Michael Curry | |
---|---|
27th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church | |
Church | Episcopal Church |
Diocese | Non-territorial/non-metropolitical |
In office | 2015–2024 |
Predecessor | Katharine Jefferts Schori |
Successor | Sean W. Rowe |
Other post(s) | Bishop of North Carolina |
Orders | |
Ordination | June 1978 (deacon) December 1978 (priest) by Harold B. Robinson (deacon) John M. Burgess (priest) |
Consecration | June 17, 2000 by Robert Hodges Johnson |
Personal details | |
Born | [1] Chicago, Illinois, U.S. | March 13, 1953
Spouse | Sharon Clement |
Children | 2 |
Education |
Michael Bruce Curry (born March 13, 1953) is an American bishop who was the 27th presiding bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church. Elected in 2015, he was the first African American elected to the role, having previously served as Bishop of North Carolina from 2000 to 2015. His tenure as presiding bishop ended on November 1, 2024, and he was succeeded by Sean Rowe. [2]
Curry noted in his autobiography that both sides of his family were descended from slaves and sharecroppers in North Carolina and Alabama. [3] He was born in Maywood, Illinois, a suburb just west of Chicago. [4] His grandfather and great-grandfather were Baptist ministers. [5] His parents were Dorothy and the Rev. Kenneth Curry, who had been Baptists but became Episcopalians when they were allowed to drink from the same chalice as whites in racially segregated Ohio. [6] His mother died when he was young; his father and grandmother raised him. [7]
Curry attended public schools in Buffalo, New York. [8] He graduated with high honors from Hobart College in Geneva, New York, in 1975. He then earned a Master of Divinity degree, in 1978, from the Yale Divinity School, in association with Berkeley Divinity School. Curry has also studied at The College of Preachers, Princeton Theological Seminary, Wake Forest University, the Ecumenical Institute at St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore, and the Institute of Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies. [7]
Curry was ordained deacon at St. Paul's Cathedral, Buffalo, New York by the Rt. Rev. Harold B. Robinson in June 1978 and priest at St. Stephen's, Winston-Salem, North Carolina by the Rt. Rev. John M. Burgess in December 1978. [9] He served initially as deacon-in-charge and subsequently as rector of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church (1978–1982) in Winston-Salem, North Carolina; then as rector of St. Simon of Cyrene Episcopal Church in Lincoln Heights, Ohio (1982–1988). He served as rector of St. James' Episcopal Church in Baltimore, Maryland (1988–2000). In his three parish ministries, Curry participated in crisis response pastoral care, the founding of ecumenical summer day camps for children, preaching missions, creation of networks of family day care providers, and the brokering of investment in inner city neighborhoods. [10]
Curry was elected eleventh bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina on February 11, 2000. [11] When he was consecrated at Duke Chapel in Durham on June 17, 2000, he became the first African-American diocesan bishop of the Episcopal Church in the American South. Nearly 40 bishops participated in the service, including Robert Hodges Johnson, J. Gary Gloster, and Barbara C. Harris as consecrators. [12]
As a diocesan bishop, he served on the board of directors of the Alliance for Christian Media [10] and chaired the board of Episcopal Relief and Development. [13] He also had a national preaching and teaching ministry and was a frequent speaker at services of worship and conferences around the country.
Throughout his ministry in North Carolina, Curry was also active in issues of social justice, speaking out on immigration policy and marriage equality. [14] Curry also instituted a network of canons, deacons, and youth ministry professionals to support preexisting ministries in local congregations. Curry also led the Diocese of North Carolina to focus on the Millennium Development Goals through a $400,000 campaign to buy malaria nets that saved over 100,000 lives. [15]
On May 1, 2015, the joint nominating committee for the election of the presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church nominated Curry and three other bishops as candidates for 27th presiding bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church. [16] The election occurred on June 27, 2015, at the 78th General Convention meeting in Salt Lake City. [17] Curry was elected by the House of Bishops meeting in St. Mark's Cathedral on the first ballot with 121 of 174 votes cast. Laity and clergy in the House of Deputies ratified Curry's election later the same day. [18] Curry was installed as presiding bishop and primate on November 1, 2015, All Saints' Day, during a Eucharist at Washington National Cathedral. [19] The service included readings in Spanish and Native American languages. [20] [21]
Among Curry's first acts as presiding bishop was the placement of three senior staff at Episcopal Church headquarters on administrative leave pending investigation for violating workplace policies. In April 2016, Curry followed up by dismissing Bishop Stacy Sauls as chief operating officer and dismissing two other senior administrators; Sauls remained a bishop. [22] When announcing the dismissals, Curry stated:
... Our task as staff is to serve The Episcopal Church in such a way that it can serve the world in the Name and in the Spirit of Jesus Christ. We are therefore all called to strive for and adhere to the highest standards of personal and professional conduct embodying the love of God and reflecting the teachings and the way of Jesus. [23]
The precise nature of the policy violations noted by Curry was never disclosed, nor were criminal charges filed. [24]
During 2017 and 2018, Curry launched a series of revivals "that promise to stir and renew hearts for Jesus, to equip Episcopalians as evangelists, and to welcome people who aren't part of a church to join the Jesus Movement." [25] The revivals were scheduled to include multi-day public events in the Episcopal Dioceses of Pittsburgh, West Missouri, Georgia, San Joaquin, and Honduras. The series was expected to culminate in a "joint evangelism mission" with the Church of England in July 2018. [25]
In June 2023, the adult sons and ex-wife of Bishop Prince Singh accused Curry of mishandling their allegations of abuse. [26] Nivedhan and Eklan Singh launched a website dedicated to the allegations and said that they "seek the resignation and defrocking of [their] father from his role as Provisional Bishop of the Dioceses of Eastern and Western Michigan ... and [they] seek to launch a Title IV investigation of Presiding Bishop Michael Curry and Bishop Todd Ousley for mishandling [their] serious allegations of abuse." [27] [28]
In January 2016, Primates in the Anglican Communion gathered at Canterbury Cathedral, mother church of the global Anglican Communion, at the invitation of Justin Welby, the Archbishop of Canterbury. It was the first such meeting attended by Curry as presiding bishop. Human sexuality and the Episcopal Church's July 2015 approval of same-sex marriage rites were prominent topics of discussion. [29] Because of the Episcopal Church's decision to allow clergy to perform marriage ceremonies for same-sex partners, the primates in attendance publicly sanctioned the Episcopal Church for a period of three years. The primates stated that during that three-year period, Episcopal leaders would not be allowed to represent the Anglican Communion on ecumenical and interfaith bodies, would not be elected or appointed to internal committees, and would not take part in decisionmaking on issues pertaining to doctrine or polity. [30] [31]
In the aftermath of the sanctions, Curry maintained his public support for same-sex marriage, stating:
Our commitment to be an inclusive church is not based on a social theory or capitulation to the ways of the culture, but on our belief that the outstretched arms of Jesus on the cross are a sign of the very love of God reaching out to us all. While I understand that many disagree with us, our decision regarding marriage is based on the belief that the words of the Apostle Paul to the Galatians are true for the church today: All who have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is no longer Jew or Gentile, slave or free, male or female, for all are one in Christ. For so many who are committed to following Jesus in the way of love and being a church that lives that love, this decision will bring real pain. For fellow disciples of Jesus in our church who are gay or lesbian, this will bring more pain. For many who have felt and been rejected by the church because of who they are, for many who have felt and been rejected by families and communities, our church opening itself in love was a sign of hope. And this will add pain on top of pain. [31]
As part of the final communique from the gathering, the Anglican primates announced that the Archbishop of Canterbury would appoint a "task group" aimed at healing the rift and rebuilding of mutual trust amidst deep differences. [32] The Archbishop of Canterbury named Curry as one of the 10 members of that "task group" in May 2016. [33]
In October 2016, Curry represented the Anglican Communion as part of a delegation of Anglican primates to the Vatican led by the Archbishop of Canterbury. The leaders joined together in an ecumenical Vespers service led jointly by the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Roman Pontiff, followed by a private meeting between Pope Francis and the Anglican primates. The events honored the fiftieth anniversary since the then Archbishop of Canterbury Michael Ramsey and Pope Paul VI met in 1966, the first such meeting since the English Reformation in the 16th century. The meeting also celebrated the 50th anniversary since the Anglican Centre in Rome was established. [34] Curry emphasized the need for Christian cooperation, publicly stating the following:
[the] mission of the church is to help the human family, with all its variety and all its diversity and all its differences, to find a way to become not simply a disparate community but a human family of God. Dr. Martin Luther King said it this way, "we shall either learn to live together as brothers and sisters, or we'll perish together as fools." The choice is ours, chaos or community. [35]
Curry's presence in Rome was criticized by Nicholas Okoh, Archbishop of Nigeria and chairman of the traditionalist group Global Anglican Future Conference (GAFCON). Okoh publicly stated that Curry's invitation was a violation of sanctions established by Anglican primates during their January 2016 gathering in Canterbury. [36]
Curry was invited by Prince Harry and Meghan Markle to deliver the sermon at their wedding. [37] The wedding took place on May 19, 2018, at St George's Chapel, Windsor Castle in England. Curry's 14-minute sermon attracted considerable comment. [38] [39] [40]
The sermon emphasized the redemptive potential of love and used fire as a metaphor for its power and significance. [41] His enthusiastic style was reportedly well received by some attending the wedding [38] [42] and the address was described as "electrifying the wedding" having "won smiles but also some quizzical glances" [39] and even upstaging the bride, [43] [44] although there were many other positive reactions. The address was wide-ranging in its sources quoting from Martin Luther King Jr., [38] the traditional African-American spiritual "There Is a Balm in Gilead", New Testament epistles, and the French Jesuit priest and scientist Pierre Teilhard de Chardin. [45] In the aftermath of the wedding Curry received widespread international attention, has published a book, and offered several widely republished soundbites on the service, such as "I could feel slaves", [46] [47] and has been frequently interviewed by American media outlets as to provide a spiritual perspective in the aftermath of significant events. [48] [49]
On September 1, 2018, Curry served as the officiant for the state funeral of Senator John McCain. Shortly thereafter, he officiated at the funeral of George H. W. Bush at the Washington National Cathedral on December 5, 2018. [50] Less than a week later he delivered a sermon-like address at "The Spirit of Apollo" program organized by the National Air and Space Museum. The program was held at Washington National Cathedral and commemorated the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 8 mission to the moon. [51] [52]
Curry has received honorary degrees from the School of Theology-Sewanee, Virginia Theological Seminary, Berkeley Divinity School at Yale, the Episcopal Divinity School, [53] the Seminary of the Southwest, [54] and Church Divinity School of the Pacific. [55] Curry was appointed a serving brother of the Order of St John by Elizabeth II on July 25, 2015. [56] In 2019 he received the James Parks Morton Interfaith Award. [57]
Curry is married to Sharon Clement, with whom he has two daughters. [58]
In 2018 Curry underwent surgery as treatment for prostate cancer. [59] [60] In late 2023 he had surgery to remove his right adrenal gland and an attached mass, [61] and was hospitalized in December of that year for subdural hematoma ("brain bleed") caused by a fall. [62] It was the second time he has suffered a subdural hematoma, having been hospitalized in 2015 on his first day in office following a fall. [63] Following surgery in March 2024 to insert a pacemaker, [64] [65] Curry resumed his public engagements in May 2024, including by preaching on Ascension Day at Saint Thomas Church in New York. [66]
The Lambeth Conference convenes as the Archbishop of Canterbury summons an assembly of Anglican bishops every ten years. The first took place at Lambeth in 1867.
Since the 1990s, the Anglican Communion has struggled with controversy regarding homosexuality in the church. In 1998, the 13th Lambeth Conference of Anglican bishops passed a resolution "rejecting homosexual practice as incompatible with Scripture". However, this is not legally binding. "Like all Lambeth Conference resolutions, it is not legally binding on all provinces of the Communion, including the Church of England, though it commends an essential and persuasive view of the attitude of the Communion." "Anglican national churches in Brazil, South Africa, South India, New Zealand and Canada have taken steps toward approving and celebrating same-sex relationships amid strong resistance among other national churches within the 80 million-member global body. The Episcopal Church in the U.S. has allowed same-sex marriage since 2015, and the Scottish Episcopal Church has allowed same-sex marriage since 2017." In 2017, clergy within the Church of England indicated their inclination towards supporting same-sex marriage by dismissing a bishops' report that explicitly asserted the exclusivity of church weddings to unions between a man and a woman. At General Synod in 2019, the Church of England announced that same-gender couples may remain recognised as married after one spouse experiences a gender transition. In 2023, the Church of England announced that it would authorise "prayers of thanksgiving, dedication and for God's blessing for same-sex couples."
The Anglican Church of Mexico, originally known as Church of Jesus is the Anglican province in Mexico and includes five dioceses. Although Mexican in origin and not the result of any foreign missionary effort, the Church uses the colors representing Mexico as well as those of the United States-based Episcopal Church in its heraldic insignia or shield, recognizing a historical connection with that US church which began with obtaining the apostolic succession.
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.
Katharine Jefferts Schori is the former Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church of the United States. Previously elected as the 9th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Nevada, she was the first woman elected as a primate in the Anglican Communion. Jefferts Schori was elected at the 75th General Convention on June 18, 2006, and invested at Washington National Cathedral on November 4, 2006, and continued until November 1, 2015, when Michael Bruce Curry was invested in the position. She took part in her first General Convention of the Episcopal Church as Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church in July 2009.
The Episcopal Diocese of Nevada is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the USA which comprises the entire State of Nevada. The eleventh and current bishop of the Diocese, The Rt. Rev. Elizabeth Bonforte Gardner, was ordained and consecrated by Presiding Bishop Michael Curry at Christ Church Episcopal in Las Vegas on March 5, 2022. On October 8, 2021, the Reverend Gardner was elected bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Nevada.
The Anglican Church of South America is the ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion that covers six dioceses in the countries of Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru, and Uruguay.
The Anglican Episcopal Church of Brazil is the 19th province of the Anglican Communion, covering the country of Brazil. It is composed of nine dioceses and one missionary district, each headed by a bishop, among whom one is elected as the Primate of Brazil. The current Primate is Marinez Rosa dos Santos Bassotto. IEAB is the oldest non-Catholic church in Brazil, originating from the Treaty of Commerce and Navigation signed in 1810 between Portugal and the United Kingdom which allowed the Church of England to establish chapels in the former Portuguese colony. In 1890 American missionaries from the Episcopal Church established themselves in the country aiming to create a national church; unlike the English chapels, they celebrated services in Portuguese and converted Brazilians. The Anglican community of Brazil was a missionary district of the Episcopal Church until 1965, when it gained its ecclesiastical independence and became a separate province of the Anglican Communion. Twenty years later, IEAB began to ordain women. It preaches a social gospel, being known for its commitment to fight against problems that affect vast portions of the Brazilian society, such as social inequality, land concentration, domestic violence, racism, homophobia and xenophobia. Its stance as an Inclusive Church has caused both schisms and the arrival of former Catholics and Evangelicals in search of acceptance.
The Anglican ministry is both the leadership and agency of Christian service in the Anglican Communion. Ministry commonly refers to the office of ordained clergy: the threefold order of bishops, priests and deacons. More accurately, Anglican ministry includes many laypeople who devote themselves to the ministry of the church, either individually or in lower/assisting offices such as lector, acolyte, sub-deacon, Eucharistic minister, cantor, musicians, parish secretary or assistant, warden, vestry member, etc. Ultimately, all baptized members of the church are considered to partake in the ministry of the Body of Christ.
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.
The Global South Fellowship of Anglican Churches (GSFA), formerly known as Global South (Anglican), is a communion of 25 Anglican churches, of which 22 are provinces of the Anglican Communion, plus the Anglican Church in North America and the Anglican Church in Brazil. The Anglican Diocese of Sydney is also officially listed as a member.
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.
Primates in the Anglican Communion are the most senior bishop or archbishop of one of the 42 churches of the Anglican Communion. The Church of England, however, has two primates, the Archbishop of Canterbury and the Archbishop of York.
The ordination of women in the Anglican Communion has been increasingly common in certain provinces since the 1970s. Several provinces, however, and certain dioceses within otherwise ordaining provinces, continue to ordain only men. Disputes over the ordination of women have contributed to the establishment and growth of progressive tendencies, such as the Anglican realignment and Continuing Anglican movements.
Foley Thomas Beach is an American Anglican bishop. He was the second primate and archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America, a church associated with the Anglican realignment movement, and is the first diocesan bishop of the Anglican Diocese of the South. Beach was elected as the church's primate on June 21, 2014. His enthronement took place on October 9, 2014. During his primacy, he served as chairman of the Global Fellowship of Confessing Anglicans Primates Council and led the ACNA through a period that included the COVID-19 pandemic.
Peter David Eaton is the fourth and current bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida.
Héctor "Tito" Zavala Muñoz is a Chilean Anglican bishop. He was the first native Bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Chile and later the first Latin American Presiding Bishop of the Anglican Church of the Southern Cone of America, renamed in 2014 as the Anglican Church of South America. When the new Anglican Church of Chile was inaugurated in 2018 he became its first Presiding Bishop, also known as Archbishop by the Anglican Communion News Service. He is married to Miriam and they have three adult children.
The Anglican Church of Chile is the ecclesiastical province of the Anglican Communion that covers four dioceses in Chile. Formed in 2018, the province is the 40th in the Anglican Communion. The province consists of four dioceses. Its primate and metropolitan is the Archbishop of Chile, Héctor Zavala.
Michael B. Curry, an Episcopal bishop who grew up in Buffalo, was elected Saturday to be the presiding bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church.
The Rev. Michael B. Curry ... ordained Dec. 9
The Most Rev. Michael B. Curry is presiding bishop and primate of The Episcopal Church.
The Right Reverend Michael B. Curry, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, has been appointed as Chair of Episcopal Relief & Development's Board of Directors.
The Rt. Rev. Michael Bruce Curry, Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina, was elected the 27th Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church on the first ballot on June 27.
The public face and style of the Episcopal Church shifted Sunday with the installation of Michael Bruce Curry, the denomination's first African American spiritual leader.
the installation of the Most Rev. Michael Bruce Curry as 27th presiding bishop featured a diverse liturgy
The service that installed Michael Bruce Curry as presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church on Sunday would have been unrecognizable to Episcopalians of the past century.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)Prince Harry and Ms. Meghan Markle have asked that The Most Reverend Michael Bruce Curry, the 27th Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church, give the address at their wedding
Michael Bruce Curry ... eleventh Bishop of North Carolina