Stephen Dwain "Steve" Wood (born 1963 in Cleveland, Ohio) is an American

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

. He is currently serving as the first bishop of the Diocese of the Carolinas, a diocese of the

Anglican Church in North America The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is a Christian denomination in the Anglican tradition in the United States and Canada. It also includes ten congregations in Mexico, two mission churches in Guatemala, and a missionary diocese in Cuba ...

(ACNA), as well as rector of St. Andrew's Anglican Church in

Mount Pleasant, South Carolina Mount Pleasant is a large suburban town in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States. In the Low Country, it is the fourth largest municipality and largest town in South Carolina, and for several years was one of the state's fastest-growin ...

Early life and career

Wood was born in Cleveland, Ohio and grew up in

Wickliffe, Ohio Wickliffe is a city in Lake County, Ohio, United States. The population was 12,750 at the 2010 census. A post office called Wickliffe has been in operation since 1843. The city was named after Charles A. Wickliffe, 11th United States Postmaster ...

. He received his B.A. from Cleveland State University in 1986 and his

M.Div. For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and di ...

from

Virginia Theological Seminary Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), formally called the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia, located at 3737 Seminary Road in Alexandria, Virginia is the largest and second oldest accredited Episcopal seminary in the Unit ...

in 1991, after which he was ordained to the priesthood of the Episcopal Church. Wood served at Episcopal churches in Ohio until being called in 2000 as rector of St. Andrew's, Mount Pleasant, which was then a parish of the

Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina The Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina (EDOSC), known as The Episcopal Church in South Carolina from January 2013 until September 2019, is a diocese of the Episcopal Church. The diocese covers an area of 24 counties in the eastern part of the ...

. Under Wood's leadership, St. Andrews was described as "one of the

Lowcountry The Lowcountry (sometimes Low Country or just low country) is a geographic and cultural region along South Carolina's coast, including the Sea Islands. The region includes significant salt marshes and other coastal waterways, making it an impor ...

’s biggest church success stories", growing to a membership of more than 3,000 and planting new churches in Goose Creek, downtown Charleston, and the Park Circle area of

North Charleston North Charleston is the third-largest city in the state of South Carolina.City Planning Department (2008-07)City of North Charleston boundary map. City of North Charleston. Retrieved January 21, 2011. On June 12, 1972, the city of North Charlest ...

. In 2006, Wood was one of three finalists in the election for Bishop of South Carolina; ultimately Mark Lawrence was elected. In 2010, St. Andrew's voted by a large margin to leave the Episcopal Church and affiliate with the Anglican Church in North America.

Episcopacy

Shortly after joining ACNA, Wood became involved with efforts to create the Diocese of the Carolinas, which was formed with 14 congregations with an average Sunday attendance of over 2,700. He served as vicar general of the diocese while in formation and, in 2012, he was elected to serve as its first bishop. Wood was consecrated on August 25, 2012, at St. Andrew's by Archbishop Robert Duncan. Co-consecrators included Archbishop-elect Stanley Ntagali of Uganda and Bishops

Roger Ames Roger Copeland Ames (born 7 December 1942) is an American Anglican priest. He is the first bishop of the Anglican Diocese of the Great Lakes in the Anglican Church in North America, after being a suffragan bishop for the Convocation of Anglican ...

, John Guernsey, and Alphonza Gadsden.

Notes

External links

Diocese of the CarolinasTreading Grain blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Steve Living people Bishops of the Anglican Church in North America Religious leaders from Cleveland 1963 births People from Wickliffe, Ohio Anglican realignment people