The Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina (EDUSC) is a diocese in the Episcopal Church. In 2024, the diocese reported average Sunday attendance (ASA) of 5,221 persons, down from 7,108 in 2015. The most recent membership statistics (2023) showed 21,422 persons in 59 churches, a decrease from 23,858 in 2015. No membership statistics were reported in 2024 national parochial reports. The reporting congregations of the diocese had $21,935,791 in plate and pledge income in 2024.
Originally part of the Diocese of South Carolina, it became independent on October 10–11, 1922 following nearly two years of planning. The see city is Columbia. Its cathedral is Trinity Cathedral. The diocese has jurisdiction over congregations in the Upstate (northwestern) and Midlands regions of the U.S. state of South Carolina. The diocese is divided into four deaneries with an appointed dean (clergy) and lay warden: Upstate West, Upstate East, Midlands West, and Midlands East.
The bishop is the Right Rev. Daniel P. Richards. He was elected ninth bishop of the diocese on September 25, 2021 and was consecrated at Trinity Cathedral as bishop on February 26, 2022.
Among the Diocese's many institutions, the Bishop Gravatt Center began service in 1949 as a retreat and summer camp site. Now a non-profit corporation with its own Board of Trustees, the Center remains a vital part of the Diocese through its summer camp Christian formation program and numerous diocesan and parish activities such as Happening, Cursillo, youth retreats, vestry retreats, parish family weekends, etc.Diocesan Profile, Search for the Eighth Bishop of Upper South Carolina, 2008, p.16.
Bishops of Upper South Carolina Honorific & Name Dates 1st Kirkman George Finlay 1922–1938 2nd John James Gravatt 1939–1953 3rd Clarence Alfred Cole 1953–1963 4th John Adams Pinckney 1963–1972 5th George Moyer Alexander 1973–1979 6th William Arthur Beckham 1979–1995 7th Dorsey F. Henderson, Jr. 1995–2009 8th W. Andrew Waldo 2010–20229thDaniel P. Richards2022–
Parishes, Missions, and Institutions
Parishes and Missions + List of Parishes and Missions City Church Website Abbeville Trinity Church Link Aiken Saint Augustine of Canterbury Church Aiken Saint Thaddeus Church Link Anderson Grace Church Link Anderson Saint George's Church Link Beech Island All Saints' Church Link Batesburg Saint Paul's Church — Boiling Springs Saint Margaret's Church Link Camden Grace Church Link Cayce All Saints' Church Link Chapin Saint Francis of Assisi Church Link Chester Saint Mark's Church Link Clemson Holy Trinity Church Link Clinton All Saints' Church Link Columbia Church of the Good Shepherd Link Columbia St. Luke's Church Link Columbia St. David's Church Link Columbia Trinity Cathedral Church Link Columbia Church of the Cross Link Columbia St. Timothy's Church Link Columbia St. John's Church Link Columbia St. Mary's Church Link Columbia St. Martin's in the Fields Church Link Columbia St. Michael & All Angels Church Link Easley St. Michael's Church Link Eastover St. Thomas — Edgefield Church of the Ridge — Fort Mill St. Paul's Episcopal Church — Gaffney Church of the Incarnation Link Graniteville Saint Paul's Church — Great Falls Saint Peter's Church Link Greenville Saint Francis' Church Link Greenville Christ Church Link Greenville Saint Philip's Church Link Greenville Saint Peter's Church Link Greenville Church of the Redeemer Link Greenville Saint Andrew's Church Link Greenville Saint James Church Link Greenwood Church of the Resurrection Link Greer Church of the Good Shepherd Link Hopkins Saint John's Church Link Irmo Church of Saint Simon and Saint Jude Link Jenkinsville Saint Barnabas' Church Link Lancaster Christ Church Link Laurens Church of the Epiphany Link Lexington Saint Alban's Church Link Newberry Saint Luke's Church Link North Augusta Saint Bartholomew's Church Link Ridgeway Saint Stephen's Church Link Rock Hill Church of Our Saviour Link Seneca Church of the Ascension Link Simpsonville Holy Cross Church Link Spartanburg Saint Christopher's Church Link Spartanburg Saint Matthew's Church Link Spartanburg Church of the Advent Link Trenton Church of the Ridge Link Union Church of the Nativity — Winnsboro Saint John's Church — York Church of the Good Shepherd —
Institutions + List of Institutions City Institution Website Aiken Bishop Gravatt Center / Camp Gravatt — Aiken Mead Hall Episcopal School — Columbia George M. Alexander Diocesan House — Columbia Finlay House — Columbia Heathwood Hall Episcopal School — Columbia Saint Lawrence Place — Denmark Voorhees College — Greenville Christ Church Episcopal School — West Columbia Chapel of the Holy Spirit (Still Hopes) Link West Columbia South Carolina Episcopal Home at Still Hopes — York York Place —
References
See also The Episcopal Church Annual. Morehouse: New York, NY, 2009 and the online interactive directory at The Red Book
External links The Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina The Bishop Gravatt Center Trinity Episcopal Church - Columbia, S.C. photos and history