Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island (Mss. Gr. 41)

The Records of the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island, transferred through the auspices of Bishop John Seville Higgins, were deposited by the diocese in the Special Collections Department of the University of Rhode Island Library in 1976. Additional sizable deposits of records were made in 1982 and 1991, with smaller additions made in the intervening years. In addition to the records generated by the diocese itself, records of Episcopal churches throughout the diocese were deposited in the cathedral as the churches closed or were merged with other churches. Individual members of the clergy and laity also donated records to the cathedral from both active and disincorporated churches.

Since the records originated from a variety of sources, their provenance is uncertain. Over the years much material appears to have been lost due to frequent movement of the records. As a result, only a partial record of a wide variety of diocesan activities has been preserved. In addition, some records were destroyed and other records damaged due to flooding of the area in which they were stored by the 1938 hurricane. Some of the documents are rust and water stained, while leather on some of the bound volumes is decomposing.

The collection is comprised of historical records documenting the history and development of the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island, records deposited with the diocese by parish churches, handwritten and printed sermons -- some dating as early as 1711, and materials relating to the eleven bishops of the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode (see List of Bishops in the Historical Note for names and dates of service).

Additional materials include the writings of Bishop John Seville Higgins, 1927-1989, which contains the published and unpublished works of the ninth Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island, the published Journal of the Proceedings of the Annual Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Rhode Island and published journals of the proceedings of periodic special conventions, photographs, srcapbooks, and general administrative files maintained in the office of the diocesan headquarters as well as the the files relating to the administration of local parishes and their relationship to the bishop and diocesan headquarters.

The collectionn also contains lists of people, baptized, confirmed, or received by the bishop into the Episcopal Church on his visits to the churches of the diocese and materials relating to the Episcopal Church requirement that previously married and divorced individuals seeking to remarry obtain the permission of the bishop before the ceremony can be performed in an Episcopal Church. The final part of this collection is a list published materials relating to the Episcopal Church and the Anglican faith in general. The publications in this series were removed and catalogued into the Episcopal Diocese Book Collection for greater access.