Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut
The Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut (also known as The Episcopal Church in Connecticut) is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, encompassing the entire state of Connecticut. It is one of the nine original dioceses of the Episcopal Church and one of seven New England dioceses that make up Province 1. History. Its first bishop, Samuel Seabury, was the first Anglican bishop with a see outside the British Isles. Anglican services have been conducted in the diocese since 1702, but the first diocesan convention did not take place until after the  diocese was organized, having been convened by Seabury in 1785. The cathedra of the bishop is at Christ Church Cathedral (45 Church Street) in the see city of Hartford. Diocesan offices are at 290 Pratt Street, Meriden, Connecticut 06450. There are 177 parishes in the diocese, with about 68,500 baptized members. One of Connecticut's well-known bishops was Walter H. Gray, who served as the first chairman of the Civil Rights Commission in Connecticut. Gray also played a leading role at two meetings of the Lambeth Conferences. Ian Douglas, elected 15th bishop of the diocese on October 24, 2009 , was consecrated at the Koeppel Center of Trinity College on April 17, 2010, at a service at which the preacher was Desmond Tutu, Archbishop emeritus of Cape Town. He was seated at Christ Church Cathedral the following day. Douglas is the first priest ever to be elected from outside the diocese, and at the time of his election was Angus Dun Professor of Mission and World Christianity at Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and associate priest at St. James's Church, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Douglas is assisted by Laura J. Ahrens (since 2007). Ahrens was the first woman to be  elected bishop in Connecticut and was consecrated on June 30, 2007 at Woolsey Hall, Yale University, New Haven. As of 2013 the diocese had a membership of 54,145, down from 68,000 in 2003.