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THE DIOCESE OF THE BAHAMAS,
&
THE TURKS AND CAICOS ISLANDS.
http://www.bahamas.anglican.org
A Short History of The Diocese
The Bahamas is a country of 700 Islands and
Cays (29 inhabited) laying south east of the Florida, USA.. Discovered by the
Christopher Columbus in 1492, The Bahamas was populated by Indians who, unfortunately,
were made slaves and eventually exterminated by the Spanish captors. The islands
annexed to England by Sir Humphrey Gilbert in 1678. The Islands were occupied at one
time or another by Americans, Spanish and English occupied and became a haven for
pirating.
The Church of England was established by law
upon the arrival of the colony's first Royal Governor, Woodes Rogers.
Other important dates in the history of Diocese are as follows:
1824 - The Bahamas and The
Turks and Caicos Islands were made a part of the new Diocese of Jamaica.
1844 - The Bahamas was made an Archdeaconry by the Bishop of Jamaica (Rt.
Rev'd Aubrey Spencer)
November 4, 1861 - The Bahamas diocese was created.
November 24, 1861 - Dr. Charles Caulfied was consecrated the first Bishop
of the Bahamas.
May 1862 - The City of Nassau was created by letter patent.
June 17, 1862 - The Bishop receives the oath and allegiance from his
priests in Christ Church Cathedral.
September 1862 - Bishop Caulfied dies suddenly from yellow fever.
June 1866 - The Church of England was disestablished in the Bahamas.
After many years of establishing its self and
ministering to a varied congregation, the Diocese elected its first Bahamian Bishop to the
see of Nassau and The Bahamas. Michael Hartley Eldon, was consecrated Suffragan
Bishop of New Providence on June 24, 1971. He was enthroned as Diocesan Bishop on
May 28, 1972.
Upon his retirement in 1997 the Diocese
elected yet another son of the soil to episcopacy of the church in The Bahamas. The
Rt. Rev'd Drexel Gomez, former Bishop of Barbados was elected Bishop of the Diocese.
Bishop Gomez was elected Archbishop and Primate of the Province of the West Indies in
1998.
Archbishop Gomez was preceded in the See of
Nassau and the Bahamas including The Turks and Caicos Islands by the following:
Charles Caulfield 1861 - 1862
Addington Robert Peel Venables 1864 - 1876
F.A.R.C. Cramer-Roberts 1878 - 1885
Edward Townson Churton 1886 - 1900
Henry Norris Churton 1902 - 1904
Wilfred Bird Hornby 1904 - 1918
Roscow Shedden 1919 - 1931
John Daugleish 1932 - 1942
Spence Burton, S.S.J.E. 1942 - 1961
Bernard Markham 1962 - 1972
Michael Eldon 1972- 1997
Drexel Gomez 1997 -
.jpg)
His Grace, The Most Rev'd
Drexel Wellington Gomez
Lord Archbishop, Metropolitan and
Primate of the Church of the West Indies & Bishop of the Diocese
Of Nassau & The Bahamas
(Including the Turks & Caicos Islands)
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The Rt. Rev'd
Gilbert Arthur Thompson
Bishop Suffragan of New Providence
The Diocese of The Bahamas
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TheRt. Rev'd
Michael Hartley Eldon
Assistant Bishop
Diocese of The Bahamas
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