Anglican Communion News Service - Digest News

Deputy to the Presiding Bishop for Anglican Communion Relations

Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori announced on October 20 the appointment of the Rt. Rev. Herbert A. Donovan, Jr. as Deputy to the Presiding Bishop for Anglican Communion Relations. 

In this newly-developed position, Bishop Donovan will serve as the liaison for the Episcopal Church to the other 37 Provinces in the Anglican Communion, as well as to international groups, organizations and partners.

"I am honored to be asked by our Presiding Bishop to assist in the work of the Church within the Anglican Communion at this important time in our life together," noted Bishop Donovan.

"I am delighted that Bishop Donovan has accepted the call to serve as Deputy for Anglican Communion Relations," commented Presiding Bishop Jefferts Schori. "His experience and relationships within the Anglican Communion will be of immense help in this work, though his own manner of leadership is the greatest asset. I am grateful for his willingness to aid and augment our work around the Communion by putting his abundant gifts to work yet again."

"I am delighted that the Presiding Bishop has decided to appoint Bishop Herb Donovan as Deputy for Anglican Communion Relations," said the Rev. Dr. Ian Douglas, Professor of Mission and World Christianity at Episcopal Divinity School. "Because of new relationships engendered between bishops at the Lambeth Conference of 2008, The Episcopal Church is poised to move forward in God's mission with sister and brother Anglicans around the world in new ways at this time."

Douglas, a member of the Lambeth Conference Design Group and member-elect to the Anglican Consultative Council from The Episcopal Church, continued, "As the Presiding Bishop's Deputy for Anglican Communion Relations, Bishop Donovan will play a key leadership role in this important work. His wisdom, compassion, and knowledge of the Anglican Communion through his work as Interim Anglican Observer at the United Nations and with the Compass Rose Society make him uniquely qualified for this position. Herb is a devout Christian and a senior statesman dedicated to serving God's mission in the world. The Episcopal Church and the whole Anglican Communion will be well served by him."

Bishop Donovan's office will be located at the Episcopal Church Center in New York City.

Meet Herbert A. Donovan

Bishop Donovan retired as Bishop of Arkansas in 1993 and currently serves as an assisting bishop in the Diocese of New York.

A graduate of the Episcopal High School in Virginia and University of Virginia, Bishop Donovan received his masters of divinity from Virginia Theological Seminary. He was ordained a priest in 1957 and was consecrated bishop in 1980. He holds a Doctor of Divinity from Berkley at Yale University, the University of the South in Sewanee, and Virginia Theological Seminary.

Among his many memberships and interests, Bishop Donovan is the vice-chair of the Association of Episcopal Colleges and Universities, chairman of the Board of Friends of Cuttington University in Liberia and trustee of Bard College in New York.

In the past 15 years, Bishop Donovan has served the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion in various capacities, including: Interim Anglican Observer to the United Nations, Executive Director of the Compass Rose Society of the Anglican Communion, Assisting Bishop of the diocese of New Jersey, Provisional Bishop of the Diocese of Chicago, vicar of Trinity Church Wall Street, and interim at Trinity Church, Boston.

As a priest, he served churches in the dioceses of Newark, Kentucky, and Wyoming. He was a six-time deputy to the House of Deputies of the Church's General Convention and chaired deputations from both the Dioceses of Kentucky and Newark. He served two terms on the Executive Council of the Episcopal Church and, in the House of Bishops, was secretary for 12 years. He was a Naval Reserve Chaplain, retiring in 1993 with the rank of Captain.

He resides in Dobbs Ferry, New York with his wife, well-known historian and author Mary Sudman Donovan.