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Diocese of Florida elects new bishop as it continues to move beyond past divisions

September 11, 2026

[Episcopal News Service] The Diocese of Florida on Sept. 11 elected the Rev. J. Randolph Alexander Jr. as its next bishop, marking a potential turning point in the diocese’s prolonged and tension-filled leadership transition after nearly 20 years under its previous bishop, Samuel “John” Howard. Clergy and lay leaders in the Jacksonville-based diocese elected Alexander on the third ballot at their diocesan convention, taking place Sept. 11-12 at the Camp Weed & Cerveny Conference Center in Live Oak. Alexander, rector of Immanuel Church-on-the-Hill in Alexandria, Virginia, was one of three candidates on the ballot, all of them from outside the diocese. “I am humbled, beyond words, by this decision from the people of God in the Diocese of Florida,” Alexander said in a statement released by the diocese after his election. “The harvest field is ripe unto the harvest, the potential is immense, and God’s love for us is beyond our limited imagination.” Alexander was elected with 86 out of 129 votes in the clergy order and 78 out of 142 votes in the lay order, with 65 and 72 votes needed in the respective orders. The other candidates were the Rev. Dorian Del Priore, rector of Holy Cross Church in Simpsonville, South Carolina; and the Very Rev. Thomas Clayton Purdy, rector of Christ Church in St. Simons Island, Georgia. “It’s a blessing to see our diocese come together to select Fr. Alexander as our future leader,” the Rev. Justin Yawn, outgoing standing committee president, and the Rev. Bob Goolsby, incoming standing committee president, said in a joint statement. “We give thanks to God for carrying us to this day and all who led and assisted this process.” Alexander’s election still will need to receive majority consent from the bishops and standing committees of The Episcopal Church’s more than 100 dioceses. That step typically is a formality on the path to a bishop’s consecration, but Florida’s last bishop election, in November 2022, failed to earn the required churchwide consents over concerns raised about the process and allegations of anti-LGBTQ+ discrimination under Howard. Because of those obstacles, the diocese has been without a diocesan bishop since Howard’s retirement in October 2023. The standing committee, after taking over as the diocese’s ecclesiastical authority, presided over a multiyear healing process that sought to mend relations between Howard’s supporters and those critical of the way he led the diocese for nearly two decades. Some of those critics filed complaints against Howard that became the basis of disciplinary cases under the church’s Title IV canons, alleging discrimination and financial impropriety. In September 2025, Howard reached an accord with Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe to resolve those cases without disciplinary action while also asking to be released from his ordained ministry, meaning Howard is no longer a bishop in The Episcopal Church. In the interim, the diocese has been assisted by Central Florida Bishop Justin Holcomb, and Southwest Florida Bishop Douglas Scharf, as well as retired New Jersey Bishop Chip Stokes and retired Georgia Bishop Scott Benhase. During the diocesan healing process, members were also guided by the Rt. Rev. Mary Gray-Reeves, the former Diocese of El Camino Real bishop who is trained in conflict mediation. Gray-Reeves helped facilitate a series of conversations across differences that diocesan leaders said were necessary before they could launch a new bishop search. In the past several years since Howard’s exit, the atmosphere in the diocese has greatly improved, Yawn, the outgoing standing committee president, told Episcopal News Service in an interview before the election. “There’s actually joy in the room when we get together now,” he said. Pending the necessary churchwide consents, Alexander will be consecrated as Florida’s ninth bishop on Feb. 6, 2027. Yawn, rector of St. Francis in-the-Field Episcopal Church on Ponte Vedra Beach, said he and other members of the diocese are excited now about starting a new chapter, with more clearly defined roles for both the bishop and clergy and lay leadership. “This diocese knows that it is not fair to the new bishop, nor is it fair to any bishop, that we expect them to do everything,” Yawn said. “We have our roles and functions. … I’m very excited about how far we’ve come on that.” The process this year of nominating and meeting the three candidates and now voting for Florida’s next bishop has been particularly invigorating for the laity, Yawn added. “They see their vote as a mark of what God’s already doing here.” – David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at dpaulsen@episcopalchurch.org.