kentish Men: an organisation formed in 1913....
 Kent
Kent

Kent is a Counties of England in southeast England, and is one of the home counties. It borders East Sussex, Surrey and Greater London and has a defined boundary with Essex in the middle of the River Thames estuary....
, founded by St Augustine in 597. It is centred on (and named after) Canterbury Cathedral
Canterbury Cathedral

Canterbury Cathedral in Canterbury, Kent, is one of the oldest and most famous Christianity structures in England and forms part of a World Heritage Site....
, and is the oldest see
Episcopal See

An episcopal see is, in the original sense, the official seat of a bishop. This seat, which is also referred to the bishop's cathedra, is placed in the bishop's principal church, which is therefore called the bishop's cathedral....
 of the Church of England.

The diocesan bishop is the Archbishop of Canterbury
Archbishop of Canterbury

The Archbishop of Canterbury is the chief bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the Diocesan Bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury, the Episcopal see that churches must be in communion with in order to be a part of the Anglican Communion....
; but because of his roles as Metropolitan of the Province of Canterbury
Province of Canterbury

The Province of Canterbury, also called the Southern Province, is one of two ecclesiastical provinces making up the Church of England. It consists of 30 dioceses, covering roughly the southern two-thirds of England, along with the Channel Islands, the Falkland Islands, a few parishes in Wales, and the mainland of Europe....
, Primate
Primate (religion)

Primate is a title or rank bestowed on some bishops in certain Christianity churches. Depending on the particular tradition, it can denote either jurisdictional authority or ceremonial precedence ....
 of All England, and worldwide head of the Anglican Communion
Anglican Communion

The Anglican Communion is an international association of national Anglican churches. There is no single "Anglican Church" with universal juridical authority as each national or regional church has full autonomy....
, the archbishop (whose primary residence, moreover, is at Lambeth Palace
Lambeth Palace

Lambeth Palace is the official London residence of the Archbishop of Canterbury. It is located in Lambeth, on the south bank of the River Thames a short distance upstream of the Palace of Westminster on the opposite shore....
 in London
London

London is the capital of both England and the United Kingdom, and the most populous municipality in the European Union. An important settlement for two millennia, History of London goes back to its founding by the Roman Empire....
) is often away. Hence one of his suffragan bishops, the Suffragan Bishop of Dover
Bishop of Dover

The Bishop of Dover is an Episcopal polity title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the town of Dover in Kent....
, is given the additional title of "Bishop in Canterbury" and in many ways empowered to act almost as if he were the diocesan bishop. Another diocesan suffragan bishop is the Suffragan Bishop of Maidstone
Bishop of Maidstone

The Bishop of Maidstone is an Episcopal polity title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Canterbury, in the Province of Canterbury, England....
. (Two further suffragans with titular cities located in the diocese — Ebbsfleet
Bishop of Ebbsfleet

The Bishop of Ebbsfleet is a suffragan bishop who fulfills the role of a provincial episcopal visitor for the whole of the Church of England Province of Canterbury, England....
 and Richborough
Bishop of Richborough

The Bishop of Richborough is a suffragan bishop who fulfills the role of a provincial episcopal visitor for the whole Church of England Province of Canterbury, England....
 — are really provincial episcopal visitor
Provincial episcopal visitor

A provincial episcopal visitor in the Church of England is a bishop assigned to minister to clergy, laity and parishes who do not in conscience accept the ministry of women priests....
s with a focus more wide-ranging than the local diocese.)

For organizational purposes, the diocese is divided into sixteen rural deaneries
Deanery

Deanery is an ecclesiastical entity in both the Catholic Church and the Church of England....
:

  • in the archdeaconry of Canterbury— Canterbury
    Canterbury

    Canterbury lies at the heart of the City of Canterbury, a local government district of Kent, in South East England. It lies on the River Stour....
    , Dover
    Dover

    Dover is a town and major ferry port in the county of Kent, in South East England. It faces France across the narrowest part of the English Channel....
    , East Bridge, Elham
    Elham Deanery

    The Elham Deanery is in the Diocese of Canterbury in Kent, England.Churches within the Deanery:External links *...
    , Reculver
    Reculver

    Reculver is a popular summer resort situated about east of Herne Bay, Kent, on the North Kent coast of England. Its main features are the ruins of a Roman Britain fort, or "Castra", a ruined medieval church, and a country park, which includes an interpretation centre run by the Kent Wildlife Trust....
    , Sandwich
    Sandwich, Kent

    Sandwich is a historic town in Kent, south-east England. It was one of the Cinque Ports and still has many original medieval buildings. While once a major port, it is now two miles from the sea, its historic centre preserved.....
    , Thanet
    Thanet

    Thanet is a Non-metropolitan district of Kent, England which was formed under the Local Government Act 1972, and came into being on 1 April 1974....
     and West Bridge
    West Bridge

    The West Bridge is a growing architectural approach, originally developed by Cypress Semiconductor, which enhances and modularizes a peripheral controller in an embedded computer architecture....
    ;
  • in the archdeaconry of Maidstone— Cranbrook
    Cranbrook, Kent

    Cranbrook is an old market town in Kent in South East England. It is also the smallest town in Kent. It is on the Maidstone to Hastings road and five miles north of Hawkhurst....
    , Ashford
    Ashford, Kent

    Ashford is a town in the Ashford in Kent, England. In 2005 it was voted the fourth best place to live in the United Kingdom. It lies on the River Great Stour, M20 motorway, South Eastern Main Line and High Speed 1 railways....
    , Maidstone
    Maidstone

    Maidstone is the county town of Kent, England, south-east of London. The River Medway runs through the centre of the town linking Maidstone to Rochester and the Thames Estuary....
    , North Downs
    North Downs

    The North Downs are a ridge of chalk hills in south east England that stretch for 120 miles from Farnham in Surrey to the White Cliffs of Dover in Kent....
    , Romney
    Romney Deanery

    The Romney Deanery is in the Diocese of Canterbury in Kent, England.Churches within the Deanery:External links *...
    , Ospringe
    Ospringe

    Ospringe is a village and civil parish in the England county of Kent.Located south of Faversham, Ospringe forms part of Swale district. It lies a few hundred yards south of the Roman Britain road Watling Street and remains of substantial Roman buildings have been found to its north-west; the ruins of the abandoned Stone Chapel, Kent lie ne...
    , Sittingbourne
    Sittingbourne

    Sittingbourne is an industrial town about eight miles east of Gillingham, Medway in England, beside the Ancient Rome Watling Street off a creek in the Swale, a channel separating the Isle of Sheppey from mainland Kent....
     and Tenterden
    Tenterden

    Tenterden is a small town in the Ashford District of Kent, England. It stands on the edge of the Weald, overlooking the valley of the River Rother ....
    .


External links