The Consecration of the Bishop

On 6 February 2027, the Diocese of Florida (and the entire Episcopal Church) will ordain and consecrate a new bishop. The Revd. J. Randolph Alexander, Jr., elected at diocesan convention on 11 September 2026, will join a list of bishops dating back to 1784 when The Rt. Revd Samuel Seabury, was consecrated the first bishop in the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Randy will be the 1186th person to serve as a bishop in the entire Episcopal Church. That list includes names we know:

1. Francis Huger Rutledge, #53, (1851)
2. John F. Young, #85 (1867)
3. Edwin Gardner Weed, #140 (1886)
4. Frank A. Juhan, #337 (1924)
5. E. Hamilton West, #484 (1948)
6. Frank S. Cerveny, #699 (1974)
7. Stephen H. Jecko, #892 (1994)
8. S. Johnson Howard, #992 (2003), and,
9. J. Randolph Alexander, Jr., #1186 (2027)
   
   

A wise old bishop, The Rt. Revd Horace W. B. Donegan (#472, New York), who was on staff with me at St. James’s, Madison Avenue, told all of us young staff members, considering ordination, that the only responsibility of a bishop was to bear witness to the resurrection of our Lord Jesus Christ. It is our Lord’s resurrection which gives people fresh new energy. We have elected Randy to bear witness to our Lord’s resurrection, to us and the whole wide world.

In the service of ordination and consecration, Randy will make several vows and promises, the same vows and promises which his predecessors in this office in TEC have made. He will promise to:

• obey Christ and serve in His name,
• be faithful in prayer and the study of Holy Scripture, in order to have the mind of Christ, for He is his help
• boldly proclaim and interpret the Gospel of Christ, enlightening and stirring up the conscience of his people, in the power of the Spirit
• encourage and support all baptized people in their gifts and ministries, nourishing them from the riches of God's grace, praying for them without ceasing, and celebrating with them the sacraments of our redemption.
• guard the faith, unity, and discipline of the Church, for the love of God
• share with his fellow bishops in the government of the whole Church; sustain his fellow presbyters and take counsel with them; and guide and strengthen the deacons and all others who minister in the Church, through the grace given to him
• be merciful to all, show compassion to the poor and strangers, and defend those who have no helper, for the sake of Christ Jesus

In the words which conclude the post-communion prayer of the consecration: “Grant that we, with Randy, may serve you now, and always rejoice in your glory, through Jesus Christ your Son our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever.”