Presiding Bishop election set for June 18

The stage is set to elect the next Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church on Sunday, June 18, at the 75th General Convention.

The 26th Presiding Bishop will succeed the Most Rev. Frank Tracy Griswold III, whose nine-year term ends on November 1.

Seven names will be formally submitted to a 2:30 p.m. joint session of the House of Bishops and House of Deputies on Saturday, June 17, including a slate of four recommended by the Joint Nominating Committee for the Election of the Presiding Bishop.

The nominating committee's slate is:

• The Rt. Rev. Neil Alexander, Bishop of Atlanta;

• The Rt. Rev. Edwin F. Gulick Jr., Bishop of Kentucky;

• The Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori,Bishop of Nevada; and

• The Rt. Rev. Henry N. Parsley, Jr., Bishop of Alabama.

Three other bishops have been nominated by petition, and their names will presumably be formally submitted by their nominators, said the Rev. Dr. Gregory S. Straub, Executive Officer of the General Convention.

The additional nominees for 26th Presiding Bishop are:

• The Rt. Rev. Stacy Sauls, Bishop of Lexington;

• The Rt. Rev. Charles Edward Jenkins III, Bishop of Louisiana; and

• The Rt. Rev. Francisco Duque-Gomez, Bishop of Colombia.

Potentially, others could also be included for consideration.

"Nominations are not closed," Straub said. "There is nothing to preclude a bishop or deputy at the joint session from nominating any eligible bishop on June 17, and the canons do not allow the nominee to decline."

However, Bishop Ken Price of Southern Ohio, secretary of the House of Bishops, said bishops had agreed earlier this year to refuse to consider any nominees whose names had not been put forward by April 1. The deadline allowed time to apply the same medical and psychological screening and background checks undergone by the other candidates.

On June 18, the bishops will convene in executive session at Trinity Church in downtown Columbus.

"The bishops will debate and vote on the nominees," Price said. "The bishops will be sequestered at Trinity Church. There will be a roll call so we have an exact accounting of who is present, and we elect by simple majority."

A total of 311 bishops are eligible to vote, although not all may be present, Straub said. Bishops will vote as many times as necessary until a majority is achieved. Unlike past elections, vote tallies will be made public.

Once the House of Bishops has chosen the Presiding Bishop-elect, it remains in session until the House of Deputies concurs with its choice.

After the deputies concur, the bishops certify the election. The new Presiding Bishop will be installed November 4 in a service at the Washington National Cathedral.

The Presiding Bishop is elected every nine years to serve as the chief pastor and Primate of the church. Canon law charges the Presiding Bishop with responsibility for leadership in initiating and developing church policy and strategy, and for representing church policies, strategies and programs authorized by the General Convention.

The Presiding Bishop is also charged to speak God's words to the church and to the world, as the representative of this church and its episcopate in its corporate capacity. In addition to these key roles, the Presiding Bishop oversees and presides at meetings of the House of Bishops, provides for Episcopal ministry in cases of vacancies and visits the dioceses of the church.

For biographical information on all of the nominees, visit the website at: www.episcopalchurch.org/ens and click on the purple "Election of the 26th Presiding Bishop" button or go directly to Election of the 26th Presiding Bishop.

- by the Rev. Patricia McCaughan for Episcopal News Service.