The Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee  

Who We Are and How We're Structured

The Episcopal Church in East Tennessee:

The diocese of East Tennessee comprises 34 counties in East Tennessee and three counties in North Georgia, with the Cumberland Plateau as the western border. This area is approximately 14,350 square miles.

Within this area are 45 congregations and five worshiping communities servicing nearly 16,000 active members or 12,600 confirmed communicants in good standing. Average Sunday attendance is 5,800. Congregations range in attendance from 15 to more than 450 faithful worshipers. The diocesan budget is $1.75 million. (See Episcopal Church records for 10-year trends in membership and giving as of 2006).

The Rt. Rev. Charles G. vonRosenberg is the third bishop of East Tennessee. Clergy number imore than 150, which includes 75 priests serving congregations, 25 vocational deacons and more than 50 nonparochial and retired priests and deacons.

The population of the diocese is concentrated in the major metro areas: Chattanooga, Knoxville and the Tri-Cities area, which includes Kingsport, Bristol and Johnson City, and it totals 2.4 million, according to a U.S. Census estimate.

  Find a parish in this diocese or check a parish Web site     ·     Diocesan clergy finder

Ministries in the diocese are numerous and diverse. Examples include:

• A shared ministry approach in many of our parishes highlights the ministry of all the baptized.
• We are linked in a "companion diocese" partnership with the Diocese of South Dakota for the mutual exchange of resources and support.
• The entire diocese is in the area known as Appalachia, and our Appalachian Ministries Resource Team spearheads assistance and interaction activities.
• The diocese has more than 10 Jubilee Centers, which focus on outreach.

In addition, eight parish day schools have nearly 100 teachers and an enrollment totaling nearly 700 students; campus ministries at the University of Tennessee campuses in Knoxville and Chattanooga and at East Tennessee State University in Johnson City; and a 269-acre camp and retreat center, Grace Point, on Watts Bar Lake near Kingston. Ministries with youth in the diocese are focused through its youth coordinator and Youth Action Council.

  Episcopal schools     ·     Youth ministries     ·     Camp and Retreat Center

Diocesan history
In January 1826, James Hervey Otey, an Episcopal deacon, came to Tennessee to begin a teaching career. He was ordained a priest June 17, 1827. The first convention of the Diocese of Tennessee was held June 1-2, 1829, and Otey was elected its first bishop June 30, 1833. St. Paul Episcopal Church, now in Franklin, was the statewide diocese's first congregation.

The diocese grew, and conversations about dividing it became serious during the episcopate of William Evan Sanders, its eighth bishop. The Diocese of West Tennessee separated in 1982 along the line of the Tennessee River west of Nashville. The Diocese of East Tennessee was born Jan. 1, 1985, when the eastern portion separated from the continuing Diocese of Tennessee along the line of the Cumberland Plateau. Sanders chose to go with the new eastern diocese and became its first bishop.

In October 1984, the Diocese of East Tennessee in convention adopted a seal. Three crosses on the blue background of a shield symbolize the three dioceses now present in Tennessee. The jagged line below the three crosses symbolizes the mountains, and a dogwood blossom is a symbol both of Christianity and of the East Tennessee region. The blossom is centered within a gold cross on a red field at the base of the shield, reminiscent of the seal of the original Diocese of Tennessee. The crossed key and crozier behind the shield are topped by a mitre, all of which represent the bishop.

St. John Cathedral in downtown Knoxville is the oldest Episcopal congregation in East Tennessee. It was organized as a mission in 1829 and attained parish status in 1844. It became the cathedral of the diocese on Dec. 4, 1986. St. Paul, Seymour, was recognized at the 2006 diocesan convention as the newest worshiping community. The youngest churches with parish status are St. Francis of Assisi in Ooltewah and St. Clare in LaFollette, both of which were formed in 1993.

Robert Tharp was elected bishop coadjutor in 1990. In 1991, he became the second bishop of the diocese upon Bishop Sanders' retirement. Bishop Tharp retired in 1999, and Charles vonRosenberg was elected and consecrated third bishop of the diocese. Bishop Tharp died in May 2003. Bishop vonRosenberg's sermons and annual addresses to the diocese are available online, and biographies of the bishop and his predecessors - including downloadable photos - are available.

In February 1999, the annual Convention approved this vision statement: “The Diocese of East Tennessee is one church. We are called to love in the name of Jesus Christ and to grow in people and in resources for ministry and mission. We anticipate miracles, as God works through us.” The convention conducts business on behalf of the diocese, and its proceedings are contained in each year's Convention Journal. The Bishop and Council is the executive board of the diocese, and the bishop is its chairperson. A Standing Committee of three lay and three
clergy members advises the bishop.

Ground was broken adjacent to St. John Cathedral on Oct. 9, 1987, for a diocesan center, which was completed along with the cathedral's Great Hall in 1988. When the cathedral leadership indicated interest in purchasing the diocesan center to ease its space constraints, the diocese sold the building to the cathedral in March 2002. Ground was broken for new offices on two acres of land the diocese purchased from the Episcopal School of Knoxville. The new Diocesan House opened July 7, 2003. In addition to the offices of the bishop and his staff, it contains Chapter & Verse Episcopal Bookshop, conference and work rooms and a chapel.

The Episcopal Church, USA
Like all Anglican churches, the Episcopal Church is distinguished by its standing in both Protestant and Catholic traditions, its insistence that people be able to worship in their first language, its members' use of a Book of Common Prayer and their reliance on Scripture, Tradition and Reason in interpreting God's Word. Please see the Episcopal Church Web site for more on Episcopal beliefs and traditions.

The central body of organization in the Episcopal Church is the diocese, which is defined as all the Episcopal parishes in a geographic area that are under the pastoral leadership of a bishop. The diocesan bishop, sometimes called the ordinary, consecrates other bishops-elect, ordains deacons and priests to the ministry, administers confirmation of members, consecrates buildings, administers ecclesiastical discipline and presides over the annual convention of the diocese. The Rt. Rev. Charles vonRosenberg is the third bishop of the Diocese of East Tennessee.

The governing body of the diocese is the convention, which meets annually and comprises the resident clergy and the lay delegates who are elected by parish vestries.

The diocese is responsible both to its local congregations and to the larger church, The Episcopal Church, which is under the leadership of a presiding bishop - currently the Most. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, who was elected at the 2006 General Convention to a nine-year term and installed Nov. 4 at the Washington National Cathedral.

The Episcopal Church is governed by a bicameral General Convention, which usually meets every three years. Legislation may originate in either the House of Bishops or the House of Deputies (which has four clerical and four lay deputies from each of the more than 100 dioceses). Concurrence of the other house is required for passage of legislation. Between conventions, leadership comes from the 39-member elected Executive Council, which meets quarterly.

In the Episcopal Church, a regional group of dioceses is a province. Bishops, clergy and elected lay deputies meet annually as a synod. An elected province president chairs the synod. The Diocese of East Tennessee and 19 other southeastern dioceses make up Province IV, called the Province of Sewanee. The Episcopal Church has nine provinces and 110 dioceses in 15 nations. It is a member province of the Worldwide Anglican Communion. The Episcopal Church has about 2.32 million members in the United States and the Caribbean, Central America, the Philippines, Taiwan and Europe. Because its geography spreads beyond the United States, the Episcopal Church is not a "national" church, and the only accurate shorthand expression is the acronym, TEC.

The Anglican Communion
The Episcopal Church is a member of the worldwide Anglican Communion, the churches around the world that trace their roots to the Church of England, and maintain a “communion” with it. The Anglican Communion is made up of around 77 million members in 44 regional and national churches around the globe in 164 countries. Its spiritual leader is the Archbishop of Canterbury. On Feb. 27, 2003, the church enthroned the Most Rev. Rowan Williams as 104th Archbishop of Canterbury. The Anglican Communion carries out a number of ministries as joint initiatives or in partnerships, some of which are managed or coordinated by the Anglican Consultative Council and its Secretariat, known as the Anglican Communion Office, in London. A short brochure offers more information.