Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles

Not to be confused with Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Los Angeles.

Diocese of Los Angeles

Diocesis de Los Angeles
Location
CountryUnited States
TerritoryLos Angeles, Orange, Santa Barbara, and Ventura
Ecclesiastical provinceProvince VIII
HeadquartersSt. Paul's Commons, Echo Park
Statistics
Congregations128 (2024)
Members39,677 (2023)
Information
DenominationThe Episcopal Church
RiteAnglican
EstablishedDecember 3, 1895
CathedralSt John's Cathedral
Patron saintOur Lady of Guadalupe
LanguageEnglish, Spanish, Cantonese, Japanese, Mandarin, Tagalog, Taiwanese Hokkien, Vietnamese[1]
Current leadership
Bishop of Los AngelesJohn H. Taylor
CoadjutorDr. Antonio Gallardo(Bishop-elect)
Assistant bishopFranklin Brookhart, Ed Little, Naudal Gomes
Apostolic AdministratorRev. John Watson (Diocesan Canon)
ArchdeaconLaura Siriani
Map

Location of the Diocese of Los Angeles
Website
www.diocesela.org

The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles is a community of 48,874 Episcopalians in 133 congregations, 36 schools, and six service institutions, spanning all of Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties, and part of Riverside County making it one of the largest Episcopal dioceses in the United States by land area.

In 2024, the diocese reported average Sunday attendance (ASA) of 7,474 persons.[2]

One of the U.S.-based Episcopal Church's 106 dioceses spanning 16 nations, the Diocese of Los Angeles was established in 1895 by vote of the General Convention of the national church. The diocese's first convention was held in 1896.[3]

The diocese is led by its bishop, presently the Rt. Rev. John H. Taylor; its administrative hub is St. Paul’s Commons, located in the Echo Park district of Los Angeles. St. John's Cathedral is the cathedral of the diocese and the center for major diocesan liturgical functions.

The common ministry of the diocese is guided by its convention, held annually(usually in Riverside County). Between annual meetings, the work of convention is overseen by the diocesan council, which meets usually each month at St. Paul’s Commons.

It shares an exchange ministry with Episcopal Diocese of Taiwan and shares cordial relations with christian denominations such as Old Catholics, the Philippine Independent Church, Armenian Apostolic Church, Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, and shares social justice ministries with the Islamic Center of Southern California, multiple Reformed Jewish congregations and non-profits in the region and internationally.

It is considered one of the most liberal Episcopal diocese in the continent, yet it also has a large amount of conservative laity in harmony with liberal laity and clergy.

Ethnically the diocese is diverse with Hispanics being the fastest growing group followed by Asian americans mostly of Chinese and Taiwanese descent, with a steady Filipino and Korean growth as well.

On 2025, Rev. Antonio Gallardo rector of St Luke's Episcopal Church (Long Beach, California) was elected as its first bishop of hispanic descent (born in Barquisimeto, Venezuela) succeding Bishop Taylor summer 2026 when He retires.

Laity in the diocese are active across national and international episcopal and anglican bodies, such as the Anglican Consultive Council, the General Convention of the Episcopal Church among others.

Bishops of Los Angeles

Diocesan bishops

  1. Joseph Horsfall Johnson (1895–1928)[4]
  2. W. Bertrand Stevens (1928–1947, Coadjutor 1920–1928)[3]
  3. Francis Eric Bloy (1948–1973)[5]
  4. Robert Claflin Rusack (1974–1986, Coadjutor 1972–1974)[6]
  5. Frederick Houk Borsch (1988–2002)[7]
  6. J. Jon Bruno (2002–2017, Coadjutor 2000–2002)[8]
  7. John Taylor (2017–present, Coadjutor 2016–2017
  8. Antonio Gallardo (As of July 2026)

Current Bishops assisting

  1. C. Franklin Brookhart Jr.
  2. Edward S. Little II
  3. Katharine Jefferts Schori (Assistant Bishop of Wyoming)
  4. Naudal Alves Gomes (Latino Clergy, Rector, Hispanic Ministry)

Suffragan bishops

Notable parishes

Education

Schools include St. James' Episcopal School, an elementary school which opened in 1968. It has 359 students on roll of varying economic, ethnic, racial and social backgrounds. [14] Josh Groban is a notable former student.

It also has a diocese education school called Bloy House, which serves as the local training spot for clergy and laity, while most of its MDiv pursuing students attend Church Divinity School of the Pacific, Fuller Theological Seminary, Virginia Theological Seminary, Berkeley Divinity School at Yale.

References

  1. ^ "Multicultural Ministries". ladiocese.org. Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. Retrieved September 3, 2013.
  2. ^ "Explore Individual Parochial Report Trends". General Convention of the Episcopal Church. Retrieved December 3, 2025.
  3. ^ a b c d Diocesan History Project. "Horizons & Heritage: Marking New Milestones". Ladiocese.org. Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. Archived from the original on December 7, 2014. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  4. ^ "To Confirm Bishop Williams: The Diocese of Western Michigan Votes Unanimously in His Favor" (PDF). The New York Times. January 18, 1896. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  5. ^ "Francis Eric Bloy, 88, An Episcopal Bishop". New York Times, Late Edition. June 3, 1993. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  6. ^ a b Associated Press (July 18, 1986). "Bishop Robert Rusack Dies; Los Angeles Episcopal Chief". The New York Times. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  7. ^ Stammer, Larry (June 13, 1998). "L.A. Episcopal Bishop's 10th Year to be Marked by 5 Days of Festivities". Los Angeles Times.
  8. ^ Stammer, Larry B. (May 10, 2001). "Episcopal Bishop Will Hand Reins to Successor on Jan. 31; The Author and Scholar Will Turn Day-to-Day Duties Over to the Rt. Rev. Jon Bruno in November". Los Angeles Times.
  9. ^ "Ivol Curtis; Retired Episcopal Bishop Held No. 2 Post in L.A. in Late '50s, '60s". Los Angeles Times. March 6, 1994.
  10. ^ McDonnell, Patrick J. (August 4, 1996). "Oliver Garver, Retired Church Official, Dies; Religion: Former Assistant Bishop of L.A.'s Episcopal Diocese was Known for His Social Activism". Los Angeles Times.
  11. ^ Curry, Jack (June 11, 1990). "Los Angeles Names Rector From Harlem As Assistant Bishop". The New York Times. Retrieved May 2, 2013.
  12. ^ Helfand, Duke; Larry B. Stammer (December 5, 2009). "L.A. Episcopalians Elect First Woman Bishop; Choice of Diane Bruce is a First in Diocese's 114-Year History". Los Angeles Times.
  13. ^ Stammer, Larry B.; Paul Pringle (December 6, 2009). "L.A. diocese elects first lesbian Episcopal bishop". Los Angeles Times.
  14. ^ "About Us – St. James' School". sjsla.org. Retrieved January 7, 2026.

34°07′10″N 118°15′38″W / 34.119444°N 118.260456°W / 34.119444; -118.260456

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 unless otherwise noted. Additional terms may apply for the media files.