Angela Palacious (born 1953 in

Nassau, Bahamas Nassau ( ) is the capital and largest city of The Bahamas. It is on the island of New Providence, which had a population of 246,329 in 2010, or just over 70% of the entire population of The Bahamas. As of April 2023, the preliminary results of ...

) is a Bahamian minister of religion and author. She was the first woman deacon and the first woman priest of the Anglican Diocese of

The Bahamas The Bahamas, officially the Commonwealth of The Bahamas, is an Archipelagic state, archipelagic and island country within the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean. It contains 97 per cent of the archipelago's land area and 88 per cent of ...

and the

Turks and Caicos Islands The Turks and Caicos Islands (abbreviated TCI; and ) are a British Overseas Territory consisting of the larger Caicos Islands and smaller Turks Islands, two groups of tropical islands in the Lucayan Archipelago of the Atlantic Ocean and no ...

Early life and education

Palacious obtained a BA in English from

Durham University Durham University (legally the University of Durham) is a collegiate university, collegiate public university, public research university in Durham, England, founded by an Act of Parliament (UK), Act of Parliament in 1832 and incorporated by r ...

, England in 1975 and an MA in English from

Concordia University Concordia University () is a Public university, public English-language research university located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Founded in 1974 following the merger of Loyola College (Montreal), Loyola College and Sir George Williams Universit ...

Montreal, Quebec Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, Canada in 1978. Palacious met her husband, James Palacious, while they were both students at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private university, private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth, New Jersey, Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the List of Colonial ...

in 1981. In 1984, she obtained her

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

and the following year, she obtained a

Master of Theology Master of Theology (, abbreviated ThM, MTh or MTheol, or ''Sacrae Theologiae Magister''; abbreviated STM) is a post-graduate degree offered by universities, divinity schools, and seminaries. It can serve as a transition degree for entrance into a ...

from

Princeton Theological Seminary Princeton Theological Seminary (PTSem), officially The Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, is a Private university, private seminary, school of theology in Princeton, New Jersey, Princeton, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Establish ...

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

Ordination

Palacious returned to the Bahamas and became an elementary school teacher. In 1992, the Anglican diocese agreed to allow women's ordination and the following year, Palacious applied to become a deacon. She went to New York to further her training and, in 1994, she earned a Certificate in Anglican Studies from the

General Theological Seminary The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church (GTS) is an Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal seminary in New York City. Founded in 1817, GTS is the oldest seminary of the Episcopal Church and the longest continuously operating ...

Manhattan Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the County statistics of the United States#Smallest, larg ...

. On 11 May 1999, Palacious was ordained as the first woman deacon in the Anglican Diocese's 138-year history.

Ministry

She and her husband, who at the time was rector of St. Matthew's Anglican Church, Nassau, became the first ordained husband and wife team in the region. From 1999 to 2000, Palacious served as the Coordinator of the Diocese and, on 31 May 2000, Palacious was ordained as the first Bahamian woman Anglican priest of the Diocese of The Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands. Since her ordination, she has served as the assistant curate of St. Matthew's Church, and as the assistant Priest of St. Mary the Virgin Church and St. Margaret's Church.

Writing career

Palacious is also the author of 8 books.

Selected works

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References

Bibliography

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Palacious, Angela 1953 births Living people Bahamian Anglican priests Concordia University alumni Princeton Theological Seminary alumni Women Christian clergy 20th-century women writers 20th-century writers 21st-century women writers People from Nassau, Bahamas Bahamian women writers People from Eleuthera Christian clergy in the Bahamas Alumni of St Hild's College, Durham