The Diocese of Niagara is one of thirty regional divisions in the Anglican Church of Canada. The see city of the diocese is Hamilton, with the bishop's cathedra located at Christ's Church Cathedral on James Street North. Located within the ecclesiastical province of Ontario, it borders the Dioceses of Huron and Toronto. The area enclosed by the Diocese of Niagara includes much of the Golden Horseshoe, and moves north to include Erin and Orangeville as far as Shelburne. Moving sharply south, the boundary includes Mount Forest and widens, south-westerly to include Elora and Guelph. Skirting Brantford and the Territory of the Six Nations Confederacy, the line then travels, again, south-westerly to Jarvis and Lake Erie to include the entire Niagara Peninsula. Major urban centres within its borders are St. Catharines, Niagara Falls, Hamilton, Guelph, Oakville, Milton, Burlington, and Orangeville.

The current bishop of Niagara is Susan Bell, who succeeded Michael Bird as diocesan bishop on June 1, 2018. She was elected bishop by the synod of the Diocese of Niagara in March 2018, and consecrated and installed as bishop in May of that year.

There are just over 80 parishes within the diocese served by approximately 120 licensed parish priests, with a number of honorary clergy, vocational deacons and licensed lay readers. The diocese is divided into five regional deaneries: Brock, Lincoln, Hamilton-Haldimand, Greater Wellington and Trafalgar. Each deanery is overseen by a regional archdeacon and regional dean.

Early history The first Anglican presence in what would become the Diocese of Niagara begin with St Mark's Church in Newark (now Niagara-on-the-Lake), the former capital of Upper Canada. The parish was founded in 1790 as Loyalist immigrants arrived from the former American colonies, in what would become the province of Ontario. At this time the area was part of the Diocese of Nova Scotia, and subsequently became part of the Diocese of Quebec, then of the Diocese of Toronto.

The diocese was formed by an act of the Legislative Assembly of Upper Canada; 39 Vic Chapter 107 in 1875. Royal assent was given in 1876. The first bishop was Thomas Brock Fuller, Archdeacon of Niagara and godson of Sir Isaac Brock, the hero of the Battle of Queenston Heights.

Parishes by region Region of Greater Wellington St. Alban the Martyr, Acton Grace Church, Arthur St. John, Elora All Saints, Erin St. James, Fergus All Saints Lutheran Anglican Church, Guelph Church of the Apostles (St. James & St. Matthias), Guelph St. George, Guelph St. Paul, Mount Forest St. Mark, Orangeville St. John, Rockwood St. Paul, Shelburne

Region of Trafalgar

St. Christopher, Burlington St. Elizabeth, Burlington St. John, Burlington St. Luke, Burlington St. Matthew on-the-Plains, Burlington St. George's, Georgetown St. Alban the Martyr, Glen Williams St. Stephen, Hornby St. George Church Lowville, Campbellville Grace, Milton St. John, Campbellville (Nassagaweya) St. Paul, Norval The Church of the Epiphany, Oakville Church of the Incarnation, Oakville St. Aidan, Oakville St. Cuthbert, Oakville St. Jude, Oakville St. Simon, Oakville St. Luke, Oakville St. John, Stewarttown Grace, Waterdown

Region of Hamilton-Haldimand St. John, Ancaster St. Paul, Caledonia St. John the Divine, Cayuga St. John, Cheapside St. James, Dundas St. Paul, Dunnville The Dunn Parish: Christ Church & St John the Evangelist, Dunnville Christ Church, Flamborough All Saints, Hamilton Christ's Church Cathedral, Hamilton Church of the Nativity, Hamilton Church of the Resurrection, Hamilton St. John the Evangelist, Hamilton St. Michael, Hamilton St. Paul (Westdale), Hamilton St. Stephen on the Mount, Hamilton St. Paul, Jarvis The Church of the Ascension, Hamilton St. Paul (Glanford), Mount Hope The Church of Our Saviour The Redeemer, Stoney Creek St. John the Evangelist, Winona Christ Church, Woodburn (Hannon)

Region of Lincoln St. Alban, Beamsville St. Andrew, Grimsby St. John, Jordan Christ Church, McNab St. Mark's, Niagara-on-the-Lake St. Saviour, The Brock Memorial Church, Queenston St. Luke, Smithville St. Barnabas, St. Catharines St. Columba, St. Catharines St. George, St. Catharines St. John, (Port Dalhousie) St. Catharines St. Thomas, St. Catharines Transfiguration, St. Catharines St. John the Evangelist, Thorold

Region of Brock Holy Trinity, Fonthill St. Paul, Fort Erie Christ Church, Niagara Falls Holy Trinity (Chippawa), Niagara Falls St. John the Evangelist, Niagara Falls The Parish of St. James and St. Brendan, Port Colborne St. John, Ridgemount All Saints, Ridgeway Christ Church, Wainfleet All Saints Church (Dain City), Welland Holy Trinity, Welland St. David, Welland

Educational institutions Appleby College, Oakville, founded 1911. St. Mildred's-Lightbourn School, Oakville, founded as St. Mildred's College, Toronto, 1908. Ridley College, St. Catharines, founded 1889. St. John's-Kilmarnock School, Breslau, founded 1972

The diocese also has connections to campus ministries at three universities in its jurisdiction. The University of Guelph, Brock University and McMaster University all have chaplains whose ministries are affiliated with the Diocese of Niagara and its ecumenical partners.

Diocesan bishops of Niagara Thomas Fuller, 1875–1884 Charles Hamilton, 1884–1896 Philip Du Moulin, 1896–1911 William Clark, 1911–1925 Derwyn Owen, 1925–1932 6th Primate of All Canada, 1934–1947 Lewis Broughall, 1932–1949 Walter Bagnall, 1949-1973 John Bothwell, 1973–1991 Archbishop of Niagara and 13th Metropolitan of Ontario, 1985–1991 Walter Asbil, 1991–1997 Ralph Spence, 1998–2008 Michael Bird, 2008–2018 Susan Bell, 2018–present

Litigation The diocese was involved with litigation against several former parishes affiliated with Anglican Network in Canada. The courts have generally upheld the diocese as owner of the church buildings and ejected the illegally assumed leadership.

References

External links

Anglican Diocese of Niagara Anglican Church of Canada