Jurisdiction of North and Central Europe , Church of England

The precise origin and extent of the jurisdiction of the Bishops of London over Anglican communities overseas remains a matter of debate and is discussed in 'A Case Without Parallel: The Bishops of London and the Anglican Church Overseas 1660-1740', by Geoffrey Yeo in Journal of Ecclesiastical History, vol.44, 1993" available in the Printed Books Section of Guildhall Library.

No provision for episcopal oversight of the English abroad had been made at the time of the Reformation but an order in council of 1st October 1633 required the Merchant Adventurers to be under the jurisdiction "of the lord bishop of London as their diocesan". After the Restoration it was assumed that the Anglican clergy overseas were in some way reponsible to the Bishop of London, although the precise authority remained undetermined. Successive bishops exercised their authority to differing degrees.

In the early nineteenth century Michael Luscombe, chaplain in Caen, became concerned about the lack of episcopal supervision. In 1825 he was consecrated by Scottish bishops, with the tacit consent of the Archbishop of Canterbury and Bishop of London, not as a diocesan bishop but to meet a pastoral need. He took up residence in Paris, was appointed embassy chaplain in 1828 and erected a church in Rue D'Aguesseau in 1834. After his death in 1846 the experiment was not repeated as few chaplains had accepted his offer to confirm or his licence.

In 1840-41 Charles Blomfield, Bishop of London, raised the question of the establishment of a new diocese in the Mediterranean. The need for effective episcopal supervision, ministry for congregations and clergy in south east Europe and the desire to promote relations with the Orthodox churches led to the establishment of the Diocese of Gibraltar in 1842 to cover the southern part of Europe bordering on the Mediterranean with the Bishop of London retaining jurisdiction over the rest of Europe. The Bishop of London retained some links with southern Europe, as a trustee of some chaplaincy buildings, and a number of chaplaincies apparently continued to send register transcripts to the London Diocesan Registry even after 1842.

In 1884 the Bishop of London gave his permanent commisson to Bishop Titcomb to serve in north and central Europe with financial responsibility being borne by the Colonial and Continental Church Society. The Bishop of London continued to appoint in this way until Bishop Batty was appointed suffragan bishop with the title of Bishop of Fulham in 1926.

The 1968 Lambeth Conference called for consideration to be given to parallel jurisdictions, especially in Europe, and in October 1970 the office of the Bishop of Gibraltar was combined with that of the Bishop of Fulham with the appointment of John Satterthwaite. From 1970 to 1980 the jurisdictions of Gibraltar and North & Central Europe remained separate, although administered by the same bishop of "Fulham and Gibraltar". In 1980 the Bishop of London divested himself of all his jurisdiction overseas (see DL/E/A/004/MS20876) and a new Diocese of Gibraltar in Europe, known as the Diocese in Europe, was established to supersede both former jurisdictions.