INFORMATION ABOUT THE DIOCESE;

The Diocese of Hereford, founded in AD676 covers the whole of the county of Herefordshire, southern Shropshire and a few parishes in Worcestershire Powys and Monmouthshire. The Diocese is roughly 1660 square miles with a population of about 285,000.

The Diocese of Hereford is predominantly rural in character. The main centre of population is the ancient and historic city of Hereford; the major market towns are Bridgnorth, Ledbury, Leominster, Ludlow and Ross-on-Wye; smaller market towns include Bromyard, Bishop's Castle and Kington.

The Diocese of Hereford (see graph right) has 423 Church buildings, 356 Parishes divided between 14 Deaneries within 2 Archdeaconries. Many of our church buildings are historic and part of the heritage of the country. The Diocese of Hereford (see graph below) has up to 120 parish priests with 40 non-stipendiary (or unpaid) priests, 8 Ordained Local Ministers and 92 Readers. A further 171 ministers (usually retired clergy) have permission to work within the Diocese. The Local Ministry Scheme has 12 commissioned schemes across the Diocese, a team comprising a mixture of ordained and lay people within a parish or group of parishes.

The churches are served administratively from the Diocesan offices housed in The Palace, next to the cathedral in Hereford. This is also the home of the Bishop of Hereford and his office.

For futher information see; Diocesan Office | Bishop's Office | Parishes