Mark Lawrence (bishop)

Last updated
The Right Reverend

Mark Lawrence
Bishop of South Carolina
Church Anglican Church in North America
Diocese South Carolina
See Charleston
In office2008–2012 (within The Episcopal Church
2012–2014 (as bishop of the autonomous diocese)
2014–2017 (as bishop of the Global South diocese)
2017–2022 (as bishop of the Anglican Church in North America diocese)
Predecessor Edward Salmon
Successor Chip Edgar
Orders
Consecration26 January 2008 (Episcopal Church)
by  Clifton Daniel
Personal details
Born (1950-03-19) March 19, 1950 (age 74)
Bakersfield, California

Mark Joseph Lawrence (born March 19, 1950, in Bakersfield, California) is an American bishop. He was the bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina from 2008 to 2012, and of the diocese now known as the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina from 2012 to 2022. In November 2012, under his leadership, a large portion of the old diocese withdrew from the national Episcopal Church to become an independent Anglican diocese. They continued to operate under the name "Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina", whose use was disputed by the national Episcopal Church. The Episcopal Church did not recognize this diocesan withdrawal, instead considering Lawrence to have abandoned the church and his position as diocesan bishop. Lawrence's diocese affiliated with the Anglican Church in North America in 2017 and in 2019 began referring to itself as the "Anglican Diocese of South Carolina".

Contents

According to the official website of the global Anglican Communion, [1] the independent diocese under Lawrence's leadership is not a member of the communion. [2] However, the steering committee of the Anglican Global South recognized Lawrence as bishop over a diocese "within the Anglican Communion" in December 2012 and recognized the diocese as part of the Anglican Global South in August 2014. [3] [4] Such disagreements over Anglican Communion membership have sometimes arisen in churches undergoing Anglican realignment. The status of the Anglican Diocese of South Carolina has been the subject of multiple state and federal lawsuits, some of which are still ongoing.

Personal life

Lawrence has been married to Allison Kathleen Taylor since 1973. They have five children, some of whom are themselves involved in the ministry. Son Chadwick is an Episcopal priest and headmaster in Beaufort, South Carolina. Daughter Adelia is married to Stephen Matson, who is serving as Family Ministries director in Grove City, PA. Son Joseph is a postualant for ordination attending Trinity School for Ministry. Daughter Chelsea is married to Jason Hamshaw, rector at All Saints’ Anglican Church in Florence, South Carolina.

Studies

Lawrence has a Bachelor of Arts degree from the California State University in Bakersfield (1976) and a Master of Divinity degree from Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry in Ambridge, Pennsylvania (1980). He also has honorary degrees from Nashotah House (2008) and Sewanee (2009).

Ministry

Lawrence was born in Bakersfield, California, on March 19, 1950. A fifth generation Californian, he was educated at California State University, Bakersfield (BA, 1976) and Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry (M. Div. 1980). He has also received honorary degrees from Nashotah House (D.D. 2008) and Sewanee (D.D. 2009). He has ministered in a wide variety of parish settings from suburban church plant, rural mission, inner city church, to downtown parish in California and Pennsylvania. These include Holy Family, Fresno, California; Saint Mark’s, Shafter, California (1981-1984); Saint Stephen’s, McKeesport, Pennsylvania (1984-1997) where he also established on Mon Valley Tri-Church Ministry taking two smaller congregations under a multi-staff network; and Saint Paul’s, Bakersfield, California (1997-2007). Known for being a dedicated pastor-teacher, Lawrence also served, among many other capacities, the Commission on Ministry, the Standing Committee, the Board of Examining Chaplains, and rural dean. He also served as a deputy to the General Conventions of 2003 and 2006. He has published articles on devotional and ecclesial concerns in various periodicals. [5]

Lawrence was known as a theological conservative in the Episcopal Church. He was consecrated as the diocesan bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina on January 26, 2008, after a second election. He had first been elected in 2006, but did not gain approval to take office. His second election was approved following his reassurances that he would keep the diocese within the Episcopal Church.

As bishop, Lawrence opposed all liberal policies of the Episcopal Church until the final rupture took place on October 18, 2012, when the Episcopal Church found him guilty of abandoning the church and renouncing its order. [6] On November 17, 2012, a special convention of his departing diocese took place. [7] The convention affirmed disaffiliation from the Episcopal Church and amended the diocesan constitution and canons to remove all references to the Episcopal Church. [8] These actions were deemed ultra vires by the Episcopal Church and are currently the subject of ongoing lawsuits.

Lawrence attended the general assembly of the Anglican Church in North America in June 2013, where he was one of the speakers. [9]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nashotah House</span> Anglo-catholic seminary in the United States

Nashotah House is an Anglican seminary in Nashotah, Wisconsin. The seminary opened in 1842 and received its official charter in 1847. The institution is independent and generally regarded as one of the more theologically conservative seminaries in the Episcopal Church. It is also officially recognized by the Anglican Church in North America.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Robert Duncan (bishop)</span> American Anglican bishop

Robert William Duncan is an American Anglican bishop. He was the first primate and archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) from June 2009 to June 2014. In 1997, he was elected bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh. In 2008, a majority of the diocesan convention voted to leave the diocese and the Episcopal Church and, in October 2009, named their new church the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh. Duncan served as bishop for the new Anglican diocese until 10 September 2016 upon the installation of his successor, Jim Hobby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frank Griswold</span> American bishop (1937–2023)

Frank Tracy Griswold III was an American clergyman who served as the 25th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee</span> Diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States

The Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America that covers roughly Middle Tennessee. A single diocese spanned the entire state until 1982, when the Episcopal Diocese of West Tennessee was created; the Diocese of Tennessee was again split in 1985 when the Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee was formed. It is headquartered in Nashville, Tennessee.

Henry Nutt Parsley, Jr. is an American prelate of the Episcopal Church and the retired tenth Bishop of Alabama, and the former Provisional Bishop of the Diocese of Easton. Parsley is also a former Chancellor of the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee. He now resides in Wilmington, North Carolina and attends St. James Parish in Wilmington.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Episcopal Diocese of Georgia</span> Diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States

The Episcopal Diocese of Georgia, USA is one of 20 dioceses that comprise Province IV of the US Episcopal Church, and is a diocese within the worldwide Anglican Communion. The current bishop is Frank S. Logue, who succeeded Scott Anson Benhase on May 30, 2020, when he was consecrated 11th bishop of Georgia at a service held in Christ Church in Savannah, Georgia.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anglican Diocese of South Carolina</span> Anglican diocese in the United States

The Anglican Diocese of South Carolina (ADOSC) is a diocese of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA). The diocese covers an area of 24 counties in the eastern part of the state of South Carolina. In 2019, it had 18,195 baptized members and 47 parishes. The see city is Charleston, home to the Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh</span> Diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States

The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh is a diocese in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Geographically, it encompasses 11 counties in Western Pennsylvania. It was formed in 1865 by dividing the Episcopal Diocese of Pennsylvania. The diocesan cathedral is Trinity Cathedral in downtown Pittsburgh. The Rt. Rev. Ketlen A. Solak was consecrated and seated as its current bishop in autumn 2021.

The Anglican realignment is a movement among some Anglicans to align themselves under new or alternative oversight within or outside the Anglican Communion. This movement is primarily active in parts of the Episcopal Church in the United States and the Anglican Church of Canada. Two of the major events that contributed to the movement were the 2002 decision of the Diocese of New Westminster in Canada to authorise a rite of blessing for same-sex unions, and the nomination of two openly gay priests in 2003 to become bishops. Jeffrey John, an openly gay priest with a long-time partner, was appointed to be the next Bishop of Reading in the Church of England and the General Convention of the Episcopal Church ratified the election of Gene Robinson, an openly gay non-celibate man, as Bishop of New Hampshire. Jeffrey John ultimately declined the appointment due to pressure.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Anglican Church in North America</span> Anglican realignment province

The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is a Christian denomination in the Anglican tradition in the United States and Canada. It also includes ten congregations in Mexico, two mission churches in Guatemala, and a missionary diocese in Cuba. Headquartered in Ambridge, Pennsylvania, the church reported more than 1,000 congregations and more than 128,000 members in 2023. The first archbishop of the ACNA was Robert Duncan, who was succeeded by Foley Beach in 2014. In June 2024, the College of Bishops elected Steve Wood as the third archbishop of the ACNA. Authority was transferred to him during the closing Eucharist at the ACNA Assembly 2024 conference in Latrobe, Pennsylvania.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Russell Jacobus</span> American bishop

Russell Edward Jacobus was the seventh Bishop of the Diocese of Fond du Lac in The Episcopal Church. Jacobus was consecrated as bishop on 24 May 1994. Prior to becoming bishop, he served as Rector of St. Matthias Episcopal Church in Waukesha, Wisconsin. At the close of Diocesan convention on October 20, 2012, he announced his intention to retire one year hence, on October 31, 2013.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Episcopal Church (United States)</span> Protestant Anglican denomination

The Episcopal Church (TEC), also officially the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America (PECUSA), is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church is Sean W. Rowe.

Louis Wahl Falk III is the President of the House of Bishops of the Anglican Church in America. Until 2002 he was the primate of the Traditional Anglican Communion, an international body of continuing Anglican churches.

Keith Lynn Ackerman is an American Anglican bishop. Consecrated as a bishop for the Diocese of Quincy in the Episcopal Church, he is currently bishop vicar of the Anglican Diocese of Quincy of the Anglican Church in North America and assisting bishop of the Diocese of Fort Worth.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">C. Wallis Ohl Jr.</span> American bishop

Charles Wallis Ohl Jr. is an American bishop who was the Provisional Bishop of Fort Worth in The Episcopal Church. Jack Iker had been the Bishop of Fort Worth in the Episcopal Church until a super-majority of the diocese voted to dissolve its union with the General Convention at the 2007 and 2008 diocesan conventions. Those members of the diocese who wished to remain in the Episcopal Church met in a special convention on February 7, 2009. Edwin F. Gulick Jr., the Bishop of Kentucky who was planning to retire soon, was appointed as Provisional Bishop. In November 2009, the Annual Convention of that diocese elected Ohl as their new provisional bishop.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina</span> Diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States

The Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina (EDOSC), known as The Episcopal Church in South Carolina from January 2013 until September 2019, is a diocese of the Episcopal Church. The diocese covers an area of 24 counties in the eastern part of the U.S. state of South Carolina. The see city is Charleston, home to Grace Church Cathedral and the diocesan headquarters. The western portion of the state forms the Episcopal Diocese of Upper South Carolina. As a diocese of the Episcopal Church, the Diocese of South Carolina is part of the worldwide Anglican Communion and traces its heritage to the beginnings of Christianity.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mouneer Anis</span> Egyptian Anglican bishop

Mouneer Hanna Anis is an Egyptian Anglican bishop. He was Bishop of Egypt from 2000 to 2021, and the first Anglican Archbishop of Alexandria from 2020 to 2021. He was the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in Jerusalem and the Middle East from 2007 to 2017, when his diocese was part of that ecclesiastical province.

William Matthew Merrick Thomas was an American missionary bishop of the diocese which eventually became the Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil.

Brian Lee Cole is an American prelate of the Episcopal Church who is the current Bishop of East Tennessee.

References

  1. ↑ "Anglican Communion". www.anglicancommunion.org/. Retrieved 31 July 2024.
  2. ↑ "Anglican Communion: Member Church".
  3. ↑ ""Steering Committee Primates of Global South Recognize Lawrence's Legitimate Episcopal Oversight", Diocese of South Carolina, 14 December 2012". Archived from the original on 14 July 2014. Retrieved 7 June 2014.
  4. ↑ "Global South Welcomes the Diocese of South Carolina", Diocese of South Carolina, 21 August 2014.
  5. ↑ Bishop Mark J. Lawrence Biography
  6. ↑ "After Bishop is Accused of Abandoning the Episcopal Church, Diocese Really Does", Christianity Today, 18 October 2012
  7. ↑ Special Convention Called for November 17, 2012
  8. ↑ "Special Convention Approves Canonical and Constitutional Amendments Regarding Disassociation" Archived 2012-12-01 at the Wayback Machine (November 17, 2012). Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina.
  9. ↑ Diocesan Delegation Observers at ACNA's Provincial Council, Diocese of South Carolina official website, 21 June 2013.
Religious titles
Preceded by XIV Bishop of South Carolina (TEC)
2008–2012		Succeeded by
Charles vonRosenberg
(provisional)
XIV Bishop of South Carolina (ACNA)
2017–2022		Succeeded by
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.