Diocese of Exeter
historyThe Diocese of Exeter is a Church of England diocese covering Devon, and is one of the largest in England. The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter in Exeter is the seat of the diocesan bishop, the Right Reverend Michael Langrish DD, Bishop of Exeter. It is part of the Province of Canterbury. The bishop is assisted in his duties by two suffragan bishops: the Bishop of Crediton and the Bishop of Plymouth.
History
The Diocese of Crediton was created out of the Diocese of Sherborne in 909 to cover the area of Devon and Cornwall.»Crediton Festival 2009. Retrieved on 5 June 2008. Crediton was chosen as the site for its cathedral possibly due it having been the birthplace of Saint Boniface and the existence of a monastery there.»Exeter: Ecclesiastical History. Retrieved on 5 June 2008.
In 1046, Leofric became the Bishop of Crediton: following his appointment he decided that the see should be moved to the larger, more culturally significant and defensible walled town of Exeter. In 1050, King Edward the Confessor authorised that Exeter was to be the seat of the bishop for Devon and Cornwall, and that a cathedral was to be built there for the bishop's throne. Thus, Leofric became the last diocesan Bishop of Crediton and the first Bishop of Exeter.»Exeter: Ecclesiastical History. Retrieved on 5 June 2008.
The diocese remained unchanged until 1876, when the former Archdeaconry of Cornwall became the independent Diocese of Truro.
The diocese is divided into four archdeaconries. Special oversight is given to the Bishop of Crediton for the Barnstaple and Exeter archdeaconries, and to the Bishop of Plymouth for the Plymouth and Totnes archdeaconries.
Archdeaconry of Exeter (Archdeacon: The Venerable Penelope Driver)
- Deanery of Aylesbeare
- Deanery of Cadbury
- Deanery of Christianity
- Deanery of Cullompton
- Deanery of Honiton
- Deanery of Kenn
- Deanery of Ottery
- Deanery of Tiverton
Archdeaconry of Totnes (Archdeacon: The Venerable John Rawlings)
- Deanery of Moreton
- Deanery of Newton Abbot and Ipplepen
- Deanery of Okehampton
- Deanery of Torbay
- Deanery of Totnes
- Deanery of Woodleigh
Archdeaconry of Barnstaple (Archdeacon: The Venerable David Gunn-Johnson STh MA)
- Deanery of Barnstaple
- Deanery of Hartland
- Deanery of Holsworthy
- Deanery of Shirwell
- Deanery of South Molton
- Deanery of Torrington
Archdeaconry of Plymouth (Archdeacon: The Venerable Anthony Wilds BA (Dunelm))
- Deanery of Ivybridge
- Deanery of Devonport
- Deanery of Moorside
- Deanery of Sutton
- Deanery of Tavistock
- Oliver, George (1846) Monasticon Dioecesis Exoniensis: being a collection of records and instruments illustrating the ancient conventual, collegiate, and eleemosynary foundations, in the Counties of Cornwall and Devon, with historical notices, and a supplement, comprising a list of the dedications of churches in the Diocese, an amended edition of the taxation of Pope Nicholas, and an abstract of the Chantry Rolls; »supplement and index. Exeter: P. A. Hannaford, 1846, 1854, 1889
- »Diocese of Exeter
- »Ancient Diocese of Exeter - From the Catholic Encyclopedia