The new diocese's acting bishop, the Right Reverend Nick Baines
The first new diocese in the Church of England for 85 years came into being on Easter Day as three dioceses, including Bradford, were merged.
The Diocese of West Yorkshire and the Dales is the largest in the country running from Barnsley in the south, through West and North Yorkshire, to parts of County Durham in the north, covering 656 churches in an area of 2,425 square miles.
Its new acting Bishop, the former Bishop of Bradford, the Right Reverend Nick Baines laid down his pastoral staff on the altar of Bradford Cathedral at a special Easter Day service.
The diocese will be made up of five areas: Bradford, Huddersfield, Leeds, Ripon and Wakefield.
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