About the Diocese of Oxford
The Diocese of Oxford is a Church of England diocese that forms part of the Province of Canterbury. The diocese is led by the Bishop of Oxford, and the bishop’s seat is at Christ Church Cathedral, Oxford.
The diocese contains more church buildings than any other diocese and has more paid clergy than any other except London. Broadly speaking, the diocese covers the geographical areas of Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire.
The areas covered by the diocese is much the same area as Thames Valley Police – some 2,200 square miles. From Chipping Norton to Slough, from west Berkshire to Newport Pagnell, there are villages and market towns, suburbs and urban areas, organised into 626 parishes.
There are 815 churches in the diocese, with around 55,000 or so regular worshippers in these churches. And 58,000 children attend the 283 church schools that the diocese supports.
The diocese is divided into episcopal areas as follows:
City of Oxford & surrounding area (Archdeaconry of Oxford)
which includes the Deaneries of Oxford and Cowley.
Dorchester Episcopal Area (Archdeaconry of Dorchester)
which includes the Deaneries of Aston & Cuddesdon, Bicester & Islip, Chipping Norton, Deddington, Henley, Witney and Woodstock.
Buckingham Episcopal Area (Archdeaconry of Buckingham)
which includes the Deaneries of Amersham, Aylesbury, Buckingham, Burnham & Slough, Claydon, Milton Keynes, Mursley, Newport, Wendover and Wycombe.
Reading Episcopal Area (Archdeaconry of Berkshire)
which includes the Deaneries of Abingdon, Bracknell, Bradfield, Maidenhead & Windsor, Newbury, Reading, Sonning, Vale of White Horse, Wallingford and Wantage.
The current Bishop of Oxford is Steven Croft, following the confirmation of his election to the See on 06 July 2016. The Bishop of Oxford has authority throughout the diocese and primary responsibility for the city and suburbs of Oxford, which forms the Archdeaconry of Oxford.
