Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina
| Diocese of South Carolina | |
|---|---|
| Statistics | |
| Congregations | 52 (June 2015) |
| Members | 22,953 (June 2015) |
| Information | |
| Rite | Anglican |
| Cathedral | Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul, Charleston |
| Current leadership | |
| Bishop | Mark Lawrence |
| Map | |
 Location of the Diocese of South Carolina |
|
| Website | |
| http://www.diosc.com/ | |
The Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina is a diocese in the Anglican tradition. Established in 1785, the diocese was one of the nine original dioceses of the Episcopal Church in the United States. The diocese originally covered the entire state of South Carolina, but the western part of the state became the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina in 1922. The diocese now covers an area of 24 counties in the eastern part of the state. The see city is Charleston, home to the Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul and diocesan headquarters.
On October 15, 2012, the diocese's standing committee voted to withdraw the diocese from the Episcopal Church and membership of the global Anglican Communion and from being in communion with its mother church of Canterbury and become an autonomous Anglican-themed diocese. This action was taken after a long period of conflict over theology and authority with the national leadership of the Episcopal Church. As of August 22, 2014, the diocese is temporarily under the pastoral oversight of the Global South Anglican primates. In 2017 the diocese voted to affiliate with the Anglican Church of North America.
The Episcopal Church's position is that a diocese cannot withdraw itself from the national church. It recognized those parishes and individuals that wished to remain members of the Episcopal Church as the continuing diocese under the name Episcopal Church in South Carolina. Both the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina and the Episcopal Church in South Carolina claim to be the legitimate successor to the pre-schism diocese, and both claim ownership of diocesan property including church buildings. On February 3, 2015, a South Carolina judge ruled that the departing diocese was legally entitled to the property and use of the name "Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina." An appeal of that decision and other related legal proceedings are ongoing.
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