The Bishop of Springfield





The Right Reverend Daniel H. Martins
Eleventh Bishop of Springfield

The Right Reverend Daniel Hayden Martins was consecrated as the Eleventh Bishop of Springfield on Saturday, March 19, 2011, being the Feast of St. Joseph at the First United Methodist Church, Springfield, Illinois. Bishop Martins was elected on Saturday, September 18, 2010, being the Feast of Edward Pusey, Priest, in the Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Springfield, Illinois.

Bishop Martins was born in Brazil and raised in the Chicago suburbs. He was ordained on June 18, 1989 and December 20, 1989 as deacon and priest respectively. Bishop Martins graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Music from Westmont College in Santa Barbara, California, in 1973. In 1975, he graduated with a Master of Arts degree in Music History from the University of California at Santa Barbara. He received his theological education at Nashotah House Theological Seminary in Wisconsin, graduating with a Master of Divinity degree, cum laude, in 1989.

Serving his curacy at St. Luke’s Episcopal Church, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, (1989-1991) where he was also the Chaplain at the parish day school, the Bishop served as Vicar of St. Margaret’s Church, Baton Rouge, Louisiana from 1991-1994. He ministered to both parishes in the Diocese of Louisiana. Bishop Martins then accepted a call to be the Rector of St. John the Evangelist Church in Stockton, California, (1994-2007) in the Diocese of San Joaquin. He last served as Rector of St. Anne’s, Warsaw, Indiana, from 2007-2011.

At the diocesan level, the Eleventh Bishop of Springfield has served on the Executive Board and Cursillo Staff in the Diocese of Louisiana, as Secretary of Convention, Rural Dean, Chair of Liturgy & Church Music, Chair of Examining Chaplains and a Member of the Standing Committee in the Diocese of San Joaquin, and more recently as a Member of the Commission on Ministry, the Standing Committee, and Examining Chaplains in the Diocese of Northern Indiana. Nationally, he has served as a Deputy to the 2003, 2006, and 2009 General Conventions.

The Bishop has been married to Brenda F. Martins since 1972 and the couple has three grown children.