The
Diocese of Ely is a
Church of EnglandThe Church of England is the officially established Christian church 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 in the
Province of CanterburyThe 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...
. It is headed by the
Bishop of ElyThe Bishop of Ely is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire , together with a section of north-west Norfolk and has its see in the City of Ely, Cambridgeshire, where the seat is located at the...
, who sits at
Ely CathedralEly Cathedral is the principal church of the Diocese of Ely, in Cambridgeshire, England, and the seat of the Bishop of Ely...
in
ElyEly is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England. It is 14 miles north-northeast of Cambridge.Ely has been informally accounted a city by virtue of being the seat of a diocese. Its status was confirmed by Royal Charter in 1974, when the parish council of the single civil parish that makes up...
. There is one suffragan bishop, the Bishop of
HuntingdonHuntingdon is a market town in the county of Cambridgeshire in East Anglia, England. The town was chartered by King John in 1205. It was formerly the county town of Huntingdonshire, and is currently the seat of the Huntingdonshire district council...
. The diocese now covers
CambridgeshireCambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
(excluding the
Soke of PeterboroughThe Soke of Peterborough is an historic area of England that is traditionally associated with the City and Diocese of Peterborough, but considered part of Northamptonshire...
) and western
NorfolkNorfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast, including The Wash. The county town is Norwich...
. The diocese was created in 1109 out of part of the
Diocese of LincolnThe Diocese of Lincoln forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England.It traces its roots in an unbroken line to the Diocese of Lindine founded in 678. Nowadays it is much diminished in size since it was the largest diocese in Europe...
.
The diocese is ancient, and the area of Ely was part of the patrimony of Saint Etheldreda. A religious house was founded in the city in 673.
The
Diocese of Ely is a
Church of EnglandThe Church of England is the officially established Christian church 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 in the
Province of CanterburyThe 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...
. It is headed by the
Bishop of ElyThe Bishop of Ely is the Ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Ely in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese roughly covers the county of Cambridgeshire , together with a section of north-west Norfolk and has its see in the City of Ely, Cambridgeshire, where the seat is located at the...
, who sits at
Ely CathedralEly Cathedral is the principal church of the Diocese of Ely, in Cambridgeshire, England, and the seat of the Bishop of Ely...
in
ElyEly is a cathedral city in Cambridgeshire, England. It is 14 miles north-northeast of Cambridge.Ely has been informally accounted a city by virtue of being the seat of a diocese. Its status was confirmed by Royal Charter in 1974, when the parish council of the single civil parish that makes up...
. There is one suffragan bishop, the Bishop of
HuntingdonHuntingdon is a market town in the county of Cambridgeshire in East Anglia, England. The town was chartered by King John in 1205. It was formerly the county town of Huntingdonshire, and is currently the seat of the Huntingdonshire district council...
. The diocese now covers
CambridgeshireCambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
(excluding the
Soke of PeterboroughThe Soke of Peterborough is an historic area of England that is traditionally associated with the City and Diocese of Peterborough, but considered part of Northamptonshire...
) and western
NorfolkNorfolk is a low-lying county in the East of England. It has borders with Lincolnshire to the west, Cambridgeshire to the west and southwest and Suffolk to the south. Its northern and eastern boundaries are the North Sea coast, including The Wash. The county town is Norwich...
. The diocese was created in 1109 out of part of the
Diocese of LincolnThe Diocese of Lincoln forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England.It traces its roots in an unbroken line to the Diocese of Lindine founded in 678. Nowadays it is much diminished in size since it was the largest diocese in Europe...
.
The diocese is ancient, and the area of Ely was part of the patrimony of Saint Etheldreda. A religious house was founded in the city in 673. After her death in 679 she was buried outside the church, and her remains were later reburied inside, the foundress being commemorated as a great Anglian saint.
The diocese has had its boundaries altered various times. From an original diocese covering the historic county of
CambridgeshireCambridgeshire is a county in England, bordering Lincolnshire to the north, Norfolk to the northeast, Suffolk to the east, Essex and Hertfordshire to the south, and Bedfordshire and Northamptonshire to the west...
and the
Isle of ElyThe Isle of Ely is a historic region around the city of Ely now in Cambridgeshire, England but previously a county in its own right.-Etymology:...
, Bedfordshire and Huntingdonshire were added in 1837 from the
Diocese of LincolnThe Diocese of Lincoln forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England.It traces its roots in an unbroken line to the Diocese of Lindine founded in 678. Nowadays it is much diminished in size since it was the largest diocese in Europe...
, as was the
SudburySudbury is a small, ancient market town in the county of Suffolk, England, on the River Stour, 15 miles from Colchester and 60 miles from London.-Early history:...
archdeaconry in
SuffolkSuffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, from the
Diocese of NorwichDiocese of Norwich can refer to*the English Anglican Diocese of Norwich, England*the Roman Catholic Diocese of Norwich, Connecticut, USA...
. In 1914 Bedfordshire became part of the Diocese of St Albans, and western Suffolk became part of the Diocese of St Edmundsbury and Ipswich, whilst Ely took a western part of the
Diocese of NorwichThe Diocese of Norwich forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England.It traces its roots in an unbroken line to the diocese of Dunwich founded in 630. In common with many Anglo-Saxon bishoprics it moved, in this case to Elmham in 673...
. Peterborough remains the seat of the
Diocese of PeterboroughThe Diocese of Peterborough forms part of the Province of Canterbury in England. Its seat is the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter, Saint Paul and Saint Andrew, which was originally founded as a monastery in AD 655 and re-built in its present form between 1118 and 1238.Founded at the Dissolution...
.
Today the Diocese covers an area of 1507 square miles. It has a population of 641,000 and comprises 209 benefices, 303 parishes and 335 churches with 145 stipendiary parochial clergy.