Florida, Diocese of

The primary convention of this diocese met at St. John's Church, Tallahassee, on Jan. 17, 1838. However, the diocese did not consecrate a bishop until Oct. 15, 1851. On May 2, 1861, the diocese voted to send delegates to the first preliminary meeting of the dioceses of the Confederate States which met July 3-6, 1861, at Montgomery, Alabama. On Feb. 22, 1866, the diocese voted to rejoin the Protestant Episcopal Church. The General Convention of 1892 divided the diocese and created the Missionary Jurisdiction of Southern Florida. The General Convention of 1970 voted to divide the Diocese of Florida again and created a new diocese from Northwest Florida and South Alabama. The Diocese of Florida consists of the following counties: Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Clay, Columbia, Dixie, Duval, Flagler, Franklin (except the city of Apalachicola), Gadsden, Gilchrist, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lafayette, Leon, Levy, Liberty, Madison, Nassau, Putnam, St. John's, Suwannee, Taylor, Union, and Wakulla. On May 4, 1951, St. John's Church, Jacksonville, was set apart as St. John's Cathedral.