Church review hints at merger for dioceses

SOME Church of England dioceses in Yorkshire could be merged as part of a boundaries shake-up.

The Dioceses Commission is expected to publish the outcome of a review in December of the five Yorkshire dioceses, which could involve merging existing dioceses and/or creating new ones.

The Church of England said it was unable to confirm or deny reports yesterday that proposals are being drawn up by the commission to axe the Diocese of Bradford and merge it with Ripon and Leeds.

But the Bradford Diocese insisted that there would always be a Bishop of Bradford. The post was held by the Rt Rev David James who retired earlier this year and has yet to be replaced.

The acting diocesan secretary for Bradford Diocese, Debbie Child, said: “The role of the Dioceses Commission is to look at and, if necessary, rationalise diocesan boundaries throughout the country and it is currently looking at all the Yorkshire dioceses – York, Bradford, Ripon and Leeds, Wakefield and Sheffield.

“Whatever changes that occur in the future there has never been any suggestion that Bradford will be subsumed into another local diocese and our understanding is that there will always be a Bishop of Bradford and that Bradford will retain its distinct local identity.

“Whatever the Dioceses Commission report suggests, it will have to be agreed by the diocesan synods of each individual Yorkshire diocese before being discussed at General Synod.”

The Dioceses Commission has been working on the review of the five Yorkshire dioceses since last Autumn.

A spokesman for the Church of England said: “Whatever the final report says I can assure you that it will not change the Church of England’s commitment to provide ministry in every square inch of this country.”

According to the Church of England, 1.7 million people take part in a Church of England service each month, a level that has been maintained since the turn of the millennium.

A spokesman for the Bradford Diocese said: “The Bradford Diocese will not know what’s in the report until December. Anything before then is speculation.”

The Church of England says that the Dioceses Commission’s review is not based around attendance.

The aim of the review is to establish whether the shape and boundaries of the existing dioceses tend to facilitate the Church’s mission to the people and communities of Yorkshire or whether different boundaries would enable the church to relate to them more effectively.

It says the commission has no agenda to reduce or increase the number of dioceses, but rather to ensure the best configuration to the communities that the dioceses serve.

The commission is looking at how diocesan boundaries correlate with the boundaries of counties and local authorities, and which configurations might best further the Church’s mission.

It is also looking at other factors including road and rail communication routes, and the accessibility and distance of cathedral cities by car and public transport.

A Church of England spokesman described attendance across all churches as “pretty stable.”

He added: “Every year about half the dioseses show an increase and half show a decrease. Our attendance figures have been just short of one million every Sunday and about 1.7million different individuals over any given month since the start of the millennium.

“Contrary to the perception that the Church is rapidly declining there is a fair bit of stability in attendance across churches.”

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