Email to Friend
PITTSBURGH: Kenneth Price approved as provisional bishop
Price now assumes full ecclesiastical authority in the diocese, which he is expected to lead for the next several years until a permanent bishop can be elected.
"It is with great joy that I accept the decision of this convention," Price told convention deputies immediately following the vote.
His selection comes one year after many diocesan leaders and members left the Episcopal Church. During that time, the ecclesiastical authority has been held by a diocesan Standing Committee. It was their decision to recommend a provisional bishop, and Price in particular, for convention's approval, according to a diocesan news release.
Price said he was grateful to be asked to be part of the diocese's rebuilding efforts.
"I am here to support you in that journey in every way that I can," he said in his acceptance remarks.
Price told the convention he would focus his time on providing pastoral care for both clergy and laity. He pledged to visit each of the diocese's 28 active parishes at least once a year and would gather the clergy together regularly. The bishop, who has said his job was not to create policy, called on all to "be respectful of the diversity and theological perspective of every person among us."
Price has been the bishop suffragan, or assistant bishop, in the Diocese of Southern Ohio since 1994. He led that diocese for an interim period from January 2006 until April 2007, after Bishop Herbert Thompson retired and until Thomas Breidenthal was elected. He will serve in Pittsburgh full-time until the time diocese is ready to elect and install a permanent bishop. That process could take two to three years.
Price also serves as secretary of the Episcopal Church's House of Bishops and was appointed by the Archbishop of Canterbury to the Windsor Report Reception Committee.
"Ken is a fine Christian man and is one of our most highly respected bishops. He has a good heart and a sensitive pastoral touch, not to mention a contagious sense of humor," said retired bishop of Western North Carolina Robert H. Johnson, who has been serving this year as assisting bishop in Pittsburgh.
Additional biographical information about Price is available here.
» Respond to this articleSearch
