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The Bishop of Oxford is the Ordinary of the Church Of England Diocese Of Oxford in the Province Of Canterbury . EARLY TIMES The origins of Christianity in this part of England go back at least to the seventh century, when Saint Birinus brought his mission to the West Saxons in 634 . The West Saxon King Cynegils was baptised in the River Thames near the present site of Dorchester Abbey , where the original See was established. The see was transferred in 1092 to Winchester , before being absorbed into the Diocese of Lincoln , the vast area of which covered much of central and eastern England from the Thames to the Humber. Oxford grew up under the shadow of a convent, said to have been founded by St Frideswide as early as the eighth century. Its authentic history begins in 912, when it was occupied by Edward the Elder, King of the West Saxons. It was strongly fortified against the Danes, and again after the Norman Conquest, and the massive keep of the castle, the tower of St. Michael's Church (at the north gate), and a large portion of the city walls still remain to attest the importance of the city in the eleventh century. West of the town rose the splendid castle, and, in the meadows beneath, the no- less-splendid Augustinian Abbey of Osney: in the fields to the north the last of the Norman kings built the stately palace of Beaumont; the great church of St Frideswide was erected by the canons-regular who succeeded the nuns of St Frideswide; and many fine churches were built by the piety of the Norman earls. The prestige of Oxford is seen in the fact that it received a charter from King Henry II , granting its citizens the same privileges and exemptions as those enjoyed by the capital of the kingdom; and various important religious houses were founded in or near the city. A grandson of King John established Rewley Abbey for the Cistercian Order; and friars of various orders ( Dominican s, Franciscan s, Carmelite s, Augustinian s, and Trinitarian s), all had houses at Oxford of varying importance. Parliaments were often held in the city during the thirteenth century, but this period also saw the beginning of the long struggle between the town and the growing university which ended in the subjugation of the former, and the extinction for centuries of the civic importance of Oxford. TUDOR PERIOD King Henry VIII , acting now as head of the Church in England, established by Act of Parliament in 1542 and without papal sanction, six new dioceses, mostly out of the spoils of the suppressed monasteries. These six were Bristol, Chester, Gloucester, Oxford, Peterborough and Westminster. This intervention by Henry VIII saw a new see located at Osney in Oxfordshire in 1542 before finally being moved to its present location in the City of Oxford in 1546 . SUBSEQUENT CENTURIES While the city gained prosperity from the accession of thousands of students, it was never, apart from the university, again prominent in history until the seventeenth century, when it became the headquarters of the Royalist party, and again the meeting-place of Parliament. The city of Oxford showed its Hanoverian sympathies long before the university, and feeling between them ran high in consequence. The area and population of the city remained almost stationary until about 1830, but since then it has grown rapidly. The modern diocese covers the counties of Oxfordshire , Berkshire , and Buckinghamshire , with parishes also in Bedfordshire , Gloucestershire , Hampshire , Hertfordshire , and Warwickshire . The See is in the City Of Oxford where the seat is located at the Cathedral Church Of Christ which was elevated to cathedral status in 1546 , and which (uniquely among English dioceses) is also the chapel of Christ Church College, Oxford . The current bishop is the Right Reverend Richard Douglas '''Harries''' , the 41st '''Lord Bishop of Oxford''', who signs ''Richard Oxon''. The Bishop's residence is Diocesan Church House, Oxford. List of the Bishops of Oxford, England and its precursor offices (Dates in italics indicate ''de facto ''continuation of office) Sources
The above text is partly drawn from the Catholic Encyclopaedia of 1908. See also |
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