About Us

The Church of England is made up of two provinces: York and Canterbury. The Church comprises a total of 42 dioceses, forty-one in England and one in Europe. 

The Diocese of Chester is situated in York province, in the north west of England, as shown in the map below.

Our Diocese spans from Wirral and the Welsh border in the west to the limestone hills of the Derbyshire Peak District in the east. The north of the Diocese reaches up to the rivers Mersey and Tame and the conurbations of south and east Manchester, and south to the towns of Crewe, Sandbach and Nantwich on the outskirts of Stoke-on- Trent and Shropshire.

The Diocese of Chester was created in 1541 and assumed roughly its present dimensions in 1880. 

There are 273 parishes in the Diocese of Chester, about 100 of which can be described as rural. There are approximately 230 stipendiary clergy as well as over 400 licensed Readers and Pastoral Workers. The number of self-supporting ministers is increasing, with over 80 in post at present.

The Diocese of Chester is divided into two archdeaconries. Chester covers the western half and Macclesfield the eastern.

Roughly speaking, the Archdeaconry of Macclesfield covers that part of the diocese to the east of the M6, plus the area around Crewe and Nantwich. The Archdeaconry of Chester covers the rest of the diocese to the west of the M6. Each archdeaconry is made up of nine deaneries. 

The Diocese of Chester enjoys links with the Anglican Church of Melanesia in the Solomon Islands and the Dioceses of Aru and Boga in the Democratic Republic of Congo. More

Our Bishop

The Rt Revd Mark Tanner was appointed in 2020 and enthroned as the 41st Lord Bishop of Chester in 2021 at a ceremony at Chester Cathedral.

Watch Bishop Mark's socially distanced enthronement at Chester Cathedral below.

Bishop Mark is assisted by two suffragan bishops, the Bishop of Birkenhead, Rt Revd Julie Conalty and the Bishop of Stockport, Rt Revd Sam Corley. More

Our Diocesan Secretary & Chief Executive Officer

Jane Pleace is the Diocesan Secretary & Chief Executive Officer (DSCEO). She heads up and is responsible for all diocesan services from Church House and the leadership and managerial oversight of the staff employed by the Chester Diocesan Board of Finance. Jane is responsible to the Bishop of Chester, Mark Tanner and David Hermitt, the Chair of the Board of Finance.

Our Chair

Canon David Hermitt is the Chair of the Diocesan Board of Finance. He was elected at Diocesan Synod in November 2023 taking over the reins from Ian Scott-Dunn who retired from the position after serving in the role for 9 years.

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