Diocese of Connecticut

The Diocese of Connecticut is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, encompassing the entire state of Connecticut. It is one of the nine original dioceses of the Episcopal Church and one of seven New England dioceses that make up Province 1.

Its first bishop, Samuel Seabury, was the first Anglican bishop with a see outside the British Isles. Anglican services have been conducted in the diocese since 1702, but the first diocesan convention did not take place until after the diocese was organized, having been convened by Bishop Seabury in 1785.

The cathedra of the bishop is at Christ Church Cathedral (45 Church Street) in the see city of Hartford. Diocesan offices are at 1335 Asylum Avenue, Hartford. There are 177 parishes in the diocese, with about 68,500 baptized members. One of Connecticut's well-known bishops was the Right Reverend Walter Henry Gray, who served as the first chairman of the Civil Rights Commission in Connecticut. Bishop Gray also played a leading role at two meetings of the Lambeth Conferences.

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Ian T. Douglas, elected 15th bishop of the diocese on October 24, 2009, was consecrated at the Koeppel Center of Trinity College on April 17, 2010, at a service at which the preacher was the Most Rev. Desmond Tutu, Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town. He was seated at Christ Church Cathedral the following day. Douglas is the first priest ever to be elected from outside the diocese, and at the time of his election was Angus Dun Professor of Mission and World Christianity at Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and associate priest at St. James’s Church, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Bishop Douglas is assisted by two Bishops Suffragan, the Rt. Rev. James E. Curry (2000-) and the Rt. Rev. Dr. Laura Ahrens (2007-). Bishop Ahrens was the first woman to be elected bishop in Connecticut and was consecrated on June 30, 2007 at Woolsey Hall, Yale University, New Haven.

Suffragan Bishops

 * The Rt. Rev. Edward C. Acheson, Suffragan Bishop, 1915-1926 (subsequently Coadjutor Bishop 1926-1928 and 6th Bishop of Connecticut 1928-1934)
 * The Rt. Rev. Walter Henry Gray, Suffragan Bishop, 1940-1945 (subsequently Coadjutor Bishop 1945-1951 and 8th Bishop of Connecticut 1951-1969)
 * The Rt. Rev. Robert M. Hatch, Suffragan Bishop, 1951-1957
 * The Rt. Rev. John Henry Esquirol, Suffragan Bishop 1958-1971
 * The Rt. Rev. J. Warren Hutchens, Suffragan Bishop 1961-1971
 * The Rt. Rev. Morgan Porteus, Suffragan Bishop 1971-1976 (subsequently Coadjutor Bishop 1976-1977 and 11th Bishop of Connecticut 1977-1983)
 * The Rt. Rev. W. Bradford Hastings, Suffragan Bishop 1981-1986
 * The Rt. Rev. Clarence Nicholas Coleridge, Suffragan Bishop 1981-1993 (subsequently 13th Bishop of Connecticut 1993-1999)
 * The Rt. Rev. Jeffrey William Rowthorn, Suffragan Bishop 1987-1993
 * The Rt. Rev. Andrew D. Smith, Suffragan Bishop 1996-1999 (subsequently 14th Bishop of Connecticut 1999-2010)
 * The Rt. Rev. James E. Curry, Suffragan Bishop, 2000-
 * The Rt. Rev. Dr. Laura Jean Ahrens, Suffragan Bishop, 2007-