The diocese was organised in 1784, five years before the Episcopal Church itself. The first bishop was not consecrated until 1795.
Today, it is one of the largest dioceses in the ECUSA in terms of membership. It encompasses the eastern part of Massachusetts, specifically, east of Worcester County.
The diocese was the first in the Anglican Communion to consecrate a woman bishop. Barbara Harris became bishop suffragan of the diocese in 1989.
Its see city is Boston. Its offices are located at 138 Tremont Street, adjacent to the Cathedral Church of Saint Paul.
External sites
[Official Web site of the Diocese of Massachusetts (http://www.diomass.org/)]
A group of local Episcopal priests, saying that the gay marriage debate has intensified their longtime concern about acting as agents of the state by officiating at marriages, is proposing that the Episcopal Church adopt a new approach.
Episcopal priests in Massachusetts have been particularly engaged in the issue of gay marriage, because the diocese here has been strongly supportive of gay rights, but the national church's regulations define marriage as a heterosexual institution.
The EpiscopalDiocese of Massachusetts is among the most supportive in the country of gay rights, but there remain a handful of clergy and congregations opposed to same-sex marriage.
The EpiscopalDiocese of Massachusetts, headed by three bishops who support gay marriage, is barring its priests from officiating at same-sex weddings, citing restrictive language in the canons and prayerbook of the church.
The Episcopal Church's constitution and canons declare that "Holy Matrimony is a physical and spiritual union of a man and a woman," and the same definition is cited in the rubric for weddings, as well as the catechism in the church's Book of Common Prayer.
But the Rev. Cathy H. George, chairwoman of the Episcopaldiocese's Task Force on Blessing of Holy Unions, said priests who perform such weddings could be liable for a presentment trial in an ecclesiastical court for holding a public teaching of a doctrine contrary to that held by the church.
Feeds |
Contact