ECCLESISTICAL history will be made on Easter Sunday, with the launch of the Church of England’s first new diocese since 1929.

As well as the newest, the Diocese of West Yorkshire and the Dales will be the largest in the country – covering a sprawling 2,425 square miles.

And with a population of 2.3m people served by 656 Anglican churches the super-diocese will stretch from north of Richmond and the Tees to just south of Barnsley.

It has been formed out of the old dioceses of Ripon and Leeds, Wakefield and Bradford and will retain their three cathedrals.

The current Bishop of Bradford, Nick Baines, will be bishop of the new diocese, a key feature of which will be five smaller “Episcopal areas” - each with its own area bishop and archdeacon, responsible for local decision making.

Bishop Baines will also be the Episcopal bishop of Leeds. The other Episcopal area bishops are Tony Robinson for Wakefield and Huddersfield, Tom Butler for Bradford and James Bell for Ripon.

Bishop Baines said the changes were not about saving money but to help the Church to serve the region more effectively.

“This unprecedented organisational change in the Church of England will facilitate the Church’s mission, combining the intimacy of the local with the advantages of scale,” he said.

“It will enable the Church of England to have a coherent regional voice at the same time as paying attention to distinctive local character.

“We’ve been given a unique opportunity to look afresh at what we do and why we do it, at who we are and for whom we exist.”

Posters, bookmarks and prayer-cards announcing the new diocese are being distributed to every parish church. A new diocesan website, westyorkshiredales.anglican.org, is being launched on Easter Day.