Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania Archives

Metadata

Title

Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania Archives

Digital Identifier

Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania Archives

Description

After the American Revolution, Anglicans became Episcopalians. Led by the Reverend William White, they organized the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania in 1784. White became its first bishop three years later. Initially, the Diocese spanned a vast area, extending from Philadelphia to Pittsburgh, encompassing the whole of Pennsylvania. By 1910 there were five Episcopal dioceses in Pennsylvania, and the Diocese of Pennsylvania consisted of Philadelphia, Bucks, Montgomery, Chester, and Delaware counties.

The Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania's Archives are home to a vast array of material relating to the people and parishes comprising the Diocese as well as the Diocese itself. Within its stacks are material relating to parishes that have closed, the registers, the vestry minutes as well as documents making up the life of these churches which are no longer with us. It also holds a large volume of histories, both at the parish level comprising both active and closed parishes, as well as histories of the diocese and its various organizations.

The Archives also holds a large volume of material related to those committed to running the Diocese. There are records from the various Bishops, Standing Committee and General Conventions, to better understand the direction we have come from. There are also various print runs of the publications the Diocese has put out as well including a long run of the Church News.

Selected Items from the Collection

In 1784, members of the vestry of the United Churches of Christ Church and St. Peter's and the vestry of St. Paul's appointed a committee to confer with the clergy of their respective churches, "on the subject of forming a representative Body of the…
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