Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana

The Episcopal Diocese of Louisiana is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the eastern part of the state of Louisiana. The see city is New Orleans.

History

Christ Church, New Orleans, (now the Cathedral Church of the Diocese of Louisiana) was the first non-Roman Catholic congregation organized in the Louisiana Purchase when it was Christ Church was established in 1805. When religious freedom came to the newly purchased American territory, the non-Roman Catholics in New Orleans organized to form a congregation in New Orleans. Although the names of only 36 subscribers are recorded for that initial meeting, there were 53 votes cast in the decision as to what denomination of church this would be. There were 45 votes for Episcopal, seven for Presbyterian and one for Methodist. And so there came to New Orleans in 1805 the Rev. Philander Chase (later Bishop of Ohio, Illinois and Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church) who organized Christ Church and began worship in the Cabildo on November 17 of that year. The support of philanthropist Judah Touro made possible the founding of Christ Church.

In 1838 the Diocese of Louisiana was organized and in 1841 the Rt. Rev. Leonidas Polk was appointed by the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the United States as the first Bishop of the new Diocese. Bishop Polk had been a Missionary Bishop of the Southwest and was responsible for the founding and consecration of many congregations in Louisiana. He was also the first foreign missionary Bishop of the Episcopal Church as his oversight extended also to the Republic of Texas. Bishop Polk, a graduate of West Point, was to serve the Confederacy during the American Civil War as a General in the Army. He also was the leading founder of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee.

Among the more recent bishops, the Rt. Rev. Iveson Noland was Diocesan Bishop for only six years, 1969 - 1975, his life cut short by the crash of a jetliner in New York. Bishop Noland was the first native of Louisiana to serve as Bishop of the Diocese. He was elected Bishop Suffragan in 1952 and served under Bishop Girault M. Jones until being made Diocesan upon Bishop Jones' retirement. There were many challenges to the Church during Bishop Noland's episcopacy, some internal, such as revision of The Book of Common Prayer, and some external, such as the war in Vietnam.

The Rt. Rev. James B. Brown served as the ninth Bishop of Louisiana from 1976 until his retirement in 1998. Early in his episcopate, the Diocese, which then comprised the entire state of Louisiana was split. The western part of the state is now the Diocese of Western Louisiana. Bishop Brown chose to remain in the southeast part of the state and maintained his cathedra at Christ Church, New Orleans. These were challenging years in Louisiana; the decline of the petroleum-based economy, the rapidly changing demographics of the urban centers of the Diocese, and a rise in congregational parochialism were constant hardships. Despite these challenges, the Church in Louisiana moved ahead under Bishop Brown's leadership. New congregations were established as a Diocesan initiative at Mandeville, Harvey, and Baton Rouge. Venture in Mission proved a successful boost to the Church locally and internationally. He established the Diocesan College of Presbyters which continues even now as a means of fellowship, learning, and renewal for the clergy of the Diocese. Bishop Brown also founded the Solomon Episcopal Conference Center at Robert, Louisiana.

Mission statement

The Diocese of Louisiana is one church, faithful to Jesus Christ, united in mission, reaching out to the unchurched. We live in joyous expectation of the power of grace and divine compassion in our lives.

External links

* [http://www.edola.org Diocese of Louisiana Web site]
* [http://www.cccnola.org Christ Church Cathedral]
* [http://www.episcopalchurch.org Episcopal Church U.S.A.]
* [http://www.anglicancommunion.org Anglican Communion]