{{Short description|Anglican diocese in North America}} {{Infobox diocese | jurisdiction = Convocation | name = West | rite = Anglican | image = | image_size = | caption = | province = Anglican Church in North America | bishop = William Ilgenfritz | vicar_general = Michael Lenfield | cathedral = | parishes = 10 | members = | website = {{official URL}} | footnotes = }} The '''Convocation of the West''', formerly the '''Diocese of the West''', is a convocation member of the Missionary Diocese of All Saints, as a former Reformed Episcopal Church diocese, also a part of the Anglican Church in North America. It has 10 congregations in six states: Arizona, California, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas, and Washington.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Convocation of the West - Church Locator|url=https://anglicancow.org/pages/church-locator.php|accessdate=10 April 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160425074653/https://anglicancow.org/pages/church-locator.php|archive-date=25 April 2016|url-status=dead}}</ref> On April 6, 2016, the diocese transitioned to a convocation within the Missionary Diocese of All Saints.<ref>{{cite web|title=For Immediate Release: Anglican Convocation of the West|url=https://anglicancow.org/pages/posts/for-immediate-release-anglican-convocation-of-the-west-13.php|accessdate=10 April 2016}}</ref>
==History== The Diocese of the West was founded in 1998<ref>{{cite web|title=History|url=http://www.anglicanprovince.org/en-us/about_us/history.php|accessdate=23 November 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20151020175434/http://www.anglicanprovince.org/en-us/about_us/history.php|archive-date=20 October 2015|url-status=dead}}</ref> as part of the Anglican Province of America (APA), a Continuing Anglican church in the Anglo-Catholic tradition. In 2008, its bishop, Richard Boyce, arranged for the diocese to affiliate with the Reformed Episcopal Church. To that point, the APA and REC had been in full communion, but Boyce sought for the Diocese of the West to have full participation in the Common Cause Partnership that led to the creation of the Anglican Church in North America in 2009.<ref name=Virtue>{{cite news|last=Virtue|first=David|title=Anglican Province of America's Diocese of the West Joins Reformed Episcopal Church|url=http://www.virtueonline.org/portal/modules/news/article.php?storyid=8954#.UE8615Fi0_g|accessdate=10 February 2016|newspaper=Virtue Online|date=9 September 2008}}</ref> The Diocese of the West was the only diocese of the Continuing Anglican Movement to join the ACNA.<ref>{{cite web|title=For Immediate Release: Anglican Convocation of the West|url=https://anglicancow.org/pages/posts/for-immediate-release-anglican-convocation-of-the-west-13.php|accessdate=10 April 2016}}</ref>
In 2011, Winfield Mott, the co-adjutor bishop of the West, became diocesan bishop upon Boyce's retirement.<ref>{{cite web|title=Our Leadership|url=https://anglicancow.org/pages/about-us/our-leadership.php|accessdate=10 February 2016}}</ref> Anticipating Mott's retirement in 2016,<ref>{{cite web|title=Convocation Status|url=https://anglicancow.org/pages/posts/bishops-letter-convocation-status-3.php|accessdate=10 February 2016}}</ref> and without the support of REC bishops to elect a diocesan bishop necessary for the diocese to continue, the standing committee of the Diocese of the West voted unanimously to transition from an REC diocese into a convocation within the Missionary Diocese of All Saints.<ref>{{cite web|title=Convocation Status|url=https://anglicancow.org/pages/posts/bishops-letter-convocation-status-3.php|accessdate=10 February 2016}}</ref> The last synod of the Diocese of the West was held on April 5–6, 2016, and the organizing synod of the Convocation of the West was on April 6–7, 2016, and overlapping the concluding synod of the Diocese of the West. At the organizing synod, Winfield Mott was elected the Vicar General. He expressed his wish that the Convocation of the West would become a diocese again, with the help of the Missionary Diocese of All Saints.<ref>{{cite web|title=For Immediate Release: Anglican Convocation of the West|url=https://anglicancow.org/pages/posts/for-immediate-release-anglican-convocation-of-the-west-13.php|accessdate=10 April 2016}}</ref> He was replaced the same year by Canon Michael Lenfield.<ref>[https://anglicancow.org/pages/about-us/our-leadership.php Anglican Convocation of the West Official Website]</ref>
==References== {{reflist}}
==External links== * {{Official website}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Convocation of the West}} Category:Former dioceses of the Anglican Church in North America Category:Anglican dioceses established in the 20th century