THE diocese of Leeds will be known as such, and will no longer refer to itself as “the diocese of West Yorkshire & the Dales”, the Bishop of Leeds, the Rt Revd Nick Baines, confirmed this week.

The scheme that created the diocese two years ago stated: “The name of the new diocese is the diocese of Leeds but it may be known as the diocese of West Yorkshire and the Dales.”

“We have always legally been the diocese of Leeds, but the experience of the past two years has shown that having two names for the diocese is simply too confusing for people both inside and outside the Church,” the Bishop said..

“As we head towards 2017, when we will finally be operating with one diocesan structure, we now need a new visual identity. For that, we need to be clear about what we call ourselves, so that confusion over the nomenclature doesn’t get in the way of messages we are trying to convey.”

The proposal gained overwhelming support at the diocesan synod in March, and at the diocesan board meeting this week.

The new logo is set to be available in July, and it is expected that the email address @westyorkshiredales.anglican.org will change to @leeds.anglican.org in early May.

The naming of dioceses in general was debated at the General Synod last year (Synod, 20 February 2015). The House of Clergy rejected a draft Measure stating that “the name of a diocese may be taken either from the see of the Bishop of the diocese, or from the geographical area within which the see of the Bishop is situated.”