Diocese of the Holy Cross
The Diocese of the Holy Cross (DHC) is a constituent diocese of the Anglican Catholic Church, a continuing Anglican church body in the United States. Unlike most dioceses, it is not geographically defined.
History
The DHC was formed by clergy and parishes belonging to the Anglican Province of Christ the King (APCK) following a disagreement with the APCK over the election of a divorced and remarried priest to be a bishop in the church. The diocese has steadily grown since its founding and now has 22 parishes and missions in 12 states. In addition, a DHC priest serves a mission of the Anglican Catholic Church in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and another serves in the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth (Southern Cone).
At their joint synod in September, 2021, the DHC became a constituent diocese of the Anglican Catholic Church.[1]
Relations with other continuing Anglican jurisdictions
The DHC was a member of the Federation of Anglican Churches in the Americas, of Forward in Faith UK, and maintains friendly relations with other continuing churches.
Leadership
The current bishop of the Diocese of the Holy Cross is Paul Hewett, rector of the Anglican Church of the Epiphany, Columbia, South Carolina. The assisting bishop is Timothy Farmer, former rector of St. Francis' Church, Spartanburg, South Carolina. Until his death in 2009, Patrick Murphy served as retired bishop in residence and rector of St. Peter's Anglican Church in Houston, Texas.
The diocese's founding bishop, Robert Waggener, unsuccessfully sought to lead the diocese into the Eastern Orthodox Church. Meeting with little support, Waggener left Anglicanism to become a Western-Rite Orthodox priest in the Antiochian Orthodox Christian Archdiocese of North America.
The pro-cathedral of the Diocese of the Holy Cross is the Church of the Epiphany, located in Columbia, South Carolina.
References
- Hewett, Paul (2021-09-23). "Address" (PDF) (Speech). "Synod of the Diocese of the Holy Cross". "Athens, GA". Retrieved 2021-12-18.
