Dorsey W. M. McConnell was elected as the 8th Bishop of Pittsburgh by the clergy and lay deputies of the diocese on April 21, 2012.  He was consecrated and ordained a bishop on October 20, 2012, and was formally seated at Trinity Cathedral on November 9, 2012.

Bishop McConnell grew up in a military family and continued to move about in various careers after college.

He came to faith being influenced by many Christian traditions.  From Russian Orthodoxy, he gained a deep sense of the beauty and mystery of God.  Catholic aspects of Anglicanism gave him a love for the liturgy of the church and the sacraments, especially the presence of Christ in the Eucharist.  Through Evangelicals, he came to recognize the priority and authority of Scripture and a vigorous sense of grace through the Cross of Christ.  Charismatic practices convinced him that God has real power to do something about the things that afflict us.  From liberal Christians, his ministry reflects an engagement with contemporary society and a passion for social justice.

In his personal testimony of faith, Bishop McConnell says that all he really knows is that he cannot live without Jesus Christ.  He is learning to depend on Him completely.  All his joy resides in God’s determination to make his life Christ’s own.

He was ordained a priest in 1983 and went on to minister as Curate of Saint Thomas Church, New York City; Chaplain for the Episcopal Church at Yale; Rector of the Church of the Epiphany in New York; and Rector of Saint Alban’s Church in Edmonds, Washington.  He served for 17 years as chaplain to the St. George Association, Local #3 IBEW, in New York City.  In 2004 he returned to the East Coast, accepting a call as rector of Church of the Redeemer in Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts, where he served until his election as Bishop of Pittsburgh.

He also served on various committees and commissions in four dioceses and was twice a deputy at General Conventions of the Episcopal Church.

Bishop McConnell holds a bachelor’s degree from Yale College, was a Fulbright Scholar in Paris, and earned a Masters of Divinity cum laude from General Theological Seminary.

He and his wife, Betsy, who is a clinical social worker in private practice, have one adult son.  For fun, the bishop loves to cook, hike, fish, and snowboard, and is a certified open-water diver.

Article courtesy of  Episcopal Pittsburgh Bishops Blog.