Diocese of Lichfield

The Diocese of Lichfield forms part of the Province of Canterbury of the Church of England.

History
The diocese was founded in 655 as the Diocese of Mercia being renamed Diocese of Lichfield in 669. The following dioceses were then created from it Hereford (676), Lincoln (678), Leicester (680) and Worcester (680).

From 787 to 799 it became the seat of an archbishop given authority over the dioceses of Worcester, Leicester, Lincoln, Hereford, Elmham and Dunwich.

The diocese was moved and renamed Chester in 1075 followed by Coventry in 1102. In 1228 it was renamed once more to Coventry and Lichfield then reversed to Lichfield and Coventry in 1539. In 1837 Coventry was transferred to the Diocese of Worcester.

The area of the diocese incorporates:
 * Staffordshire
 * Shropshire
 * Warwickshire
 * the West Midlands

Archdeaconries and deaneries
The diocese is divided into four Archdeaconries containing a total of twenty-nine deaneries:
 * the Archdeaconry of Lichfield
 * comprises the Deaneries of Lichfield, Penkridge, Rugeley and Tamworth.
 * the Archdeaconry of Stoke
 * comprises the Deaneries of Alstonfield, Cheadle, Eccleshall, Leek, Newcastle, Stafford, Stoke-on-Trent, Stoke North, Stone (formerly Trentham), Tutbury and Uttoxeter.
 * the Archdeaconry of Salop
 * comprises the Deaneries of Edgmond and Shifnal, Ellesmere, Hodnet, Oswestry, Shewsbury, Telford, Wem and Whitchurch, and Wrockwardine.
 * the Archdeaconry of Walsall
 * comprises the Deaneries of Trysull, Walsall, Wednesbury, West Bromwich, Wolverhampton and Wulfrun.