Bishops within boundaries?

Diocesan boundaries are sometimes very strange and this will be highlighted today (Monday 21 November 6.30pm) when the Bishop of Peterborough, Rt Revd Donald Allister is formally made an Assistant Bishop of neighbouring the Diocese of Ely.

The special service takes place at St Andrew’s Church, Alwalton at 6.30 p.m. and it will be attended by clergy of the Yaxley (Diocese of Ely) and Peterborough (Diocese of Peterborough) deaneries as well as by the Bishop of Brixworth and Bishop John Flack (a former Bishop of Huntingdon, now an assistant bishop in the Diocese of Peterborough).

The Bishop of Ely, The Rt Revd Stephen Conway, who will be conducting the service, said today: “This is an important occasion because it recognises the evolving need for shared pastoral care in our boundary parishes. Several parishes can see Peterborough Cathedral, but fall under the care of the Diocese of Ely.” 

He added: “I am delighted to be able to involve Bishop Donald in the pastoral care of an area for which we both have to speak in the name of the Church.”

When the Diocese of Peterborough was created in 1541, the boundary which separated it from the Diocese of Ely (founded in 1109) followed the course of the River Nene, which had been the ancient boundary between the Diocese of Ely and the Diocese of Lincoln.

The ancient Soke of Peterborough lay to the north of the river and the villages of Fletton, Orton and Woodston, Stanground and Yaxley lay to the south. In the medieval period rivers formed a natural boundary and bridges were few.

The City of Peterborough expanded throughout the 19th and 20th centuries, culminating in the creation of the Unitary Authority in 1996. Today, as in many other places, the old river boundary no longer has social or geographical significance and a considerable part of the City of Peterborough is south of the river and in the Diocese of Ely.

The City of Peterborough is expanding to assume an increasingly significant role in the region, both as a centre of employment and as a hub of domestic life.

21st November 2011