The Diocese of the United Kingdom is a Continuing Anglican church which arose from the Congress of St. Louis in 1977. It was established in 1992 as the Missionary Diocese of England and Wales.[3]
History
The Rev. Leslie Hamlett, and his congregation from Stoke-on-Trent, were instrumental in the founding of the Missionary Diocese.[4] He had been ordained in the Church of England in 1962, and was a parish priest. Hamlett and his congregation left the Church of England in 1983.[5] In March 1992, Hamlett was elected bishop when the Archbishop of the Anglican Catholic Church, William O. Lewis, visited his parish.[6] On 1 August 1992, he was consecrated by Bishops James Orin Mote, William Francis Burns, Thomas Justin Kleppinger, Michael Dean Stephens, Joseph Philip Deyman, and James Richard McNeley as its first Bishop Ordinary.[7][8] In the 1993 debate in Parliament concerning the Priests (Ordination of Women) Measure, Lord Sudeley advocated for the Anglican Catholic Church as the alternative for those rejecting the measure.[9]
Hamlett was Bishop Ordinary until leaving the Anglican Catholic Church in 1997 to form the Holy Catholic Church Anglican Rite. The diocese was without a bishop until 2008, and was administered by Episcopal Visitors appointed by the Metropolitan Archbishop and a vicar general in lieu of a bishop.[10] The Episcopal Visitors were Most Rev. John T. Cahoon Jr. (1997–2001),[11] Most Rev. Mark Haverland (2001–2004), and Right Rev. Rommie M. Starks (2004–2008).[10]
The Right Rev. Dr Damien Mead
In April 2008, The Rev. Damien Mead was elected by the Diocese to be the second Bishop Ordinary. Previously, Mead had been the Vicar General. On 20 September 2008, he was consecrated as bishop by Starks (ACC Bishop of the Diocese of the Midwest, USA), The Right Rev. Arthur Roger Dawson (ACC Retired Bishop of Caracas, Venezuela), and The Right Rev. Denis Ian Dermot Hodge (ACC Bishop of New Zealand).[12][13][14]
Since 1998, it has been a registered charity of England and Wales (1068168).[15]
Organisation
The Diocese of the United Kingdom is governed by the Constitution and Statutes of the Original Province of the Anglican Catholic Church, as well as its own diocesan canons.[16]
The Bishop Ordinary is assisted by diocesan officers, elected at annual synods, as well as a Council of Advice.[17]
The Diocese currently has nine churches and missions located throughout England and Wales.[24][25]
Church of Saint Augustine of Canterbury on Best Lane, Canterbury
The Pro-Cathedral of Saint Augustine of Canterbury had previously been located in Canterbury,[26] but moved to its present location in the former Whitehill Methodist Chapel[27] in Painters Forstal, Faversham, Kent in 2017.[28]
Church of Saint Augustine of Canterbury in Faversham
Publications
The Diocesan magazine, ACC-UK, is published twice a year.[29] Books on religious topics and service books are also distributed through the diocese.[30]
