Sean Rowe

Sean Walter Rowe (born February 16, 1975 ) is an American bishop who is serving as the 28th presiding bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church since 2024.

Ordained as a priest in 2000, Rowe served for 7 years as rector for Saint John's Episcopal Church in Franklin, Pennsylvania and was ordained and consecrated as the 8th bishop of Northwestern Pennsylvania in September 2007,

He was the youngest Episcopal priest in the United States at the time of his ordination to the priesthood in 2000,

Early life and education Born in Sharon, Pennsylvania, Rowe grew up in nearby Hermitage. Both his grandfathers were steelworkers, while his father worked for the state parole board and his mother at a local auto plant.

Bishop of Northwestern Pennsylvania

Rowe was elected Bishop of Northwestern Pennsylvania in 2007 at the age of 32, making him the youngest member of the House of Bishops.

His consecration took place on September 8, 2007, and the consecrators included Katharine Jefferts Schori, Robert D. Rowley, Mark Dyer, Ralph E. Jones of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, Arthur Williams and Wayne P. Wright.

In 2008, Rowe was appointed to the theology faculty at Gannon University. The following year he was granted an honorary doctorate in divinity from the Virginia Theological Seminary. In 2022 he was awarded the House of Deputies Medal.

Provisional Bishop of Bethlehem In 2014 Rowe was elected to serve as Provisional Bishop of Bethlehem in eastern Pennsylvania, receiving all 64 clergy votes and 99 of the 100 lay votes in the election.

Provisional Bishop of Western New York In 2017 Rowe sent a letter, along with the Right Reverend R. William Franklin of the Episcopal Diocese of Western New York and the chairs of the standing committees of the dioceses of Northwestern Pennsylvania and Western New York, proposing the creation of "a unique partnership in which the two dioceses would share a single bishop, a single staff". Following consultations across the region, A joint convention of dioceses was held on October 26, 2018, in Niagara Falls, and the plan was approved by a wide margin. and in 2022 the two standing committees voted to extend the partnership by two years.

Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church

On April 2, 2024, Rowe was announced as a candidate to succeed Michael Curry as presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, at the election to be held at the 81st General Convention in Louisville, Kentucky, on June 26, 2024.

Meeting at Christ Church Cathedral, Louisville, the House of Bishops elected Rowe with 89 of 158 votes cast on the first ballot. His election was later ratified by the laity and clergy in the House of Deputies. He was the youngest person to serve as presiding bishop when his nine-year term began on November 1, 2024. The scaled-down service, intended to reduce the event's carbon footprint, took place on November 2, 2024, at the Chapel of Christ the Lord in the Episcopal Church Center, and was attended by Rowe's predecessors, Michael Curry and Katharine Jefferts Schori. It contained prayers, readings and hymns in English, Spanish, French, Mandarin, Arabic, Hebrew and other languages, and in his sermon, based on the story of Lazarus of Bethany, Rowe emphasized the importance of supporting the ministries at the congregational and diocesan levels.

On November 6, 2024, the day after the 2024 United States presidential election, Rowe sent a letter to members of the Episcopal Church, stating "We are Christians who support the dignity, safety, and equality of women and LGBTQ+ people as an expression of our faith", adding "I pray that President Trump and his administration will do the same."

On January 9, 2025, Rowe officiated at the state funeral of President Jimmy Carter, held at Washington National Cathedral.

On July 3, 2025, Rowe authored an opinion piece in Religion News Service titled "Once the church of presidents, the Episcopal Church must now be an engine of resistance". In it, he criticized the Episcopal Church's longstanding "intermingling" with the American federal government, and advocated for continued resistance against the second Trump administration's "overreach and recklessness".

Personal life Rowe is married to Carly Rowe, with whom he has one daughter.