Diocese

Profile

For a short history of the diocese, click here.

Vision and Purpose

The Diocese is committed to collaborative working and to developing the ministry of all the baptised. For a summary of the vision and purpose of the Diocese as set by Bishop David, click here.

Organisation

The Diocese has 453 parishes under the jurisdiction of the Bishop of Salisbury, assisted by the Bishop of Ramsbury and Bishop of Sherborne.

The Bishop of Ramsbury is assisted by the Archdeacons of  Sarum and Wilts; the Bishop of Sherborne by the Archdeacons of Dorset and Sherborne.

Parishes are grouped into 19 deaneries: four in the Archdeaconry of Sarum and six in Wilts; five in the Archdeaconry of Dorset and four in Sherborne.

The parishes look after 576 places of worship and the Diocese has one of the highest number of listed church buildings in the country. 87% are listed in Grade I or II*.

Salisbury Cathedral, with its Dean and Residentiary Canons, is a busy centre of the diocese, with an iconic status in national life.

The Diocese also contains one of the highest number of Church of England Schools in the country with 186 primary schools (48% of the total), 6 middle schools and 11 secondary schools (a much smaller proportion). 40,000 children in the diocese attend church schools. Two schools re-opened as academies in September 2010, with the diocese as the lead sponsor. There are also 18 independent schools in the diocese.

The affairs of the parishes are managed by Parochial Church Councils (PCCs). Members of the parishes meet together in the Deanery Synod.  This body elects the members of the Diocesan Synod. Members of the Diocesan Synod elect diocesan representatives to the General Synod of the Church of England.

Strong links exist with the Episcopal Church of the Sudan, the Roman Catholic Diocese of Evreux in France and the Evangelical Lutheran Church in Latvia.