Episcopacy is so fundamental to us that is has been incorporated into the very name of the confederation of dioceses of which we are a part: The Episcopal Church. And we are now embarking on a season of discernment as we prepare to welcome the ministry of the 12th Bishop of Springfield.
Yet, we’re not always clear on what this means, concretely. It’s been quipped that Anglicans have a high view of episcopacy and a low view of bishops!
So … what does it mean to be a bishop? What does it mean to have a bishop? When deacons and priests are ordained, they take a vow of obedience to their bishop. When is it appropriate for a bishop to invoke this vow? What are its boundaries? What does abuse by a bishop look like? What does abuse of a bishop look like?
To help us think about these questions, we will be joined by two distinguished presenters:
The Revd Dr Ephraim Radner is Professor of Historical Theology at Wycliffe College in Toronto, and a priest of the Diocese of Colorado. He is widely published, with special interests in the figural interpretation of scripture and the condition and future of the Anglican Communion. He has an undergraduate degree from Dartmouth and a doctorate from Yale.
The Rt Revd Dr John C. Bauerschmidt has been the 11th Bishop of Tennessee since 2007. He is the Episcopal co-chair of the Anglican-Roman Catholic Ecumenical Dialogue in the United States, and has served since 2015 as part of the International Anglican-Roman Catholic Commission on Unity and Mission (IARCCUM). Bishop Bauerschmidt is a graduate of Kenyon College and the General Theological Seminary, earning his DPhil in Moral & Pastoral Theology in 1991 from Oxford University.
The conference will consist of two 90-minute Zoom meetings, the first from 10:30-12:00 and the second from 1:30-3:00. Clergy should consult their email inboxes for registration details.
