Elizabeth A. Eaton

Elizabeth Amy Eaton (born April 2, 1955) is an American bishop who served as the fourth Presiding Bishop, and the first female Presiding Bishop, of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America (ELCA) from 2013 to 2025. She was first elected to this post in 2013 and was re-elected for a second term in 2019, serving until 2025. She was succeeded by Bishop Yehiel Curry of the Metropolitan Chicago Synod to be presiding bishop of the ELCA. Prior to becoming presiding bishop, she served as bishop of the Northeastern Ohio Synod.

Early life and education Eaton was raised in West Park, in Cleveland, Ohio.

Ministry Eaton was ordained in 1981, and served as the associate pastor at All Saints Lutheran Church in Worthington, Ohio, from 1981 to 1990. Eaton became the first woman to serve as bishop in the synod when she was installed on February 7, 2007, at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Akron, Ohio. She succeeded Marcus J. Miller, who resigned in 2006 to become the president of the Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary in South Carolina. Bishop Elizabeth Eaton speaks at the Power in the Spirit conference on Roanoke's campus. Election as Presiding Bishop Eaton was elected Presiding Bishop of the ELCA on Wednesday, August 14, 2013, on the fifth ballot. She received 600 votes by the Churchwide Assembly, and the incumbent Presiding Bishop Mark Hanson received 287 votes. She was installed as presiding bishop of the ELCA on October 5, 2013, at Rockefeller Chapel in Hyde Park (Chicago, Illinois). Chicago is also the location of the ELCA headquarters. Her first six-year term as presiding bishop of the ELCA began November 1, 2013. In 2019, she was reelected to a second term as Presiding Bishop at the ELCA Churchwide Assembly.

In 2016, Eaton was awarded an honorary Doctor of Humane Letters degree by Luther College.

Personal life Eaton is married to T. Conrad Selnick, a priest of the Episcopal Church, who is vice president of the Bexley Seabury Seminary Federation in Chicago, and together they have two adult daughters, Rebeckah and Susannah.