Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania

This article is about the Episcopal Diocese formerly known as the Diocese of Harrisburg. For the current Catholic diocese, see Roman Catholic Diocese of Harrisburg.

The Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania is one of the dioceses of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.^[1][2] It was established in 1904 as the Diocese of Harrisburg, separating from the original Diocese of Central Pennsylvania now known as the Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem.^[3]

Diocese of Central Pennsylvania
Location
Country	United States
Ecclesiastical province	Province III
Statistics
Congregations	61 (2023)
Members	8,322 (2023)
Information
Denomination	Episcopal Church
Established	November 29, 1904
Cathedral	St Stephen's Cathedral
Current leadership
Bishop	Audrey Scanlan
Map
Location of the Diocese of Central Pennsylvania
Website
www.diocesecpa.org

St. Stephen's Cathedral, Harrisburg

The seat of the bishop and home of the diocesan offices is St. Stephen's Episcopal Cathedral at 221 North Front Street in Downtown Harrisburg, Pennsylvania.

History

In 1871, the original Diocese of Central Pennsylvania was established. In 1904, the Diocese of Harrisburg split off from the old Diocese of Central Pennsylvania, leaving the remainder to rename itself the Diocese of Bethlehem in 1909. In the 1970s, the name of Central Pennsylvania was re-adopted by the Diocese of Harrisburg. In October 2022, the diocesan conventions of Central Pennsylvania and Bethlehem initiated the process for exploring reunification.^[4] On October 19, 2024, the conventions of the two dioceses both voted to unify as the Diocese of Susquehanna, effective January 1, 2026.^[5]

In the 1880s, the first boys' choir in the diocese was established at Christ Church in Reading, Pennsylvania.^[6]

From October 2006 until May 2014, Nathan D. Baxter was the bishop of the diocese. Following Baxter's retirement Robert Gepert was named as provisional bishop of the diocese. On 14 March 2015, Audrey Scanlan was elected to become the next bishop of the diocese, and was consecrated in September 2015.^[7]

In October 2024, the conventions of the Dioceses of Central Pennsylvania and Bethlehem approved an agreement to reunify, with the merged entity to be called the Episcopal Diocese of the Susquehanna effective January 1, 2026.^[8]

List of Bishops

	Bishop	Dates
1st	Mark Antony De Wolfe Howe	1871-1891 (First Bishop of Central Pennsylvania, present day Diocese of Bethlehem)
2nd	Nelson Somerville Rulison	1891-1897 (Second Bishop of Central Pennsylvania, present day Diocese of Bethlehem)
3rd	Ethelbert Talbot	1898-1904 (Third Bishop of Central Pennsylvania, present day Diocese of Bethlehem)
4th	James Henry Darlington	1905- 1930 (First Bishop of Harrisburg after diocese was created in 1904)
5th	Hunter Wyatt-Brown	1931-1943 (Second Bishop of Harrisburg)
6th	J. Thomas Heistand[9]	1943-1966 (Third Bishop of Harrisburg)
7th	Dean T. Stevenson	1966-1982 (Forth and Last Bishop of Harrisburg & First Bishop of Central Pennsylvania after name was changed in 1971)
8th	Charlie F. McNutt [10][11]	1982- 1995 (Coadjutor Bishop 1980–1982)
9th	Michael W. Creighton [12]	1996-2006
10th	Nathan D. Baxter [13]	2006-2014
11th	Audrey Scanlan [14]	2015–present

See also

• Christ Episcopal Church (Reading, Pennsylvania)