Diocese of Southwest Florida

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Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida
For other uses, see Diocese of Southwest Florida (disambiguation).
Location
Ecclesiastical province	Province IV
Subdivisions	Deaneries
Statistics
Congregations	77
Members	36,000
Information
Cathedral	St. Peter’s Cathedral, St. Petersburg
Current leadership
Bishop	Dabney T. Smith
Website
www.episcopalswfl.org

For other uses, see Diocese of Southwest Florida (disambiguation).

Location of the Diocese of Southwest Florida

The Episcopal Diocese of Southwest Florida is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (ECUSA) in Florida which extends from Marco Island on the south, to Brooksville on the north, and inland to Plant City, Arcadia and LaBelle on the east. As part of the ECUSA, the diocese is a constituent member of the worldwide Anglican Communion.

Major cities in the diocese are Tampa, St. Petersburg, Clearwater, Fort Myers, Sarasota, and Bradenton. The diocese includes the western half of Hendry County, the mainland portion of Monroe County, and all of the counties of Hernando, Pasco, Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee, Sarasota, De Soto, Charlotte, Lee, and Collier.

The diocese is a part of Province IV of the Episcopal Church, historically known as the Province of Sewanee. The current Diocesan Bishop of Southwest Florida is Dabney T. Smith. The cathedral church of the diocese is St. Peter’s Cathedral, St. Petersburg. The diocesan offices are in Sarasota. The diocese currently comprises 77 churches.

History

The Diocese of Southwest Florida was created in 1969 when the Diocese of South Florida was split to form the dioceses of Central Florida, Southeast Florida and Southwest Florida.

Bishops of the diocese

The Bishops of the Diocese of Southwest Florida are:

1. 1969–1975: William Loftin Hargrave
2. 1975–1988: Emerson Paul Haynes
3. 1989–1997: Rogers Sanders Harris
4. 1997–2007: John Bailey Lipscomb
5. 2007-  : Dabney Tyler Smith

NOTE: For earlier bishops, see the Diocese of South Florida

Deaneries

In accordance with the usage in the ECUSA, the diocese is divided into seven deaneries as follows:

• Clearwater Deanery: Clearwater, Dunedin, Hudson, Indian Rocks Beach, Largo, New Port Richey, Palm Harbor, Safety Harbor, Seminole, Spring Hill and Tarpon Springs: John Hiers, Dean.
• Fort Myers Deanery: Cape Coral, Fort Myers, Fort Myers Beach, LaBelle, Lehigh Acres, North Fort Myers, Pine Island and Sanibel: Alan Kelmereit, Dean.
• Manasota Deanery: Anna Maria, Arcadia, Bradenton, Longboat Key, Osprey, Palmetto and Sarasota: Harry I. Parsell, Dean.
• Naples Deanery: Bonita Springs, Marco Island and Naples: Michael G. Rowe, Dean.
• St. Petersburg Deanery: Pinellas Park, St. Petersburg and St. Pete Beach: John L. Hartnett, Dean.
• Tampa Deanery: Brooksville, Dade City, Plant City, Ruskin, Tampa, Temple Terrace, Valrico and Zephyrhills: Randall K. Hehr, Dean.
• Venice Deanery: Boca Grande, Englewood, North Port, Osprey, Port Charlotte, Punta Gorda and Venice: James H. Puryear, Dean.

See also

• Episcopal Church in the United States of America
• St. Andrews Episcopal Church (Tampa, Florida)
• St. James House of Prayer Episcopal Church
• Christianity
• Anglican Communion

Bibliography

• Cushman, Joseph D., Jr., A Goodly Heritage: The Episcopal Church in Florida, 1821-1892, Gainesville: University of Florida Press (1965)

External links

• The Diocese of Southwest Florida
• St. Peter’s Cathedral – St. Petersburg
• The Episcopal Church in the United States of America