Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi
The Episcopal Diocese of Mississippi, created in 1826, is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America with jurisdiction over the entire state of Mississippi. It is located in Province 4 and its cathedral, St. Andrew's Cathedral, is located in Jackson, as are the diocesan offices. Episcopalians in Mississippi have, since the mid-20th century, been by and large progressive in their views about race, culture, and other social issues affecting the state and nation; their views on economics and politics, though, are more mixed, as is usually the case elsewhere. The Episcopal Church in Mississippi has usually tolerated freedom of belief and differing types of ritual practice (e.g., Anglo-Catholicism in Biloxi and a liberal orientation in communities like Oxford and Starkville where colleges have significant presences). As such, the fallout from the ideological and theological conflicts that beset the Episcopal Church between the 1970s and 2000s (such as the Gene Robinson controversy) has not been large in comparison to other Southern dioceses (e.g., Tennessee, Fort Worth, South Carolina). As of 2013 the Diocese of Mississippi had 18,741 members, down from 20,925 in 2003, a decline of approximately 10 percent. Current bishop Brian R. Seage was elected