Sean Walter Rowe (born February 16, 1975) is the eighth and current

Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Northwestern Pennsylvania. He is also bishop provisional of the

Diocese of Western New York The Episcopal Diocese of Western New York, is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America with jurisdiction over the counties of Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans and Wyoming in western New York. ...

. On June 26, 2024, he was elected to succeed Michael Curry as the 28th Presiding Bishop-elect of the Episcopal Church, the youngest person ever elected to that role.''The New York Times'', "The Episcopal Church Has Elected Its Youngest Leader in Centuries"
June 26, 2024. Retrieved June 27, 2024.

Education and early career

Born in Sharon, Pennsylvania, Rowe earned a B.A. in history from Grove City College, an M.Div. from Virginia Theological Seminary, and a Ph.D. in organizational learning and leadership from

Gannon University Gannon University is a private Catholic university in Erie, Pennsylvania. Gannon University has approximately 4,500 students and 46,000 alumni. Its intercollegiate athletics include 18 athletic programs for men and women competing at the NCAA Di ...

. He was, at the age 25, the youngest Episcopal priest in the

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at the time of his ordination, in December 2000. He was rector of St. John's Episcopal Church in Franklin, Pennsylvania in the Diocese of Northwestern Pennsylvania from 2000 to 2007.

Election and consecration

At the time of his election, Rowe was 32 years old, and would become the youngest member of the House of Bishops. Rowe was elected on the first ballot from a slate of four candidates, with 64 lay votes and 29 clergy votes. The election was at the Cathedral of Saint Paul in

Erie, Pennsylvania Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

on May 19, 2007. In October 2009, Rowe was granted an honorary doctorate in divinity from the Virginia Theological Seminary. Rowe received an appointment to the Theology faculty at

in 2008. Rowe was consecrated on September 8, 2007. The consecrators included Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori, Rowe's predecessor Bishop Robert D. Rowley, retired Bishop

Mark Dyer James Michael Mark Dyer (June 7, 1930 – November 11, 2014) was bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem from 1982 to 1995. Early life Dyer was born on June 7, 1930 in Manchester, New Hampshire, the son of James M. Dyer and Anna Mahoney, bo ...

of the Diocese of Bethlehem, Ralph E. Jones, bishop of the Northwestern Pennsylvania Synod of the

Evangelical Lutheran Church in America The Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) is a mainline Protestant Lutheran church headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. The ELCA was officially formed on January 1, 1988, by the merging of three Lutheran church bodies. , it has approxim ...

(ELCA), Arthur Williams, retired

Bishop suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...

of the Diocese of Ohio, and Wayne P. Wright, bishop of

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...

. In 2022, Rowe was awarded the House of Deputies Medal by House of Deputies President Gay Clark Jennings.

Diocese of Bethlehem

In March 2014, Rowe was elected as the Provisional Bishop of the Diocese of Bethlehem in the eastern part of the state. An election for bishop requires a two-thirds majority: Rowe earned 64 of 64 clergy votes and 99 of 100 layperson votes. He continued to serve as bishop of the Diocese of Northwestern Pennsylvania during his time as bishop provisional of Bethlehem, which ended when Bishop Kevin Nichols was consecrated as the ninth bishop of the Diocese of Bethlehem on September 15, 2018.

Diocese of Northwestern Pennsylvania & Diocese of Western New York partnership

On September 22, 2017 Rowe, along with Bishop R. William Franklin of the

Episcopal Diocese of Western New York The Episcopal Diocese of Western New York, is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America with jurisdiction over the counties of Cattaraugus, Chautauqua, Erie, Genesee, Niagara, Orleans and Wyoming in western New York. I ...

and the chairs of the standing committees of the Dioceses Northwestern Pennsylvania and Western New York, sent a letter presenting an idea to "create a unique partnership in which the two diocese would share a single bishop, a single staff." Following a process of listening sessions held across the region, both standing committees approved an arrangement to "share a bishop and staff for five years while exploring a long-term relationship" in May 2018. A joint convention of dioceses was held on October 26, 2018 in Niagara Falls, and the plan was approved by a wide margin. Rowe became provisional bishop of Western New York on April 7, 2019, upon the retirement of Bishop Franklin. In 2022, the Standing Committees of the Dioceses of Western New York and Northwestern Pennsylvania voted to extend the partnership by two years.

Presiding Bishop

On April 2, 2024, Rowe was announced as a candidate to succeed Michael Curry as Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, at the election to be held at the 81st General Convention in

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border ...

, on June 26, 2024. Meeting at Christ Church Cathedral, Louisville, the House of Bishops elected Rowe with 89 of 158 votes cast on the first ballot. His election was later ratified by the laity and clergy in the House of Deputies. He will be the youngest person to serve as Presiding Bishop when his nine-year term begins on November 1, 2024. In a break with tradition, Rowe announced that his installation will be held at the Episcopal Church's headquarters in New York, rather than at the National Cathedral in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

This will take place on November 2, 2024, during a service at the Chapel of Christ the Lord in the Episcopal Church Center.

References

External links

Official website of the Episcopal Dioceses of Northwestern Pennsylvania and Western New York
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rowe, Sean W. 1975 births Living people People from Erie, Pennsylvania Grove City College alumni Virginia Theological Seminary alumni Episcopal bishops of Northwestern Pennsylvania Episcopal bishops of Bethlehem Episcopal bishops of Western New York