Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina


The Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, founded in 1817, roughly corresponds to the segment of the U.S. state of North Carolina between I-77 in the west and I-95 in the east, including the most populous area of the state. Charlotte, Winston-Salem, Greensboro, Raleigh, Cary, and Durham are the largest cities in the diocese. The Episcopal Diocese of Western North Carolina lies to the west extending into the Appalachian Mountains, and the Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina lies to the east extending to the Atlantic Ocean.

About the diocese

The diocese has no cathedral, but its offices are in downtown Raleigh. It meets in annual convention in November. Between conventions, the diocese is administered by a Diocesan Council in conjunction with diocesan staff.
The current diocesan bishop is Samuel Sewall Rodman III. He was consecrated bishop on July 15, 2017, as twelfth bishop of North Carolina, after the election of his predecessor, Michael Bruce Curry, as Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church. The bishop suffragan of the diocese is Anne Hodges-Copple.
Other bishops who have served the diocese since 1980 are Robert W. Estill, the late Robert C. Johnson, the late Frank Vest, the late Huntington Williams, Jr., J. Gary Gloster, William Gregg, the late Alfred C. Marble, Jr., and Peter James Lee.
Congregations in the diocese vary from conservative to liberal and from low church to high church, but the diocese itself is generally considered moderate and is highly supportive of the Episcopal Church. Consisting of approximately 48,000 communicants, the diocese is the tenth-largest in the nation and has shown a 3% compound annual growth rate over the last ten years. The density of Episcopalians varies across the diocese but is highest in Wake County, the capital county.

Programs and institutions

Principal programs of the diocese include campus ministry and social ministry:
The diocese no longer operates a camp and conference center, having sold its facility near Browns Summit, North Carolina to the State of North Carolina for use as Haw River State Park. However, the diocese maintains an active youth program. The territory of the diocese includes independent schools with current or former diocesan affiliations including Trinity Episcopal School and Palisades Episcopal School in Charlotte, Canterbury School in Greensboro, and St. Mary's School and Ravenscroft School in Raleigh.
Other major institutions affiliated with the diocese are Penick Village in Southern Pines, a retirement community; and Thompson Child and Family Focus in Charlotte, a youth services ministry.

Bishops