Stephen Dwain Wood (born October 12, 1963) is an American Anglican

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

. He is currently the first bishop of the Diocese of the Carolinas, a diocese of the

Anglican Church in North America The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is a Christian denomination in the Anglican tradition in the United States and Canada. It also includes ten congregations in Mexico, two mission churches in Guatemala, and a missionary diocese in Cuba. ...

(ACNA), as well as rector of St. Andrew's Anglican Church in

Mount Pleasant, South Carolina Mount Pleasant is a large suburban town in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States. In the Lowcountry, it is the fourth-most populous municipality in South Carolina, and for several years was one of the state's fastest-growing areas, d ...

. Since June 2024, he has been the third

archbishop In Christian denominations, an archbishop is a bishop of higher rank or office. In most cases, such as the Catholic Church, there are many archbishops who either have jurisdiction over an ecclesiastical province in addition to their own archdi ...

of the ACNA.

Early life and career

Wood was born in

Cleveland, Ohio Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County, Ohio, Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–United States border, Canada–U.S. maritime border ...

, and grew up in

Wickliffe, Ohio Wickliffe is a city in western Lake County, Ohio, United States. The population was 12,652 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. A suburb of Cleveland, it is part of the Greater Cleveland, Cleveland metropolitan area. History A post offi ...

. He received his B.A. from

Cleveland State University Cleveland State University (CSU) is a public research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1964 and opened for classes in 1965 after acquiring the entirety of Fenn College, a private school that had been in oper ...

in 1986 and his M.Div. from

Virginia Theological Seminary Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), formally the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia, is an Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal seminary in Alexandria, Virginia. It is the largest and second-oldest such accredited se ...

in 1991, after which he was ordained to the priesthood in the Episcopal Church. Wood served at Episcopal churches in Ohio until being called in 2000 as rector of St. Andrew's, Mount Pleasant, which was then a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina. Under Wood's leadership, St. Andrews was described as "one of the

Lowcountry The Lowcountry (sometimes Low Country or just low country) is a geographic and cultural region along South Carolina's coast, including the Sea Islands. The region includes significant salt marshes and other coastal waterways, making it an impor ...

's biggest church success stories", growing to a membership of more than 3,000 and planting new churches in Goose Creek, downtown Charleston, and the Park Circle area of

North Charleston North Charleston is a city in Berkeley, Charleston, and Dorchester counties in the U.S. state of South Carolina.City Planning Department (2008-07)City of North Charleston boundary map. City of North Charleston. Retrieved January 21, 2011. As ...

. In 2006, Wood was one of three finalists in the election for Bishop of South Carolina; ultimately Mark Lawrence was elected. In 2010, St. Andrew's voted by a large margin to leave the Episcopal Church and affiliate with the

Episcopacy

Shortly after joining ACNA, Wood became involved with efforts to create the Diocese of the Carolinas, which was formed with 14 congregations with an average Sunday attendance of over 2,700. He served as vicar general of the diocese while in formation and, in 2012, he was elected to serve as its first bishop. Wood was consecrated on August 25, 2012, at St. Andrew's by Archbishop Robert Duncan. Co-consecrators included Archbishop-elect

Stanley Ntagali Stanley Ntagali (born 1 March 1955) is a Ugandan bishop of the Anglican Church who served as former chancellor of Uganda Christian University and former archbishop of Uganda and bishop of Kampala from 2012 to 2020. He also served as Bishop of ...

of Uganda and Bishops Roger Ames, John Guernsey, and Alphonza Gadsden. On June 22, 2024, Wood was elected by the ACNA college of bishops to succeed

Foley Beach Foley Thomas Beach (born October 31, 1958) is an American Anglican bishop. He was the second primate and archbishop of the Anglican Church in North America, a church associated with the Anglican realignment movement, and is the first diocesan bi ...

as the province's third archbishop. He formally took office on June 28, at the conclusion of the ACNA's provincial assembly.

Personal Life

Wood married Jacqueline Elizabeth Benner on February 1, 1986. Together, they have four sons and eight grandchildren.https://anglicanchurch.net/get-to-know-archbishop-wood/

Notes

External links

Diocese of the CarolinasTreading Grain blog
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wood, Steve Living people Bishops of the Anglican Church in North America Religious leaders from Cleveland 1963 births People from Wickliffe, Ohio Anglican realignment people 21st-century Anglican archbishops Virginia Theological Seminary alumni Cleveland State University alumni