Anglican services have been conducted in Connecticut since 1702. The diocese was established on 22 June 1785 following the
American Revolution, and is one of the
nine original dioceses of the Episcopal Church. The inaugural diocesan bishop was the Rt. Rev.
Samuel Seabury, the first
Anglican bishop with a
see outside the
British Isles; he also served as
Presiding Bishop of the Church. Later bishops included the Rt. Rev.
Walter H. Gray, who was also the first chair of the
Civil Rights Commission in Connecticut and played a leading role in two meetings of the
Lambeth Conference. The Most Rev.
Desmond Tutu,
Archbishop Emeritus of Cape Town, preached at the consecration of the 15th Bishop of Connecticut, the Rt. Rev.
Ian Douglas, in 2010. Douglas was assisted by the Rt. Rev.
Laura J. Ahrens as suffragan, the first woman to be elected bishop in Connecticut. The Rt. Rev.
Jeffrey Mello succeeded Douglas as the 16th Bishop of Connecticut in 2022. The bishop's
cathedra is situated at
Christ Church Cathedral in
Hartford, and the diocesan offices are located in
Meriden. As of 2023 the diocese had a reported membership of 36,743, down from 68,000 in 2003. In 2024, the diocese reported average Sunday attendance (ASA) of 8,085 persons and plate and pledge financial support of $31,763,735. ==List of bishops==