Diocese of Barbados
The Diocese of Barbados is one of eight dioceses of the Anglican Communion that is part of the Province of the West Indies.
History
The diocese was established in 1824 as one of a pair, the other being the Diocese of Jamaica, which covered the whole Caribbean. Before that, the area was nominally part of the Bishop of London's responsibility, a situation that had been assumed to hold from 1660 onwards. In 1813, the then Bishop of London denied it was his responsibility, and so it turned out that appointments to the Church in the Colonies were recommended by the local governor, in this case of the Leeward Islands.[1]
The Barbados diocese initially also covered Trinidad, British Guiana, the Leeward Islands and the Windward Islands. It was later divided on the retirement in 1841/2 of the first Bishop: his three Archdeacons took charge as the Bishop of Antigua (covering the Leeward Islands) (Daniel Gateward Davis), of Barbados (including Trinidad and the Windward Islands) (Parry) and the Bishop of British Guiana (William Piercy Austin). In 1866, there were two archdeaconries: H. H. Parry was Archdeacon of Barbados and George Cummins of Trinidad.[2]
The Cathedral Church of Saint Michael and All Angels (formerly St. Michael's Parish Church), is located in the centre of Bridgetown, Barbados. Originally consecrated in 1665, and then rebuilt in 1789, it was elevated to Cathedral status in 1825 with the appointment of Bishop Coleridge to head the newly created Diocese of Barbados and the Leeward Islands.
The bishop's official residence was located at Bishop's Court Hill along Upper Colleymore Rock Road (Highway 6).[3]
There is also a Roman Catholic diocese based in Barbados, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Bridgetown.
List of Anglican Bishops of Barbados
| Tenure | Incumbent | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1824–1842 | William Coleridge | (1789–1849) |
| 1842–1869 | Thomas Parry | (1795–1870) |
| 1873–1877 | John Mitchinson | (1833–1918; as Bishop of Barbados & the Windward Islands from 1877) |
List of Anglican Bishops of Barbados & the Windward Islands
| Tenure | Incumbent | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1877–1881 | John Mitchinson | (1833–1918) |
| 1882–1899 | Herbert Bree | (1828–1899) |
| 1900–1916 | Proctor Swaby | (1844–1916) |
| 1917–1927 | Alfred Berkeley | (1862–1938; as Bishop of Barbados and the Windward Islands; afterwards see Bishop of the Windward Islands, 1927) |
List of Anglican Bishops of Barbados (Cont'd)
| Tenure | Incumbent | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 1927–1945 | David Bentley | (1882–1970) |
| 1945–1951 | James Hughes | (1894–1979) |
| 1951–1960 | Gay Mandeville | (1894–1969) |
| 1960–1972 | Lewis Evans | (1904–1996) |
| 1972–1992 | Drexel Gomez | (born 1939) |
| 1992–1999 | Rufus Brome | (born 1934) |
| 2000–2018 | John Holder | (born 1948) |
| 2018–present | Michael Maxwell | (born 1971)[4] |
Notes
- Correspondence in Lambeth Palace archives
- The Clergy List for 1866 (London: George Cox, 1866) p. 455
- Bishop’s Court to be developed
- "anglican.ink". Archived from the original on 5 May 2018. Retrieved 5 May 2018.
References
- Goodridge, Sehon Sylvester (1981) Facing the Challenge of Emancipation: a study of the ministry of William Hart Coleridge, first Bishop of Barbados, 1824-1842. Bridgetown: Cedar Press
- Gilmore, John (1987) The Toiler of the Sees: a life of John Mitchinson, Bishop of Barbados. Wildey, St. Michael: Barbados National Trust
- Walker, G. J. P. (1992) The Life of Daniel Gateward Davis, St Kitts: Creole Publishing Company
- Diocese of Barbados – former bishops