Mark Sean Sisk (born in

Takoma Park, Maryland Takoma Park is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. It is a suburb of Washington, and part of the Washington metropolitan area. Founded in 1883 and incorporated in 1890, Takoma Park, informally called "Azalea City", is a Tree C ...

, August 18, 1942) was the 15th Episcopal Bishop of New York. He retired on February 2, 2013, when he was succeeded by Andrew M.L. Dietsche.

Early education, career, and marriage

Sisk received his B.S. in

Economics Economics () is the social science that studies the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. Economics focuses on the behaviour and interactions of economic agents and how economies work. Microeconomics analyzes ...

from

The University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of Mar ...

in 1964.Diocese of New York website page on Mark S. Sisk
. Accessed January 20, 2009. He had a call to ministry, and went to The

General Theological Seminary The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church (GTS) is an Episcopal seminary in New York City. Founded in 1817, GTS is the oldest seminary of the Episcopal Church and the longest continuously operating Seminary in the Anglican Communi ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

, where he earned his M.Div. in 1967. He later received honorary doctorates from General Theological Seminary, Honorary Doctor of Divinity, in 1984, and

Seabury-Western Theological Seminary Seabury-Western Theological Seminary (SWTS) was a seminary of the Episcopal Church, located in Evanston, Illinois. It ceased operations as a residential seminary granting the Master of Divinity degree in May 2010, and in January 2012 it moved ...

, in 1998. He is married to Karen Womack Calvert. They have three children and three grandchildren. Sisk was a curate for three years at Christ Episcopal Church, in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and then an associate

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

at Christ Episcopal Church in Bronxville, New York between 1970 and 1973. He was then

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of St. John's Episcopal Church in

Kingston, New York Kingston is a city in and the county seat of Ulster County, New York, United States. It is north of New York City and south of Albany. The city's metropolitan area is grouped with the New York metropolitan area around Manhattan by the United ...

from 1973-1977. From 1977 through 1984, he was the Archdeacon of three suburban counties, under the 13th Bishop of New York, Paul Moore. As part of his duties, he started a Japanese congregation, now in Scarsdale, and a Latino congregation in

Yonkers Yonkers () is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States. Developed along the Hudson River, it is the third most populous city in the state of New York (state), New York, after New York City and Buffalo, New York, Buffalo. The popul ...

. From 1984 to 1998, Sisk was President and

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Bishop of New York

Sisk was elected and consecrated bishop coadjutor of the Episcopal Diocese of New York in 1998.US Conference of Catholic Bishops website
Retrieved January 20, 2009. He was installed as the Bishop of New York at a ceremony on September 29, 2001, at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine. Sisk is actively involved in preaching to churches in his diocese, as well as the cathedral. He raises millions of dollars for Episcopal charities. Sisk is also involved in ecumenism with the

Roman Catholic Church The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

Criticism

Sisk has engendered some criticism from the press for some of his actions as bishop, in particular the firing of a radical priest. He was also involved in the controversy over Bishop Moore's bisexuality.

Public comments

As a leader in the church, Sisk is often asked to comment on public issues. He has a regular column in ''

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'' and the ''

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''. The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' often interviews him on social and religious topics. He takes stances on a variety of issues. He has written many letters that have been collected by the

Anglican Communion The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...

.Anglican Communion official website Mark S. Sisk's letters
Retrieved January 20, 2009.

References

External links