Diocese of the North East Caribbean and Aruba

St John's Cathedral, Antigua

The Anglican Diocese of North East Caribbean and Aruba was originally established in 1842 as the Diocese of Antigua and the Leeward Islands when the Anglican Diocese of Barbados, then with the Diocese of Jamaica, one of the two dioceses covering the Caribbean, was sub-divided. In 1842 (shortly after division), her jurisdiction was described as "Montserrat, Barbuda, St Kitt's, Nevis, Anguilla, Virgin Isles, Dominica".[1] In 2017 the diocese celebrated its 175th anniversary.[2]

The Anglican Diocese of North East Caribbean and Aruba is one of the eight dioceses within the Province of the West Indies and comprises the twelve islands of Antigua, Barbuda, Dominica, Montserrat, Anguilla, Aruba, Nevis, Saba, St. Barts, St. Eustatius, St. Christopher, also known as St. Kitts, and St. Martin/St. Maarten. The diocesan cathedral is the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, St John's Cathedral, located on upper Newgate Street in the capital city of St John, Antigua.[3]

Originally, the diocese was under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Canterbury until 1883, when the Province of the West Indies was created. As such, it was the Established Church in all British overseas territories within the Caribbean region, and therefore was primarily supported by public funds until disestablishment in 1969. The diocese remains a constituent diocese within the Anglican Province of the West Indies, which remains a constituent province within the worldwide Anglican Communion.

  1. ^ The Colonial Church Atlas, Arranged in Dioceses: with Geographical and Statistical Tables (second ed.). London: SPG. May 1842. Retrieved 28 September 2022.
  2. ^ "Anglican (ink)". Archived from the original on 2018-06-20. Retrieved 2017-10-21.
  3. ^ Anglican Communion