The bishops of Chicago and Quincy have written a joint letter to their people on the eve of the dioceses’ reunion on September 1. The reunion proceeds now that a majority of bishops and standing committees have agreed to it.
The Diocese of Chicago will retain its name and what has been the Diocese of Quincy will become known as the Peoria Deanery. It will include the 125 congregations and chaplaincies and more than 36,000 members of the existing Diocese of Chicago in northern Illinois, and the nine congregations and 755 members of the Diocese of Quincy in west central Illinois.
“We have already taken a significant step toward building our reunited diocese,” said the letter from the Rt. Rev. Jeffrey D. Lee, Bishop of Chicago, and the Rt. Rev. John C. Buchanan, provisional bishop of Quincy. “Beginning in early 2014, Bishop Buchanan will become an assisting bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago. He joins Bishop C. Christopher Epting in this part-time role, and will assist Bishop Lee with visitations and other pastoral responsibilities within the bounds of the former Diocese of Chicago. His work will allow Bishop Lee and Bishop Epting to devote more of their time to work in the new Peoria Deanery.”
The first convention of the reunited diocese will meet November 22-23 in Lombard. The Rev. Alberto Cutie, formerly a Roman Catholic priest and now priest-in-charge at Church of the Resurrection in Biscayne Park, Florida, will be the keynote speaker.
