Archbishop Drexel Gomez was last night set to meet with the rector of Christ the King Anglican Church I. Ranfurly Brown, who resigned as archdeacon following Friday’s election of a new co-adjutor bishop.
Parishioners of Father Brown’s parish reported to The Bahama Journal that he actually made the announcement during a mass on Sunday, which came two days after Holy Cross rector Father Laish Boyd was elected to succeed Archbishop Gomez when he retires in 2008.
Archbishop Gomez indicated on Tuesday that it was not a matter he wished to discuss publicly, although he did confirm that he had received Father Brown’s letter of resignation.
Some parishioners said that Father Brown expressed disappointment that he had not received the kind of support during the vote that he had been promised, although they said he urged the church to give Father Boyd its full support as he will become the new leader of the diocese in two years.
Asked by The Bahama Journal on Sunday whether he had resigned as archdeacon, Father Brown said simply, “I do not know” and suggested that the Journal speak with Archbishop Gomez.
The rector of Christ the King is archdeacon of the East Central Bahamas Archdeaconry. All of the reports and matters related to this section of the church were submitted to Father Brown.
When he becomes bishop, Father Boyd will be automatically responsible for the management and running of the diocese and its priests and would also be responsible for key appointments like archdeacons.
The appointment of Father Boyd has moved the church into an automatic transmission period, as the co-adjutor bishop will work closely with the archbishop over the next two years helping to chart the direction of the diocese.
One Anglican close to church politics told The Bahama Journal that Father Brown has “pre-empted the new co-adjuotor bishop’s decision to appoint new archdeacons when he becomes bishop.”
Others in the hierarchy of the diocese wished not to go public with their statements, but one priest said on Tuesday that, “After these elections, there’s always a fallout.”
“You have human feelings involved,” the priest noted. “Everyone went in with the hopes to win. Naturally [Father Brown] thought he went in with base support. He never got more than five votes.”
The priest added, “When these elections come, you can’t assume anything.”
As archdeacon of the East Central Bahamas Archdeaconry, Father Brown was directly responsible for Anglican churches in Eleuthera, Cat Island, San Salvador, Rum Cay and a portion of New Providence, the priest noted.
The priest said there are more than 30 priests in Father Brown’s archdeaconry so it could have come as a shock that the popular archdeacon did not get more support during the election.
Other archdeacons are Father Keith Cartwright, the rector of St. Christopher’s Parish, who is responsible for the Turks and Caicos Islands and the Southern Bahamas; Archdeacon Dr. Etienne Bowleg, the Holy Trinity rector who oversees the West Central Bahamas Archdeaconry; Father Cornell Moss, who heads the Northern Bahamas Archdeaconry and Father James Palacious, diocesan secretary and archdeacon for administration.
One of them told The Bahama Journal on Tuesday that it would be premature for him or anyone to comment on the matter because the archbishop had not “accepted” Father Brown’s resignation.
One parishioner noted that news of the resignation “interestingly” came as parishioners prepared for Ash Wednesday.
By: Candia Dames, The Bahama Journal
