Companion Diocese

Companion diocese relationships are formally recognized by the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church at the request of the dioceses involved, on the basis of a resolution by both partners proposing the companion relationship. The companion dioceses usually commit to the relationship for a fixed period of years, but this commitment is renewable. A companion relationship may be shared as long as the dioceses wish to continue the relationship.

A diocese of the Episcopal Church may enter into a companion relationship with an overseas diocese of the Anglican Communion. The mission of the dioceses in the companion relationship includes mutual encouragement and prayer, intensified understanding and concern, and the exchange of both spiritual and material resources. Companion relationships are to strengthen the Anglican Communion through the direct experience of interdependence across cultural and geographical boundaries. Each partner in the companion relationship is to be both a giver and a receiver.