Episcopal Diocese of Western New York

Diocese of Western New York
Location
Country	United States
Territory	Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans, Wyoming
Ecclesiastical province	Province II
Statistics
Congregations	56 (2022)
Members	6,779 (2022)
Information
Denomination	Episcopal Church
Established	1839
Cathedral	St Paul's Cathedral
Language	English
Current leadership
Bishop	Vacant
Map
Location of the Diocese of Western New York
Website
episcopalwny.org

The Episcopal Diocese of Western New York is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America with jurisdiction over the counties of Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans and Wyoming in western New York. It is in Province 2 and its cathedral, St. Paul's Cathedral, is in Buffalo. The diocesan offices are in Tonawanda, New York.^[1]

Sean W. Rowe is bishop provisional of Western New York. The diocesan convention elected him to this role on October 26, 2018, when it and the convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Northwestern Pennsylvania voted to share a bishop and a staff for five years while they explore a partnership.

R. William "Bill" Franklin was the eleventh bishop of Western New York. The Diocese elected him its eleventh Bishop at its 2010 convention. He was consecrated on April 30, 2011, at the university at Buffalo and retired on April 3, 2019. Franklin was born in Mississippi and had previously served in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Previously, J. Michael Garrison was the tenth bishop of Western New York. He has a bachelor's and a master's of religious education from Pontifical College Josephinum in Columbus, Ohio and an honorary doctorate from General Theological Seminary in New York City. He was received from the Roman Catholic Church on April 1, 1975, and ordained a deacon on April 12, 1975. He was ordained a priest on August 25, 1975, and consecrated a bishop on April 24, 1999.^[2]

The bishops of Western New York have been:^[3]

1. William H. Delancey, (1839–1865)
   *Arthur C. Coxe, coadjutor bishop (1865)
2. Arthur C. Coxe, (1865–1895)
3. William D. Walker, (1897–1917)
4. Charles H. Brent, (1919–1929)
   * David L. Ferris, suffragan bishop (1920
   *David L. Ferris, coadjutor bishop (1924)
5. David L. Ferris, (1929–1931)
   *Cameron Josiah Davis, coadjutor bishop (1930)
6. Cameron Josiah Davis, (1931–1948)
7. Lauriston L. Scaife, (1948–1970)
   *Harold B. Robinson, coadjutor bishop (1968)
8. Harold B. Robinson, (1970–1987)
   *David C. Bowman, coadjutor bishop (1986)
9. David C. Bowman, (1987–1998)
10. J. Michael Garrison, (1999–2011)
11. R. William Franklin, (2011–2019)

• Sean W. Rowe, as Provisional Bishop (2019–2024)

• List of Succession of Bishops for the Episcopal Church, USA

• Episcopal Diocese of Western New York website
• Episcopal Diocese of Western New York Records: A guide to digitized church records at FamilySearch.org, courtesy of the Buffalo History Museum.
• Rust Belt Episcopal website
• St. Paul's Cathedral website
• Official Web site of the Episcopal Church
• Journal of the Annual Convention, Diocese of Western New York