The Episcopal Diocese of Kansas had its origins in an 1859 convention in Wyandotte, Kansas, led by Bishop Jackson Kemper. Charles Calloway, an early pastor in Kansas, had already started a female student college, eventually called Bethany Place. Due to political uncertainties and the advent of the Civil War, the diocese did not elect its first bishop, Thomas Vail, until 1864.

By the 1880s the diocese had over 80 congregations across the state. Bishop Vail began the Kansas Theological School and Christ Hospital, located in Topeka. Also in the late 19th century, Bishop Elisha Smith Thomas began the Salina St. John's Military School. Frank Millspaugh, the first Kansas bishop consecrecated on Kansas soil, took over the bishopric after serving as the dean of Grace Cathedral in Topeka.

Due to the church's growth, the 1901 convention decided to split the diocese in two, creating the Missionary District of Salina (now the Diocese of Western Kansas). Due to economic troubles in Kansas after World War I and during the Great Depression, Bethany College was sold, some of its land going to the new Topeka High School. Christ Hospital, also in debt, was turned over to the city of Topeka in 1949 and, after merging with another hospital, was renamed as Stormont-Vail.

The diocese flourished post-World War II, building new churches. By 1970 women were allowed to attend conventions as deputies. Richard Grine became the first Kansas bishop in almost a century in 1981, ordaining the first woman and creating Venture House in Wichita, Kansas (now Episcopal Social Services). The Kansas School of Ministry was also created in the late 1980s.

The mission of the Episcopal Diocese is to gather, equip, and send disciples of Jesus Christ to witness to God's reconciling love.

[Information taken from the Episcopal Diocese of Kansas' website, http://www.episcopal-ks.org/about/, accessed 8 July 2019.]