The Anglican diocese

Diocese

A diocese is the district or see under the supervision of a bishop. It is divided into parishes.An archdiocese is more significant than a diocese. An archdiocese is presided over by an archbishop whose see may have or had importance due to size or historical significance...

 of Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago

Trinidad and Tobago officially the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago is an archipelagic state in the southern Caribbean, lying just off the coast of northeastern Venezuela and south of Grenada in the Lesser Antilles...

is the administrative structure grouping together Anglicans in the nation of Trinidad and Tobago under a bishop. As of 2009, it included 30 parishes, and was responsible for 59 primary schools, one special school, and nine high schools. It is part of the Church in the Province of the West Indies

Church in the Province of the West Indies

The Church in the Province of the West Indies is a member province in the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church comprises eight dioceses spread out over much of the West Indies area. The present position of archbishop and primate of the West Indies is held by The Most Rev. John Holder. The Most...

. The current bishop of Trinidad and Tobago is the Very Reverend Calvin W. Bess.

History

The diocese was set up in 1872. Originally, the area was nominally under the charge of the Bishop of London

Bishop of London

The Bishop of London is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of London in the Province of Canterbury.The diocese covers 458 km² of 17 boroughs of Greater London north of the River Thames and a small part of the County of Surrey...

, a situation which had been assumed to hold from 1660 onwards. In 1813, the then Bishop of London denied it was his responsibility, and so it turned out that clergy appointments to the Church in the Colonies were recommended by the local governor, in this case the governor of the Leeward Islands. From 1842 until 1872 the area was administered by the Bishop of Barbados

Bishop of Barbados

The Anglican diocese of Barbados was set up in 1824, as one of two covering the whole Caribbean. Before that, the area was nominally under the charge of the Bishop of London, a situation that had been assumed to hold from 1660 onwards...

. The coat of arms of the diocese was granted by the College of Arms

College of Arms

The College of Arms, or Heralds’ College, is an office regulating heraldry and granting new armorial bearings for England, Wales and Northern Ireland...

 in London in 1951, and includes the Alpha and Omega

Alpha and Omega

The term Alpha and Omega comes from the phrase "I am the alpha and the omega" , an appellation of Jesus in the Book of Revelation ....

 and a version of the Shield of the Trinity

Shield of the Trinity

The Shield of the Trinity or Scutum Fidei is a traditional Christian visual symbol which expresses many aspects of the doctrine of the Trinity, summarizing the first part of the Athanasian Creed in a compact diagram...

.