The Diocese of Gloucester

General information

The Diocese of Gloucester is part of the Church of England and covers most of Gloucestershire, as well as parts of neighbouring counties. It is home to about 600 thousand people.

It ranges from small rural communities to the urban centres of Gloucester, Cheltenham and Stroud, and also includes market towns such as Cirencester and Stow-on-the-Wold. The main geographic areas are the Cotswolds running north to south through the Diocese, the Forest of Dean in the west and between them the Vale of Severn. Each of these areas has its own distinctive character. The diocese is divided into small units called parishes.

At the centre of the Diocese, in the county town of Gloucester, stands the Cathedral Church of St Peter and the Holy and Indivisible Trinity. Originally founded as the Benedictine Abbey of St Peter in 679 the Abbey church became Gloucester Cathedral in 1541. Gloucester is particularly famous for being one of the earliest buildings to adopt the quintessentially English Perpendicular Style of Gothic Architecture in the 1330s.

The Diocese is led by the Right Reverend Michael Perham, the 40th Bishop of Gloucester, supported by the Bishop of Tewkesbury. The routine management of the clergy and parishes is overseen by two Archdeacons who in turn are supported by 15 Area Deans. Along with the Dean of the Cathedral and the Dean of Women Clergy, these people form the senior staff of the diocese.

In the Diocese the communities are served by some 327 parishes, 390 churches and 117 church schools. About 140 stipendiary clergy offer spiritual and pastoral care, together with retired and non-stipendiary clergy, Readers, local ministry teams and other lay ministers.

The Diocese has twinning links with the dioceses of Dornakal and Karnataka Central in the Church of South India, Västerås in Sweden, El Camino Real in California, USA, and Western Tanganyika in Tanzania. It is currently supporting the work of the Diocese of Western Tanganyika to build a new high school.

The Anglican churches work to develop close links with churches of other Christian denominations, and to build understanding with members of other faiths. The Diocese also has close ties with churches across the world and is linked with the dioceses of Dornakal and Karnataka Central in South India and Vasteras in Sweden, Western Tanganyika in Africa and El Camino Real in California, USA.