Panama, Diocese of

The House of Bishops placed the Canal Zone under the jurisdiction of the Presiding Bishop on Oct. 17, 1904. The 1919 General Convention established the Missionary District of the Panama Canal Zone and elected James Craik Morris (1867-1944) the missionary bishop. This missionary district included the Canal Zone, and the Republics of Panama, Colombia, Costa Rica, and Nicaragua. In 1956 the House of Bishops created the Missionary District of Central America. The House of Bishops determined that the Missionary District of Panama and the Canal Zone would include the Canal Zone and the Republics of Panama and Colombia. In 1963 the House of Bishops detached the Republic of Colombia from the Missionary District of the Panama Canal Zone. It became a missionary diocese in 1971. In 1981 it was called the Missionary Diocese of Panama. In 1985 it became the Diocese of Panama.