Episcopal Diocese of Texas

Diocese of Texas

Diœcesis Texensis
Location
CountryUnited States
TerritoryCentral and southeastern Texas
Ecclesiastical provinceVII
Headquarters1225 Texas Ave, Houston, TX 77002
Statistics
Area49,489 sq mi (128,180 km2)
Congregations153 (2021)
Members73,617 (2021)
Information
DenominationEpiscopal Church
EstablishedJanuary 1, 1849
CathedralChrist Church Cathedral, Houston
Current leadership
BishopC. Andrew Doyle
SuffragansJeff W. Fisher
Kathryn McCrossen Ryan
Hector Monterroso
Map
Diocese of Texas after 2022 expansion
Diocese of Texas after 2022 expansion
Website
epicenter.org

The Episcopal Diocese of Texas is one of the dioceses of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. The diocese consists of all Episcopal congregations in the southeastern quartile of Texas, including the cities of Austin, Beaumont, Galveston, Houston (the see city), Waco and, as of July 2022, Fort Worth and other cities within the former diocese in North Texas.

The 166 congregations in the Diocese of Texas have ministries, locally and abroad. They include: homeless and feeding ministries, clinics, after school programs for at risk youth, ministry to seniors, ESL and citizenship classes and much more. Two new churches, St. Julian of Norwich (Austin) and St. Mary Magdalene (Manor) were planted in 2010.

Institutions of the diocese include St. Vincent's House, a social service agency, in Galveston; St. David's Hospital, a healthcare system, in Austin; El Buen Samaritano, an agency to help working poor in Austin; COTS/LOTS, Community of the Streets, outreach to homeless men and women in midtown Houston; Episcopal High School, Houston; St. Andrew's Episcopal School, Austin; and the Seminary of the Southwest in Austin.

The diocese traces its foundation to Christ Church in Matagorda in 1838, when it became the first foreign missionary field of the Episcopal Church (as part of the Republic of Texas). Together with Christ Church, Houston (1839) and Trinity Church, Galveston (1841) it formed the Episcopal Church of Texas, the Episcopal presence in the Republic of Texas. It formally became a diocese of the Episcopal Church in 1849. The diocese expanded to include the territory of the Episcopal Church in North Texas in 2022.[1]

Christ Church became the cathedral of the diocese in 1949. The current bishop is C. Andrew Doyle (born 1966). He succeeded Don Wimberly as diocesan on June 7, 2009, upon Wimberly's retirement.

  1. ^ "Genera Convention Approves North Texas-Texas Reunion as One of Its Final Actions in Baltimore". Episcopal News Service. 11 July 2022. Retrieved 11 July 2022.