The Bishop of the Falkland Islands is a bishopric in the Church of England

Church of England

The Church of England is the officially established Christian church in England and the Mother Church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. The church considers itself within the tradition of Western Christianity and dates its formal establishment principally to the mission to England by St...

; it was originally the ordinary

Ordinary

In those hierarchically organised churches of Western Christianity which have an ecclesiastical law system, an ordinary is an officer of the church who by reason of office has ordinary power to execute the church's laws...

 of the Diocese of the Falkland Islands.

History

Waite Stirling, a missionary from the Patagonian Missionary Society (renamed the South American Missionary Society

South American Missionary Society

The South American Mission Society was founded at Brighton in 1844 as the Patagonian Mission. Captain Allen Gardiner, R.N., was the first secretary. The name "Patagonian Mission" was retained for twenty years, when the new title was adopted...

 in 1868) was ordained in Westminster Abbey

Westminster Abbey

The Collegiate Church of St Peter at Westminster, popularly known as Westminster Abbey, is a large, mainly Gothic church, in the City of Westminster, London, United Kingdom, located just to the west of the Palace of Westminster. It is the traditional place of coronation and burial site for English,...

 on 21 December 1869, as the first Bishop of the Falkland Islands. Stirling had episcopal jurisdiction over "the whole of South America with the exception of British Guiana". Bishop Stirling served the people of the Falkland Islands for 30 years, later becoming Canon of Wells Cathedral

Wells Cathedral

Wells Cathedral is a Church of England cathedral in Wells, Somerset, England. It is the seat of the Bishop of Bath and Wells, who lives at the adjacent Bishop's Palace....

.

Until well into the twentieth century, the Bishop of the Falkland Islands had episcopal authority over the whole of South America, until power shifted to the Bishop of Buenos Aires

Bishop of Buenos Aires

The Bishop of Argentina is a bishop in the Anglican communion, the head of the Anglican Diocese of Argentina.Buenos Aires succeeded the Falkland Islands as the episcopal seat for the whole of South America during the 19th century, but it is now the seat only for the Diocese of Argentina within the...

. In 1982, the Argentinian episcopal authority over the Falkland Islands was abolished; today the Rector of the Cathedral reports directly to the Archbishop of Canterbury and receives pastoral guidance from the Archbishop's Commissary, Stephen Venner, Bishop to the Forces. The Archbishop retains the title Bishop of the Falkland Islands, while his Commissary takes the title Bishop for the Falkland Islands.

Bishop of the Falkland Islands

Dates	Name
1869–1900	Waite Stirling
1902	Edward Every
1902	Lawrence Blair Lawrence Blair Lawrence Blair, Ph.D. is an anthropologist, author, explorer and filmmaker. Born in England, he is now a resident of Bali, Indonesia for the past 35 years.-Life and Career:...
1919	Norman de Jersey
1936	John Weller
1945	Daniel Evans
1964	Cyril Tucker
1975–1978	Richard Cutts Richard Cutts (bishop) Richard Stanley Cutts was the Anglican Bishop of Argentina and Eastern South America. He acted as Episcopal Commissary for the Falkland Islands, on behalf of the Archbishop of Canterbury, from 1978 until the outbreak of the Falklands War when Episcopal oversight was transferred to the Bishop to the... , Bishop of Argentina, Archbishop's Commissary
1978–present	The Lord Archbishop of Canterbury Archbishop of Canterbury The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...

Bishop for the Falkland Islands

Dates	Name	Other offices
16 January 2007 to present	Stephen Venner Stephen Venner Stephen Venner DL is the present Bishop to the Forces and Bishop for the Falkland Islands in the Church of England.-Education and career:Venner studied English at the University of Birmingham and is a qualified teacher... , Archbishop's Commissary	Bishop of Dover Bishop of Dover The Bishop of Dover is an episcopal title used by a suffragan bishop of the Church of England Diocese of Canterbury, England. The title takes its name after the town of Dover in Kent...  (1999–2009); Bishop to the Forces Bishop to the Forces The Anglican church in the British Armed Forces falls under the jurisdiction of the Archbishop of Canterbury, however for all practical purposes the function is performed by the Bishop to the Forces. His full title is "The Archbishop of Canterbury's Episcopal Representative to the Armed Forces"... (2009—)