List of original dioceses of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America
The Episcopal Church in the United States of America currently has over 100 dioceses. This was not always the case, however. When the church was originally founded, in the 1780s, it had only nine. These were:
- Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts
- Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut
- Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania
- Episcopal Diocese of Virginia
- Episcopal Diocese of New York
- Episcopal Diocese of Maryland
- Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey
- Episcopal Diocese of Delaware
- Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina
They are represented by the nine white crosses arranged in a red St. Andrew's Cross on a blue field (canton) on the Church arms and flag. The flag is reminiscent of the former national flag of the old Kingdom of England before the first Act of Union in 1706/1707 uniting England and Scotland. In 2012, due to disputes over theology and authority, the standing committee of the Diocese of South Carolina voted to withdraw the entire diocese from The Episcopal Church in the U.S.A. and become an autonomous Anglican diocese. The Episcopal Church maintained that an Episcopal diocese cannot withdraw itself from the national church. There is therefore a dispute over which South Carolina diocese is the successor to the diocese that was one of the original nine. The South Carolina entity which currently operates as a still constituent part of the ECUSA uses the name "Episcopal Church in South Carolina"; the diocese which withdrew uses the older original name "Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina" pending arbitration and legal affairs.