Conservative Anglican Church in North America Elects New Archbishop
Bishops of the Anglican Church in North America elected a new archbishop to replace their inaugural archbishop on Sunday at the conclusion of a three-day conclave in Pennsylvania.
The Right Rev. Dr. Foley Beach of the Diocese of the South, based in suburban Atlanta, will succeed the Most Rev. Robert Duncan of Pittsburgh, the denomination's founding archbishop, according to the church's website.
The voting was held in Latrobe, Pennsylvania. "The election occurred Sunday afternoon at the conclusion of the College of Bishops three-day conclave where they met in the crypt of the basilica at Saint Vincent Archabbey," said the Rev. Andrew Gross, Communications Director for the denomination.
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Dr. Beach will serve a five-year term and is eligible for re-election, the church said.
The Anglican Church in North America, which is not recognized by the global Anglican Communion, was founded by those who were unhappy with liberal trends in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church in Canada.
The new archbishop will officially take office at the conclusion of the church's Provincial Assembly, which begins Wednesday in Latrobe, with a formal investiture to follow in the coming months.
"I am delighted by this election and how the College of Bishops, after much deliberation and prayer, came to a unanimous decision," Archbishop Duncan said in a statement. "This is a happy day for the Anglican Church in North America, a happy day for the Anglican Communion, and a happy day for the Christian Church."
Duncan will continue in his role as bishop of the Anglican Diocese of Pittsburgh.
Archbishop-elect Beach is known for his passion to share the Word of God "in such a way as to help others discover the incredible living Jesus," says the denomination, which consists of 112,000 Anglicans in nearly 1,000 congregations across the United States, Canada, and Mexico.
Dr. Beach made his first public appearance as archbishop-elect Sunday afternoon at a vespers service at Church of the Ascension in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh, according to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
He served as the rector and pastor of Holy Cross Anglican Church in Loganville, Georgia, from its founding in February 2004 until December. He has also served in ministry with Young Life, the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Church.
Dr. Beach is a graduate of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, the School of Theology at the University of the South, and Georgia State University.
He and his wife, Allison, are married for three decades and have two grown children.
