wfn.org | Bishop Epting appointed Deputy for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations

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2000-234

Statement from the Presiding Bishop's Office:

Bishop Epting appointed Deputy for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations

     I am pleased to announce the appointment of the Rt. Rev. Christopher Epting, 
Bishop of Iowa, to serve as Deputy for Ecumenical and Interfaith Relations for 
the Episcopal Church. He will move to New York and assume his new duties in mid-
April 2001. Bishop Epting's responsibilities will include coordinating the 
ecumenical and interfaith activities of the Episcopal Church. I very much look 
forward to working with him, and I know his particular gifts will serve us well 
as we work to strengthen and deepen our ecumenical and interfaith relations.

     Bishop Epting received a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Florida in 
1969. His seminary education included a degree with a major in New Testament 
studies from Seabury-Western Theological Seminary and, some years later, a Master 
of Sacred Theology in ascetical theology and spiritual direction from the General 
Theological Seminary.

     After nearly twenty years as a parish priest in Florida, Christopher Epting 
was elected Bishop of Iowa in 1988. During his episcopate, he has focused on 
spiritual renewal and discernment, on cooperative and collaborative ministry 
among congregations, and on the development of the total ministry of all baptized 
persons with clergy and laity working together. He has been active in the ecumenical 
life of Iowa through his commitment to the state Council of Churches, Ecumenical 
Ministries of Iowa and, more recently, with the Interfaith Alliance. 

     Bishop Epting has served on the Standing Commissions on Evangelism and 
Ecumenical Relations, as liaison from the House of Bishops to the National Episcopal 
Cursillo Committee, and on the Executive Council. He has made significant contributions 
to the success of the Called to Common Mission agreement with the Evangelical 
Lutheran Church in America. He is president of Province VI and, as such, sits on 
the Presiding Bishop's Council of Advice. He serves as Bishop Visitor to the Society 
of the Transfiguration, a community of Episcopal nuns in Cincinnati, and as co-patron 
of Affirming Catholicism, a renewal movement of catholic faith and practice within the 
Episcopal Church and wider Anglican Communion.

     He is the father of two adult children. His wife, Pamela, died in March of 2000.
     Bishop Epting comes to his new role at a time when we are seeking to establish 
interfaith dialogue and to expand our relations with churches of the East. I can think 
of no one better suited both by experience and temperament to assume this important 
ministry on behalf of our church.

     The Most Rev. Frank T. Griswold
     Presiding Bishop and Primate
     December 14, 2000