Brian Prior

Brian Norman Prior (born October 16, 1959) is an American prelate of the Episcopal Church. He served as the ninth Bishop of Minnesota and later served as an assisting bishop in the Diocese of Olympia and the Diocese of Alabama.

Education Prior was raised in Prosser, Washington and graduated from Whitworth University in Spokane. In 1987, he received his Master of Divinity from Church Divinity School of the Pacific in Berkeley, California. He received an Honorary Doctorate Degree from Church Divinity School of the Pacific in October 2014.

Life

Prior's first position was associate priest of St. Stephen's Episcopal Church in Spokane. From there he worked as the director of education and development for the Diocese of Spokane and also was executive director of Camp Cross, a church-run camp on the shores of Lake Coeur d'Alene. and served as their rector for 14 years.

Prior and his sons are involved in the Episcopal Conference Programs held at Kanuga Conference Center in Hendersonville, North Carolina.

Episcopacy Brian Prior was elected IX Bishop of Minnesota at Diocesan Convention on Saturday, October 31, 2009 to succeed James L. Jelinek. He was consecrated on February 13, 2010, the feast of Absalom Jones. He served as vice chair of the Church Pension Fund Board of Trustees.

In Minnesota, the Bishop also served as Board Chair of Shattuck-St. Mary's School and Board Chair of Breck School. He was succeeded by Craig Loya on June 6, 2020.

Later in 2020 he began serving as assisting bishop in the Diocese of Olympia.

From January 2022 through December 2025, he served as assisting bishop in the Diocese of Alabama. In addition to making pastoral visitation and providing leadership development, he guided the process of planning for the future of the diocese.