Dioceses unification plan for Yorkshire
Dec 11 2010 Huddersfield Daily Examiner
THE Yorkshire dioceses could merge if a planned boundary shake-up by the Church of England gets the green light.
Most of the churches in Huddersfield are covered by the Diocese of Wakefield and under the proposals the new diocese would be divided into five episcopal areas – Huddersfield, Bradford, Leeds, Ripon and Wakefield – each with its own bishop and area council.
A new report published by the Dioceses Commission has said that three of the dioceses – Bradford, Ripon and Leeds and Wakefield – should be abolished.
Instead the Commission recommends that they are replaced with a single, larger diocese.
This would cover West Yorkshire and those parts of the dioceses of Bradford and Ripon and Leeds that are in North Yorkshire.
Huddersfield churches covered by the diocese include the Parish Church in the town centre, St John The Evangelist, Upperthong and All Hallows at Almondbury.
The report states: “The area bishops would be, as many have requested, closer in every sense to their clergy and people than it has been possible for the diocesan bishops to be.”
The report argues the proposals would eliminate duplication of work and offer the prospect of greater efficiency and resilience in the support of parishes, schools, clergy and other licensed ministers.
The Commission drew up what it calls the “radical and realistic” after finding the current configuration in West Yorkshire to be no longer sustainable or appropriate for the Church’s mission.
Priscilla Chadwick, who chaired the review, said the review was not “finance driven”.
She added: “We have asked which structures will best enable the Church of England to relate to the communities of Yorkshire, which will be most intelligible to non-churchgoers, which would eliminate wasteful duplication and which ware likely to prove resilient and sustainable in the medium term.”
The report recommends that the new diocese would retain the three cathedrals, with Wakefield Cathedral as the diocese’s principal cathedral.
The Bishop of Wakefield would also be the diocesan bishop and the existing three diocesan offices would be replaced by one in Leeds.
It is recommended that South Yorkshire continues to have its own Diocese of Sheffield.
The Commission’s recommendations will be debated by the diocesan synods before the scheme can be submitted to the General Synod.
The earliest the scheme can be considered is July 2013.
