About the Petition Process

The Search Committee has completed its work and has identified three candidates for election as 9th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Long Island in advance of the Election Convention on Saturday, April 18, 2026.  For more information about the slate of candidates approved by the Joint Oversight Committee please see our candidate information page here.

 Now that the slate of candidates has been announced, the Joint Oversight Committee will open the petition process. The process of discerning episcopal leadership for our diocese is one in which the Holy Spirit moves and helps us prayerfully raise up leaders. The petition process is an opportunity to continue discerning the person God is calling to be our next bishop. There will be enough time for each petition nominee to be fully vetted, interviewed, and to conduct reference and background checks as required by the Diocese of Long Island and The Episcopal Church.

 A petition nominee must submit all required documentation described below. The petition process begins Wednesday, January 28, 2026. All documents must be submitted to the Joint Oversight Committee no later than Saturday, February 7, 2026 11:59 PM EST.

 The Joint Oversight Committee will decide if a petition nominee will be added to the slate and the decision is not appealable.

Eligibility

Any Priest or Bishop in good standing within the Anglican Communion may petition to be a nominee for election as the 9th Bishop of Long Island.

No individual’s petition shall be considered who participated in the process conducted by the Search Committee of the Diocese of Long Island and who was not selected for the final slate of nominees approved by the Joint Oversight Committee.

The following criteria represent minimum requirements:

  • Minimum of 10 years of experience in parish or diocesan ministry including at least seven years in one call
     
  • Demonstrated experience in organizational governance, including board leadership, fiduciary oversight, or executive responsibility for an incorporated entity
     
  • Compliance with the Constitution and Canons of the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Long Island
     
  • If the nominee is recovering from a substance use disorder or other addictive behavior, that nominee shall have had a minimum of five years of continuous sobriety and shall actively be working a program of recovery. Ten or more years of recovery is preferred.
    • All nominees for bishop should be able to answer heartily, truthfully, and faithfully The Examination in the ordination service for bishops found in the Book of Common Prayer (pages 517–518).
    • In line with Church Canons, no person shall be denied access to the discernment process or to any process for the employment, licensing, calling, or deployment for any ministry, lay or ordained, in this Church because of race, color, ethnic origin, immigration status, national origin, sex, marital or family status (including pregnancy and child care plans), sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, disabilities or age, except as otherwise provided by these Canons. No right to employment, licensing, ordination, call, deployment, or election is hereby established.

Documentation

  1. Application Information

    • Compile all materials into one PDF file and email to: jointoversight@dioceseli.org
    • Files should be clearly labeled with the applicant’s Last Name in the file name.

      • Application Form (Click to View)

      • Resume
         
      • Call Letter: Written statement outlining what calls you to apply for this position and your strengths and growing edges
         
      • ​​​References: Contact information for three references who have known you for an extended time and can address your pastoral experience and suitability for this call: your current ecclesial authority, a colleague in ministry, and at least one lay person.
         
      • ​​​​OTM Profile: Current Office for Transition Ministry profile
         
      • Sermon Samples: Links to two sermon videos.
         
      • Essay Responses: Written responses to five questions in the application form. (approximately 500 words each)

  2. Signatories:

    • It is the petition nominee's responsibility to ensure that your signatories meet the requirements described below and submit their forms by the deadline.
      • Twelve (12) signatures from Clergy which shall consist of three (3) Clergy from the Kings County, three (3) Clergy from the Queens County, three (3) Clergy from the Nassau County, and three (3) Clergy from the Suffolk County in the Diocese of Long Island. One (1) signature of three required must be from a deacon. Each signature must be from a different congregation or mission.
         
      • Eight (8) signatures from Lay Delegates to the Election Convention which shall consist of two (2) Lay Delegates from the Kings County, two (2) Lay Delegates from the Queens County, (2) Lay Delegates from the Nassau County, and (2) Lay Delegates from the Suffolk County in the Diocese of Long Island. Each signature must be from a different congregation or mission.
         
      • Signatures from a Bishop, a member of the Joint Oversight Committee, a member of the Search Committee, or a member of the Transition Committee, shall not be allowed.
         
      • Please download the signature form here. Please ask signatories to download and send the completed, signed form to jointoversight@dioceseli.org by February 7, 2026 at 11:59 pm Eastern. 

  3. Background Check Info

    • Any nominee shall be required to undergo a thorough background check involving a review of a nominee’s financial history, credit, employment history, disciplinary history and other areas. 

    • The Joint Oversight Committee may, based on the disqualifying information, disqualify the nominee from consideration. A decision of disqualification by the Joint Oversight Committee is not appealable.