The Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina is a group of people coming together in missions and parishes joined in active ministry as the local presence of The Episcopal Church. We are over 18,000 people strong with over 70 parishes in our area, and continue to grow. We stretch across the eastern part of North Carolina, across the coastal plains, to the northern border with Virginia to the southern border with South Carolina and west to (and sometimes a bit beyond) Interstate 95.
The Episcopalians of Eastern North Carolina are varied, vast, and wonderful. We are open and welcome, kind and generous, and loving and helpful. They practice a generous hospitality, more radical in some places than in others. They come together for worship and in a variety of settings: from small country churches to large and diverse parishes that provide leadership in their regions and cities. Vitality is present in these parishes and missions small and large.
History
The Diocese of North Carolina was formed in 1817, and permission to create a separate diocese in Eastern North Carolina was given by the General Convention meeting in Philadelphia on Oct. 9, 1883. The primary convention was held in Christ Church, New Bern, with 21 clergymen and 66 laymen present, representing 24 parishes. At this convention, the new diocese was named “East Carolina,” and the delegates unanimously elected the Rev. Dr. Alfred A. Watson as the first Bishop. He was consecrated at St. James Church, Wilmington, on April 17, 1884.
The Diocese now enjoys the leadership of its seventh bishop. In 1995 Bishop Sanders called for the election of a Bishop Coadjutor. The Rev. Canon Clifton Daniel, 3rd was elected and consecrated in 1996. Upon Bishop Sanders death in June of 1997 Bishop Daniel became the 7th bishop of East Carolina.
The “See City” (or headquarters) for this diocese is located in Kinston, NC.
To learn more about the Diocese of East Carolina visit:
ecdiocese
The Rev'd Canon Matthew Stockard
Bishop Daniel
From Other Visitors to Convention
