Dear Friend, This has been an incredibly challenging time for our nation and the world, and I pray that this finds you and your loved ones well. In March as the Covid 19 pandemic began sweeping through our nation, the search for the 15th Bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina was put on pause. We certainly did not imagine then that five months later we would still be in such a difficult place. And it is because we have all come to the realization that we will be living in this way for some time, we have decided to move forward with our search. Our search for candidates will be from throughout the entire Church. The early stages and inter- views of this process will of course be virtual, with the latter ones yet to be determined. Howev- er, our intentions are to conduct a fair and thorough search process that ensures the safety and health of all applicants. While present realities will necessitate a flexible timeline, we will do our best to keep candidates informed during each step of the way. Upon successful completion of this process and discern- ment of the Bishop Search Committee, the candidates for the 15th Bishop will be announced. It is at that time we will schedule the public discernment phase, including the date of the electing convention and the date of the Ordination and Consecration. We anticipate Consecration before the end of 2021. We are excited to be moving forward, and hope for the careful and prayerful consideration of all th who may feel called to serve as the 15 Bishop of the Diocese of South Carolina. God’s peace and stay safe, Philip C. Linder The Reverend Dr. Philip C. Linder Chair of the Bishop Search Committee Greetings from the Diocese of South Carolina. Thank you for your interest in our search for the 15th bishop of our diocese. We hope that the information found below will give you a better idea both of who we are as a diocese, and of the kind of bishop we hope will answer God’s call to lead us into the next chapter of our life together. The Diocese of South Carolina, as one of the nine original dioceses that formed the Episcopal Church in 1785, boasts a rich history that is steeped in the traditions of the Episcopal Church. We are exceedingly proud of our diocese, but we do not look just to our past St. Stephen’s Episcopal Church, built 1767-1769, is a fine for inspiration. We are example of a pre-Revolutionary rural church. looking forward to our future, and we are excited to continue building on our rich history as we grow together in our understanding of what it means to follow Jesus. Our Diocesan Profile was crafted by the 16 members of the Bishop Search Committee. The Search Committee is made up of two clergy and two lay members from each of the four deaneries in the Diocese. In crafting the profile, members of the Search Committee held several listening sessions in different locations across the Diocese. These sessions provided participants the opportunity to express what they felt was most important for our next bishop to know about us as a diocese. Written responses to the questions asked at the listening Clergy gathered at Calvary Episcopal Church in sessions were also considered. In Charleston, SC, founded in 1847. addition, the clergy of the Diocese had a special gathering so that their voices could be heard. We are confident therefore that the Diocesan Profile presents a fair picture of who we are as a diocese, and our hope is that it will be helpful in the discernment process for the person who will respond to the call to be our new bishop. Our History The colony of South Carolina was founded in 1670. The colony’s fledgling church was part of the Diocese of London, and the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel sent clergy to minister here. The colony thrived, largely owing to the cultivation of first indigo, and then rice. It would become the wealthiest colony in the New World during the 18th century. We acknowledge that this wealth was made possible because of the exploitation of enslaved people. South Carolina was born in slavery, and the legacy of that institution permeates every aspect of our society, even into the present. We are striving to follow the admonition of Archbishop Desmond Tutu, when he noted that true reconciliation can occur only if there is a proper confrontation. We aim to confront our past and ourselves in order to move into a more egalitarian and hopeful future — and present. The first Bishop of the Diocese was Robert Smith, who also served as rector of St Philip’s and president of the College of Charleston. It was Smith who insisted that the accession clause be included in our diocesan constitution, indicating that we in South Carolina would exist as part of the wider Episcopal Church throughout the former 13 colonies. Our second bishop, Theodore Dehon, was elected and consecrated in 1812. He (with William White, John Henry Hobart, and members of Trinity Church in New York and others) was instrumental in the founding of the General Theological Seminary in 1817. Even though we have not always acted like it, we in South Carolina have relished being part of a national church. By the time of the Civil War, almost half of the state’s Episcopalians were black. On June 20, 1861, the Diocese withdrew from the Episcopal Church and formed part of the Episcopal Church in the Confederate States. _______________________________________ 1Bishop Smith is the 6th Bishop of the American succession, and he was ordained to the episcopate by William White, Samuel Provoost, James Madison, and Thomas John Clagett. When the war was over, South Carolina and the other southern dioceses returned to the Episcopal Church. During the period of Reconstruction, a number of parishes struggled over the issue of race. When St Mark’s, Charleston, founded on Easter Day 1865, petitioned the Diocese for full membership in 1875, some parishes withdrew from the Diocese for a season. Around the same time, the Reverend Anthony Toomer Porter, with a few other priests, prepared two black men for ordination. Bishop William Bell White Howe was in favor of the men being ordained. The Standing Committee, however, refused to allow them; and with their decision, our diocese lost untold numbers of black members who joined a movement that would become the Reformed Episcopal Church. In 1965, the Diocese of South Carolina finally admitted black people as members into the convention of the Diocese. In 1922, the Diocesan General Convention acted to divide the Diocese, which included the entire state. The Upper Diocese was created. Just as we follow a wounded Savior, we in South Carolina also have as our legacy the witness of a martyred bishop. In June 1928, Bishop William Alexander Guerry was shot and killed by one of his own priests over the issue of race. Bishop Guerry had supported the idea of a black suffragan bishop. Further, he was unswerving in his support for a fledgling school for blacks in Denmark, South Carolina. Voorhees College continues today. The full story behind the Bishop’s death was buried so well that, until recently, we as a diocese had lost the collective memory of having had as our own chief priest and pastor a bishop who gave it all for the sake of inclusion and justice. On the third Sunday in June yearly, across the Diocese, we now observe Bishop Guerry Day, with propers and a collect written for the occasion. It was Bishop Guerry who said “the Church must be broad enough to embrace within its communion every living human soul.” But we have sometimes struggled to embrace that vision. In the year 2012, we in the Diocese were confronted with a similar choice about belonging to a church where all God’s children would be welcome. The Schism In 2012, after a contentious episcopate, our 14th bishop, Mark Lawrence, abandoned the Episcopal Church. The main issue at play in Bishop Lawrence’s decision to aban- don the Episcopal Church was his refusal to accept the full inclusion of LGBTQ+ persons in the life of the church. For months, if not years, prior to his departure from the Episcopal Church, Bishop Lawrence tried to implement a plan whereby members that wished to follow him out of the church could do so while retaining possession of their parish buildings and other property. Shortly after Bishop Lawrence’s leaving the Episcopal Church, 35 congregations loyal to him claimed that they were the true Diocese of South Carolina and filed a lawsuit against both the continuing Episcopal diocese and the national Episcopal Church. The aim of this lawsuit was to forestall any claim that the parish property was held in trust for the legitimate Episcopal diocese and the Episcopal Church. In spite of Bishop Lawrence’s action, 31 congregations (including several of the largest churches in the Diocese) remained loyal to the Episcopal Church.2 The energetic and capable leadership that emerged from 31 congregations has helped guide the Diocese ever since and is largely responsible for our continued success. In January of 2013, these loyal Episcopalians gathered to reorganize the Diocese, and met in convention at Grace Church in Charleston. At this convention, the Rt. Rev. Charles G. vonRosenberg was elected as the provisional bishop of the Diocese. Bishop vonRosenberg threw himself into the work of reorganization, and much of his time was spent in meeting with the loyal Episcopalians who had essentially been told to leave their church homes.