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 Reverend Frank T. Griswold
XXV Presiding Bishop and Primate
The Episcopal Church, USA