The diocese covers 458 km2 (177 sq mi) of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the River Thames (historically the City of London and the County of Middlesex) and a small part of the County of Surrey (the district of Spelthorne, historically part of Middlesex). The see is in the City of London, where the seat is St Paul's Cathedral, which was founded as a cathedral in 604 and was rebuilt from 1675 following the Great Fire of London (1666).
Third in seniority in the Church of England after the archbishops of Canterbury and York, the bishop is one of five senior bishops who sit as of right as one of the 26 Lords Spiritual in the House of Lords (for the remaining diocesan bishops of lesser rank, seats are attained upon vacancy, determined by chronological seniority).[2] The other four senior bishops are the archbishop of Canterbury, the archbishop of York, the bishop of Durham and the bishop of Winchester.
The bishop's residence is The Old Deanery, Dean's Court, City of London. Previously, until 1973, Fulham Palace in West London was the residence for over 1300 years, and from the 18th century, the bishop also had chambers at London House next to the Bishop's Chapel in Aldersgate Street.[3][citation needed]
The current (133rd) bishop of London is Sarah Mullally. She was confirmed on 8 March 2018 after acting in post immediately after her canonical election on 25 January 2018.[4][5] The diocesan bishop of London has had direct episcopal oversight in the Two Cities area (the City of London and the City of Westminster) since the institution of the London area scheme in 1979.[6]
History
The first mention of Christianity in England comes from Tertullian, possibly writing in the early 200s,[7] but the first mention of an implied church in London relates to a Bishop of London, either Restitus or Aldephius, attending the Council of Arles in 314 AD.[10]
The location of Londinium's original cathedral is uncertain.[11] The present structure of St Peter upon Cornhill was designed by Christopher Wren following the Great Fire in 1666 and stands upon the highest point in the area of old Londinium, but possibly more significantly directly above the location of a pagan shrine room (aedes) within the great Roman London basilica.[12][13]
There is a medieval tradition which maintains the church was founded by King Lucius in AD 199. If St Peter's was built in the Roman era, it would make the church contemporaneous to the Romano-British church at Silchester, similarly built adjacent to the Roman Basilica and most likely pre-Constantine in age.[14][15]
Some caution may be exercised in this respect however, as other research suggests it very rare for early English Christian churches to be founded in pagan temples,[16] and that when temples were turned into churches, this occurred later, in the late sixth century onwards.[17][18] Historians seem to be more confident that early English Christian churches met in private homes, and that some Roman villas also installed places of Christian worship.[19]
Whether the Lucius story is a fiction, or whether there was actually a church deliberately erected over the shrine room is unclear and could only be settled by archaeological exploration under St Peter's. However, it is interesting that whilst four medieval churches were built around the same time on the foundations of the Roman Basilica and forum, the London city authorities in 1417 determined that St Peter's dated back to Roman times, and indeed was the original seat of English Christianity.[20] This suggests there may have been something extra in St Peter's location and longevity which justifies it predating the others.
In 1995, a large and ornate 4th-century church was discovered on Tower Hill, which seems to have mimicked St Ambrose's cathedral in the imperial capital at Milan on a still-larger scale. This possible cathedral was built between 350 and 400 out of stone taken from other buildings, including its veneer of black marble. It is perfectly possible that the stone came from the London basilica and forum, which was demolished and levelled around the same time. The 4th-century church was burnt down in the early 5th century.[21][22]
According to a 12th-century list, which may be recorded by Jocelyne of Furness, there had been 14 "archbishops" of London, claiming London's Christian community was founded in the 2nd century under the legendary King Lucius and his missionary saints Fagan, Deruvian, Elvanus, and Medwin.[23] None of that is considered credible by modern historians.
Following the establishment of the archdiocese of Canterbury by the Gregorian mission, its leader St Augustine consecrated Mellitus as the first bishop to the Saxonkingdom of Essex in 604. (The first bishop of Rochester was also consecrated the same year.) Bede records that Augustine's patron, King Æthelberht of Kent, built a cathedral for his nephew King Sæberht of Essex as part of this mission. This cathedral was constructed in "London" and dedicated to St Paul.[24] Although it is not clear whether Lundenwic or Lundenburh was intended, it is generally assumed the church was located in the same place occupied by the present St Paul's Cathedral on Ludgate Hill in London. Renaissance rumours[25] that the cathedral had been erected over a Roman temple of the goddess Diana are no longer credited: during his rebuilding of the cathedral following the Great Fire of 1666, Christopher Wren reported discovering no trace of such a structure.[26]Surrey was at times a part of the Kingdom of Essex, and with it the Diocese of London, a situation that changed following a synod at Brentford around 705, reflecting the growing strength of Mercia at the expense of Essex.[27]
Because the bishop's diocese includes the royal palaces and the seat of government at Westminster, he has been regarded as the "King's bishop" and has historically had considerable influence with members of the Royal Family and leading politicians of the day. Since 1748 it has been customary to appoint the Bishop of London to the post of Dean of His Majesty's Chapels Royal,[28] which has the effect of putting under the bishop's jurisdiction, as dean, several chapels (at the Tower of London and St. James's Palace, among others) which are geographically in the Diocese of London but, as royal peculiars, are officially outside the bishop's jurisdiction as bishop.
The Report of the Commissioners appointed by his Majesty to inquire into the Ecclesiastical Revenues of England and Wales (1835), noted the annual net income for the London see was £13,929.[29]
List of bishops
Romano-British
The dates and names of these early bishops are very uncertain.
Post-Augustinian
Post-Conquest
During the Reformation
Post-Reformation
Assistant bishops
Among those who called Assistant Bishop of London, or coadjutor bishop, were:
1916–1933 (d.): Herbert Bury, Bishop in Northern and Central Europe (1911–1926) and incumbent of City churches (1911–d.); former Bishop of British Honduras[67]
^Debrett's Peerage, 1968, p.702, with addition of "points uppermost" for clarity
^See Lords Spiritual, Wikipedia, and further see "Lords Spiritual and Temporal", www.ukparliament
^Noorthouck 1773, pp. 543–545.
^Diocese of London – Next Bishop of London announced (Accessed 18 December 2017)
^ a bDiocese of London – Mullally's installation as Bishop of London (Accessed 26 January 2018)
^"4: The Dioceses Commission, 1978–2002" (PDF). Church of England. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 June 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
^"...the haunts of the Britons – inaccessible to the Romans, but subjugated to Christ..." (ch. 7)., Tertullian, Adversus Judaeos Chapter 7, accessed 16 Sep 2022
^Labbé & Cossart 1671, Volume 1, Item de Galliis.
^Thackeray 1843, p. 275.
^ a b"Nomina Episcoporum, cum Clericis Suis, Quinam, et ex Quibus Provinciis, ad Arelatensem Synodum Convenerint" ["The Names of the Bishops with Their Clerics who Came Together at the Synod of Arles and from which Province They Came"] from the Consilia[8] in Thackeray[9]
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n oHerbermann, Charles, ed. (1913). "London". Catholic Encyclopedia. New York: Robert Appleton Company.
^R.E.M. Wheeler, The Topography of Saxon London, p296, Antiquity , Volume 8, Issue 31, September 1934.
^King Lucius of Britain, David Knight, 2008 p98.
^King, Anthony (1983). "The Roman Church at Silchester Reconsidered". Oxford Journal of Archaeology. 2 (2): 225–237. doi:10.1111/j.1468-0092.1983.tb00108.x. ISSN 1468-0092.
^Petts, David (5 October 2015). Millett, Martin; Revell, Louise; Moore, Alison (eds.). Christianity in Roman Britain. Vol. 1. Oxford University Press. doi:10.1093/oxfordhb/9780199697731.013.036. ISBN 978-0-19-969773-1.
^Tyler W Bell, The Religious Reuse of Roman Structures in Anglo-Saxon England, 2001, p105 and p109 – only 2 churches have been found that are sited on a Roman temple, just 0.7% of the total, accessed 26 Sep 2022
^Tyler W Bell, The Religious Reuse of Roman Structures in Anglo-Saxon England, 2001, p108, accessed 26 Sep 2022
^The Conversion of Temples in Rome, Feyo L. Schuddeboom, Journal of Late Antiquity, 22 September 2017, p175.
^Examining the evidence for churches in Roman Britain; is this a concrete indication of Romano-British churches? Nathan Day, The Post Hole, December 2019, accessed 26 Sep 2022
^The King Lucius Tabula, John Clark (2014), p7, accessed 17 January 2022
^Denison, Simon (June 1995). "News: In Brief". British Archaeology. Council for British Archaeology. Archived from the original on 13 May 2013. Retrieved 30 March 2013.
^Sankey, D. (1998). "Cathedrals, granaries and urban vitality in late Roman London". In Watson, Bruce (ed.). Roman London: Recent Archaeological Work. JRA Supplementary Series. Vol. 24. Portsmouth, RI: Journal of Roman Archaeology. pp. 78–82.
^Kings and Kingdoms of early Anglo-Saxon England, p49, Barbara Yorke, 1990, Routledge, ISBN 0-415-16639-X
^"Dean of Her Majesty's Chapels Royal". The Royal Family. 15 May 2019. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
^The National Cyclopaedia of Useful Knowledge, Vol.III, London, Charles Knight, 1847, p.362
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p qParker, John. The Works of Dionysius the Areopagite, Now First Translated into English, From the Original Greek, Appendix: "List of Bishops". James Parker& Co. (London), 1897.
^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m"Historical successions: London". Crockford's Clerical Directory. Retrieved 1 October 2021.
^Gennadius of MarseillesDe Viris Illustribus, Ch. lvii. (in Latin) Translated by Ernest Cushing Richardson in A Select Library of the Nicene and Post-Nicene Fathers of the Christian Church, 2nd Series, Translated into English with Prolegomena and Explanatory Notes, Vol. III, Lives of Illustrious Men, Ch. LVII: "Fastidius the bishop". T. & T. Clark (Edinburgh). Reprinted by Wm. B. Eerdman's Publishing (Grand Rapids).
^Pseudo-Fastidius. "On Virginity" and "On the Christian Life". Translated by B. R. Rees in The Letters of Pelagius and His Followers. 1991. Reprinted as Pelagius: Life and Letters, Vol. II, Pt. I, Ch. 2 & 4, pp. 71–87 & 105–126. The Boydell Press (Woodbridge), 1998. ISBN 978-0-85115-714-6.
^Bonwetsch, N. (1907). "Fastidius". Schaff–Herzog Encyclopedia of Religious Knowledge. Archived from the original on 25 February 2015. Retrieved 25 February 2015.
^Herren, Michael W. & al. Christ in Celtic Christianity, pp. 80–81. The Boydell Press (Woodbridge), 2002. ISBN 0-85115-889-7.
^According to Boece, Hector (1821). "15". The History and Chronicles of Scotland, Volume II, Book VIII. Translated by Bellenden, John. Edinburgh: W & C Tait. p. 39.
^Hector Boethius, Scotorum Historia (1575 version) – A hypertext critical edition by Dana F. Sutton – The University of California, Irvine – Posted February 26, 2010 – Book VIII Section 51
^Speed, John (1611). History of Great Britaine Under the Conquests of Romans, Saxons, Danes, and Normans. London: and are to be solde by Iohn Sudbury & Georg Humble, in Popes-head alley at ye signe of ye white horse. p. 290 Book 7, Chapter 4.
^According to Geoffrey of Monmouth (1912). "10". In Evans, Sebastian (ed.). Histories of the Kings of Britain. Vol. XI. London: J M Dent & Sons Ltd. p. 203.(in Latin)
^Fryde et al. 2003, pp. 219–220.
^ a b c dNoorthouck 1773, pp. 899–900.
^ a bGreenway, Diana E. (1968), Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300, vol. 1, pp. 18–20
^Greenway, Diana E. (1968), Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300, vol. 1, pp. 32–34
^Greenway, Diana E. (1968), Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300, vol. 1, pp. 57–59
^Horn, Joyce M. (1963), Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1300–1541, vol. 5, pp. 16–18
^Greenway, Diana E. (1968), Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300, vol. 1, pp. 38–40
^Horn, Joyce M. (1962), Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1300–1541, vol. 3, pp. 19–21
^Greenway, Diana E. (1968), Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300, vol. 1, pp. 1–4
^ a bHorn, Joyce M. (1963), Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1300–1541, vol. 5, pp. 1–4
^Horn, Joyce M. (1992), Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1541–1857, vol. 7, pp. 65–67
^Fryde et al. 2003, p. 259.
^ a bHorn, Joyce M. (1969), Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1541–1857, vol. 1, pp. 1–4
^Horn, Joyce M. (1992), Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1541–1857, vol. 7, pp. 81–82
^Horn, Joyce M. (1974), Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1541–1857, vol. 3, pp. 17–19
^Plant, David (2002). "Episcopalians". BCW Project. Retrieved 20 August 2011.
^King, Peter (July 1968). "The Episcopate during the Civil Wars, 1642-1649". The English Historical Review. 83 (328). Oxford University Press: 523–537. doi:10.1093/ehr/lxxxiii.cccxxviii.523. JSTOR 564164.
^Horn, Joyce M. (1996), Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1541–1857, vol. 8, pp. 49–64
^Diocese of London – Bishop of London announces retirement in 2017 (Accessed 19 July 2016)
^Diocese of London – Capital says goodbye to Bishop of London in farewell service (Accessed 3 February 2017)
^"Church News (col. 2)". Church Times. No. 1784. 2 April 1897. p. 387. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 27 May 2019 – via UK Press Online archives.
^"in memoriam: Bishop Barry". Church Times. No. 2463. 8 April 1910. p. 476. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 27 May 2019 – via UK Press Online archives.
^"Bury, Herbert". Who's Who. A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^"Reeves, (Richard) Ambrose". Who's Who. A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^"Davis, Nathaniel William Newnham". Who's Who. A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^"Woollcombes to leave London". Church Times. No. 6584. 21 April 1989. p. 3. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 15 February 2021 – via UK Press Online archives.
^"Woollcombe, Kenneth John". Who's Who. A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^"Howell, Kenneth Walter". Who's Who. A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^"Knapp-Fisher, Edward George". Who's Who. A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
^"in memoriam: Bishop Perrin". Church Times. No. 3727. 29 June 1934. p. 794. ISSN 0009-658X. Retrieved 24 September 2020 – via UK Press Online archives.
^"Rogers, Alan Francis Bright". Who's Who. A & C Black. (Subscription or UK public library membership required.)
Bibliography
Clark, John (1996). "The Temple of Diana". In Bird, Joanna; Hassall, Mark; Sheldon, Harvey (eds.). Interpreting Roman London. Oxbow Monograph. Vol. 58. Oxford: Oxbow. pp. 1–9.
Fryde, E. B.; Greenway, D. E.; Porter, S.; Roy, I., eds. (2003) [1986]. Handbook of British Chronology (3rd ed.). Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. ISBN 0-521-56350-X.
Greenway, D. E. (1968). St. Paul's, London. Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1066–1300. Vol. 1. London: Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 23 February 2015 – via British History Online.
Horn, J. M. (1963). St Paul's, London. Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1300–1541. Vol. 5. London: Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 23 February 2015 – via British History Online.
Horn, J. M. (1969). St. Paul's, London. Fasti Ecclesiae Anglicanae 1541–1857. Vol. 1. London: Institute of Historical Research. Retrieved 23 February 2015 – via British History Online.
Labbé, Philippe; Cossart, Gabriel, eds. (1671). Sacrosancta Concilia ad Regiam Editionem Exacta: quae Nunc Quarta Parte Prodit Actior [The Sancrosanct Councils Exacted for the Royal Edition: which the Editors Now Produce in Four Parts] (in Latin). Vol. 1. Paris: Lutetiae Parisiorum: Impensis Societatis typographicae librorum ecclesiasticorum jussu regis constitutae. Column 1430, Item de Galliis. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
Noorthouck, John (1773). A New History of London – Including Westminster and Southwark. British History Online. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
Stowe, John (1605). The Annales of England. London: G. Bishop & T. Adams. p. 37. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
Thackeray, Francis (1843). Researches into the ecclesiastical and political state of Ancient Britain under the Roman Emperors, with observations upon the principal events and characters connected with the Christian religion during the first five centuries (in Latin and English). Vol. 1. London: Thomas Cadell, Strand. p. 275. Retrieved 23 February 2015.
External links
Diocese of London website
Bishop of London refuses to ban gay Bishop from church service
The papers of the Bishops of London covering 1423–1945 are held at Lambeth Palace Library