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The Diocese of the United Kingdom is a diocese of the Anglican Catholic Church (ACC), encompassing the entire area of the United Kingdom. It is one of the dioceses of the Original Province of the Anglican Catholic Church, and is not a part of the Anglican Communion. It is separate from the Free Church of England, the Anglican Ordinariate, the Society of St Wilfred and St Hilda, and the Church of England (Continuing). The Diocese was formed, like the rest of the ACC, in response to the alteration to the sacraments by the Church of England.

The Diocese of the United Kingdom is a Continuing Anglican church which arose from the Congress of St. Louis in 1977. It was established in 1992 as the Missionary Diocese of England and Wales.

History

The Rev. Leslie Hamlett, and his congregation from Stoke-on-Trent, were instrumental in the founding of the Missionary Diocese. He had been ordained in the Church of England in 1962, and was a parish priest. Hamlett and his congregation left the Church of England in 1983. In March 1992, Hamlett was elected bishop when the Archbishop of the Anglican Catholic Church, William O. Lewis, visited his parish. On 1 August 1992, he was consecrated by Bishops James Orin Mote, William Francis Burns, Thomas Justin Kleppinger, Michael Dean Stephens, Joseph Philip Deyman, and James Richard McNeley as its first Bishop Ordinary. In the 1993 debate in Parliament concerning the Priests (Ordination of Women) Measure, Lord Sudeley advocated for the Anglican Catholic Church as the alternative for those rejecting the measure.

Hamlett was Bishop Ordinary until leaving the Anglican Catholic Church in 1997 to form the Holy Catholic Church Anglican Rite. The diocese was without a bishop until 2008, and was administered by Episcopal Visitors appointed by the Metropolitan Archbishop and a vicar general in lieu of a bishop. The Episcopal Visitors were Most Rev. John T. Cahoon Jr. (1997–2001), Most Rev. Mark Haverland (2001–2004), and Right Rev. Rommie M. Starks (2004–2008).

In March 2008, The Rev. Damien Mead was elected by the Diocese to be the second Bishop Ordinary. Previously, Mead had been the Vicar General. On 20 September 2008, he was consecrated as bishop by Starks (ACC Bishop of the Diocese of the Midwest, USA), The Right Rev. Arthur Roger Dawson (ACC Retired Bishop of Caracas, Venezuela), and The Right Rev. Denis Ian Dermot Hodge (ACC Bishop of New Zealand).

Since 1998, it has been a registered charity of England and Wales (1068168).

Organisation

The Diocese of the United Kingdom is governed by the Constitution and Statutes of the Original Province of the Anglican Catholic Church, as well as its own diocesan canons.

The Bishop Ordinary is assisted by diocesan officers, elected at annual synods, as well as a Council of Advice.

Ecumenical dialogue

As a part of the ACC dialogue with the Polish National Catholic Church, a part of the worldwide Union of Scranton, meetings between the Nordic Catholic Church and the ACC Diocese of the United Kingdom were held in March and September of 2019 and again in February 2020.

In 2024, Bishop Damien Mead was presented with the Sant’ Óscar Romero medal for ecumenism by the “Sant' Óscar Romero” Center in Capo d'Orlando.

Locations

The Diocese currently has four churches and missions located throughout England and Wales.

The Pro-Cathedral of Saint Augustine of Canterbury had previously been located in Canterbury, but moved to its present location in the former Whitehill Methodist Chapel in Painters Forstal, Faversham, Kent in 2017.

Publications

The Diocesan magazine, ACC-UK, is published twice a year. Books on religious topics and service books are also distributed through the diocese.

References

1. "Why does the Anglican Catholic Church have a Diocese in the United Kingdom? | Anglican Catholic Church". www.anglicancatholic.org.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
2. "A statement from Bishop Damien Mead | Anglican Catholic Church". www.anglicancatholic.org.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
3. "Diocece of the UK Celebrates its 30th Anniversary". anglicancatholic.org. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
4. Kitchenham, Paul Peter Gerald (1997). The attempt to control ritualism in the Church of England through the use of legislation and the courts, 1869 to 1887, with special reference to the Society of the Holy Cross (PDF). Durham theses, Durham University. p. 60.
5. "An Anglican vicar with a wife and three children... - UPI Archives". UPI. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
6. "Rebel vicar becomes bishop". The Times. 21 March 1992. p. 2.
7. "The Chambers Succession". St Augustine of Canterbury. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
8. "Anglican Catholics Prepare for Turf War". The Morning Call. 2 August 1992. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
9. UK Parliament. "Priests (Ordination Of Women) Measure Volume 549: debated on Tuesday 2 November 1993".
10. ^ "History | Anglican Catholic Church". www.anglicancatholic.org.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
11. "Diocese of the United Kingdom, Anglican Catholic Church". 11 November 1999. Archived from the original on 11 November 1999. Retrieved 2 May 2023.
12. "UK elects Fr. Mead as bishop" (PDF). The Trinitarian. June 2008. p. 1.
13. "UK gets a bishop" (PDF). The Trinitarian. December 2008. p. 1. Archived from the original (PDF) on 10 December 2021. Retrieved 10 December 2021.
14. The Consecration of Bishop Damien Mead, retrieved 10 December 2021
15. Land, Albion (28 September 2008). "The Continuum: Welcome to the ACC's Newest Bishop". The Continuum. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
16. "Anglican Catholic Church (Original Province) - Diocese of the United Kingdom - Charity 1068168". register-of-charities.charitycommission.gov.uk. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
17. "The Canons of the Diocese of the United Kingdom of the Anglican Catholic Church" (PDF).
18. "Clergy, Diocesan Officers & Council of Advice | Anglican Catholic Church". www.anglicancatholic.org.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
19. UK, NCC-UK in NCC (20 April 2019). "The clergy of the NCC meets in Hastings to discuss ecumenical relations". The Oratory of the Way and the Mind of the Spirit. Retrieved 8 December 2021.
20. "Cordial and Informal Ecumenical Church Meeting | Anglican Catholic Church". www.anglicancatholic.org.uk. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
21. "Nordic Catholic Church & Anglican Catholic Church Meet in London | Anglican Catholic Church". www.anglicancatholic.org.uk. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
22. "Newsnotes" (PDF). The Trinitarian. November 2019. p. 4.
23. NCC, UK (3 March 2020). "Catholic Affinity". The Oratory of the Way and the Mind of the Spirit. Nordic Catholic Church. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
24. "Ecumenical Cordiality | Anglican Catholic Church". www.anglicancatholic.org.uk. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
25. Redazione (20 January 2024). "A Capo d'Orlando premiato Damien Mead vescovo della Diocesi del Regno Unito della Chiesa Cattolica Anglicana". La Voce dell'Isola (in Italian). Retrieved 14 March 2024.
26. "UK Parishes, Missions & House Groups | Anglican Catholic Church". www.anglicancatholic.org.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
27. "Anglican Catholic Bishop pays visit to North Wales congregation". InYourArea.co.uk. 23 March 2023. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
28. "ACC DUK - Parishes & Missions - St Augustine". 6 January 2009. Archived from the original on 6 January 2009. Retrieved 27 April 2023.
29. "Milestone in village hall bid". Kent Online. 17 January 2020. Retrieved 30 April 2023.
30. "Church of St Augustine of Canterbury | Anglican Catholic Church". www.anglicancatholic.org.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
31. "The Diocesan Magazine | Anglican Catholic Church". www.anglicancatholic.org.uk. Retrieved 19 April 2023.
32. "ACC Books & Authors | Anglican Catholic Church". anglicancatholic.ukchurches.co. Retrieved 19 April 2023.

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