Centenary of the diocese and cathedral

Our plans for 2027

Our diocese and our cathedral are celebrating their centenaries in 2027. The Diocese of Portsmouth was officially created on 1st May 1927, meaning that St Thomas Church became Portsmouth Cathedral. The first Bishop of Portsmouth was officially enthroned on 6th October 1927.

Various special events are planned to mark the occasion, including an exhibition of photos and artefacts within the cathedral. There will be special services in our cathedral, one to be held in May and one to be held in October to mark the official centenaries of those seminal events. We also hope to host a special open-air service in July, at which thousands of worshippers might gather together to thank God for his faithfulness over the past 100 years.

Among the ideas is a project to celebrate ‘100 Faces’ to mark 100 years of the diocese and cathedral. We’re taking photos of 100 different worshippers from across the diocese, and hope to exhibit those photos in our cathedral at some point during 2027. Each photo will be accompanied by a caption, telling their story of faith, as a way of celebrating the wonderful people who are part of our cathedral and diocese. These photos – and some accompanying videos – will be shared on our website and social media as well.

How can you help?

Do you have documents, photos, artefacts or souvenirs from the past 100 years that you think might be relevant for our exhibition? If so, we’d love to hear from you. We can’t display everything, but we’d be grateful to hear about anything you have that might be relevant. Photos of your church buildings or church congregations over the past 100 years may well be very welcome, as they might help to tell our diocese’s story. Email us here to tell us more.

Many parishes have also nominated individuals with interesting stories to tell as part of our ‘100 Faces’ project. We’ve now taken 61 of the 100 photos. But there is still space for you to nominate those whose stories reveal something of how God is working across our diocese. We’re not necessarily looking for those who have been part of our churches for decades – it might be a younger person or someone new to your congregation. But email us here if there’s someone you’d like to nominate (just ask their permission first!).