The Election of the 14th Bishop of Virginia
Update: Saturday, June 4, 2022
The Rev. Canon Mark Stevenson elected 14th Bishop of Virginia
At the special convention called to elect a new bishop diocesan, delegates from the parishes of the Diocese of Virginia, including St. Stephen's, elected the Rev. Canon Mark Stevenson on the second ballot. Information about Canon Stevenson and about the election is available here.
St. Stephen's delegates present at the convention were Gussie Bannard, Sarah Bartenstein, JB Burtch, Bill Davis, Lynn Ivey, Allen Jamerson, Allison Koschak, Cotesworth Pinckney, Aleta Richards, Pen Rogers, and Meg Tucker.
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On Saturday, June 4, representatives of the parishes that comprise the Diocese of Virginia will gather at St. Stephen’s & St. Agnes School in Alexandria to elect the 14th Bishop of Virginia.
The election of a bishop is as infrequent an event as the calling of a rector, so if you are new to the Episcopal Church, you may never have experienced it. Here’s how it works.
The current bishop, when she or he is ready to step down, will call for the election of a successor on some future date. The request is often made at a regular diocesan convention like the ones that take place annually in November. The bishop may call for the election of a diocesan bishop or a bishop coadjutor. (A coadjutor is a bishop who will work alongside the current bishop for a time before succeeding him or her. See “A bench of bishops,” below.) The Rt. Rev. Susan Goff called for the election of a diocesan bishop at the November 2021 diocesan convention, though she had previewed this call before then, signaling the timetable she intended to follow. She plans to retire in December.
A search committee consisting of clergy and lay people from throughout the diocese was appointed to conduct a process which is similar in many ways to the one our parish discernment committee has been leading.
The diocesan search committee announced their slate in late March, with provisions for the people of the diocese to make additional nominations by petition. The window of time for petition process is limited to allow for additional nominees to undergo the same “vetting” process that those on the original slate have undergone. At the conclusion of the petition process, the Standing Committee of the diocese declined to add more nominees to the slate.
Nominees will participate in a series of gatherings where delegates and other members of the diocese may ask questions to get to know the nominees. The Richmond gathering, one of six held around the diocese, will take place at All Saints’ Church on May 20.
The election of a bishop takes place at a convention called for that purpose. Delegates from each parish, both lay people and clergy, gather to cast ballots, voting by orders (clergy and lay). An election occurs once a nominee receives a majority of votes in both orders on the same ballot. Sometimes this happens quickly, after only a few ballots. Often it does not!
St. Stephen’s Church will be represented at the electing convention by:
The Rev. William S. Stanley
Gussie Bannard
Sarah Bartenstein
Mary Holly Bigelow
JB Burtch
Bill Davis
Lynn Ivey
Allen Jamerson
Allison Koschak
Cotesworth Pinckney
Aleta Richards
Penn Rogers
Meg Tucker
Elected Alternates
Dick Hamrick
Greta Kidd
Craig Merritt
Once the election is complete, our diocese must receive the written consent of a majority of the standing committees and bishops of the dioceses of the Episcopal Church in order for the bishop-elect to be ordained and consecrated.
The date for this service, pending the consents of the other dioceses, is December 3, 2022.
The slate
The slate presented by the search committee is:
The Rev. Joseph Hensley, Rector, St. George’s, Fredericksburg, Virginia (top left)
The Rev. Alan James, Interim Canon Missioner, Diocese of Western Michigan (top right)
The Rev. Gideon Pollach, Rector, St. John’s Church, Cold Spring Harbor, New York (bottom left)
The Rev. Mark Stevenson, Canon to the Presiding Bishop for Ministry within the Episcopal Church (bottom right)
If you are not able to attend the "Meet and Greet" at All Saints, Richmond on Friday, May 20, there are other ways to learn about the nominees.
- Some meet-and-greet sessions will be livestreamed.
- Each nominee has submitted a brief video, a resume, and written answers to a series of questions.
A bench of bishops
As one of the four orders of ministry in the Episcopal Church—lay people, bishops, priests and deacons—bishops are signs of unity in the Episcopal Church, providing not only oversight in their own diocese, but connection among the parishes in their diocese and to the wider church.
There are several kinds of bishops in the Episcopal Church. In order to become a bishop, one must be elected. Most often the election is conducted by a diocese (exceptions include an election for the suffragan bishop of the armed forces, a process that takes place in the Episcopal Church’s House of Bishops). After being elected and receiving consent from a majority of other dioceses, a bishop is ordained and consecrated by at least three other bishops (often the presiding bishop is one of them) in “apostolic succession.”
Bishop Diocesan
A diocesan is the head bishop in a diocese. She or he is the ecclesiastical (church) authority in that diocese, and is elected expressly to serve in that role.
Bishop Coadjutor
A coadjutor is elected to serve alongside the diocesan, and automatically becomes the diocesan when the incumbent resigns. It’s typical for the diocesan to have stated a specific period in mind for this transition, and it’s not generally meant to be a lengthy transition. When diocesan delegates elect the coadjutor, they understand that she or he will eventually become the diocesan bishop.
Bishop Suffragan
A suffragan is elected by a diocese to serve alongside the diocesan, but does not have the right of succession. In addition to the duties that bishops share, such as ordaining new clergy and making regular visits to parishes for Confirmation, a suffragan will typically have areas of specific responsibility assigned to them by the diocesan.
Assistant Bishop
When a diocesan bishop sees a need for an additional bishop to serve in the diocese, but for various reasons does not wish to call for an election for a suffragan or a coadjutor, she or he may call an assistant bishop. In such cases, the diocesan (or ecclesiastical authority) would choose from among men and women already elected and consecrated as bishops elsewhere. The bishop would begin such a process with the consent of the Standing Committee and the approval of the diocesan convention. The assistant bishop’s term concludes with the resignation of the bishop who appointed him or her, unless the diocesan’s successor extends the appointment. The Rt. Rev. Jennifer Brooke-Davidson is an assistant bishop in our diocese. Before she came to Virginia in 2019, after being elected and consecrated as bishop suffragan in the Diocese of West Texas.
Assisting Bishop
The Diocese of Virginia is an unusually large diocese with nearly 180 parishes. Conducting regular parish visitations, as well as several ordinations each year, would be a challenge for just two bishops. The Rt. Rev. Porter Taylor, the former bishop of Western North Carolina, provides this additional support as an assisting bishop.
Bishops, regardless of the role they play in their dioceses, are members of the House of Bishops along with the bishops of other Episcopal dioceses. The House of Bishops and the House of Deputies comprise the General Convention of the Episcopal Church. Deputies are deacons, priests, and lay people elected by their dioceses to serve in this role, eight for each diocese.
Bishop Goff
Bishop Goff has been in an unusual position for the past several years. She was originally elected to serve as suffragan bishop working with the Rt. Rev. Shannon Johnston. When Bishop Johnston resigned as diocesan bishop before calling for an election, the Standing Committee became the ecclesiastical authority of the diocese, as called for in church canons. Believing that the diocese would be best served by not having an election right away, the Standing Committee asked Bishop Goff to serve in a special role; her title has been “Bishop Suffragan and Ecclesiastical Authority.” (The Standing Committee is a group of clergy and lay people with particular canonical responsibilities; they are elected by the diocesan convention.)
Did you know?
Bench is only one of the collective nouns used to describe bishops. Others include a psalter of bishops and a sea of bishops.
Sarah Bartenstein