The Diocese of East Tennessee has looked to the neighboring Diocese of Lexington to elect its fifth bishop.
An electing convention on July 28 chose the Rev. Brian Cole, rector of Church of the Good Shepherd in Lexington, on the fifth ballot. Cole led among both clergy and laity from the first ballot, but by a wider margin among the laity.
The four other nominees were:
- The Rev. Hendree Harrison, rector of St. Paul’s, Athens, Tennessee
- The Rev. Canon Frank Logue, canon to the ordinary, Diocese of Georgia
- The Rev. Canon Lance Ousley, canon for stewardship and development in the Diocese of Olympia and priest-in-charge of St. John’s, Kirkland, Washington
- The Rev. Marty Stebbins, rector of St. Timothy’s, Wilson, North Carolina
Related: Cole speaks in two videos during walkabouts in the diocese.
Matthew Townsend is a Halifax-based freelance journalist and volunteer advocate for survivors of sexual misconduct in Anglican settings. He served as editor of the Anglican Journal from 2019 to 2021 and communications missioner for the Anglican Diocese of Quebec from 2019 to 2022. He and his wife recently entered catechism class in the Orthodox Church in America.
