Anglicans Elect Boyd

Fr. Boyd eventually captured the two-thirds majority of votes from among members of the voting clergy and laity needed to secure him the position.

He secured 76 ‘yes’ votes out of 101, from the House of Laity and 50 ‘yes’ votes out of 73, from the House of Clergy, beating out eight other nominees for the post.

It means that Fr. Boyd will now work closely with Archbishop Gomez until he retires in 2008, a few months shy of the archbishop’s 72nd birthday.

Fr. Boyd said following the vote yesterday that his first duty as Bishop co-adjutor would be to assist Archbishop Gomez. He said it would not be appropriate to comment on plans he would wish to implement once ratified as bishop.

"I will say that close to my heart, as is close to the heart of the Church and the purpose of the Church, is to continue to bring the message of Jesus Christ home and into the lives of people," Fr. Boyd said.

"That’s certainly my view of what the Church ought to be doing and that will continue to be what the Church is about."

The voting at the activity centre in Stapledon Gardens drew a huge crowd interested in the outcome and determining who will become the next leader of the Anglican Church.

Although Fr. Boyd was declared the winner, the House of Bishops must still confirm him formally.

"[Fr. Boyd] will do an excellent job and will accept the training from the Archbishop," said one member of the faith. "He is humble like that."

Just under 200 members voters – members of the elective assembly - cast their ballots yesterday.

Others nominated were; Patrick Adderley, dean of Christ Church Cathedral; Holy Trinity parish priest Archdeacon Etienne Bowleg; outspoken Christ The King clergyman Archdeacon Ranfurly Brown and Archdeacon Keith Cartwright of St. Christopher Anglican Church.

Additionally, Grand Bahama based priest Fr. Cornell Moss, All Saints assistant parish priest Archdeacon James Palacious; St. Barnabas rector Fr. Basil Tynes and Fr. Harry Ward of Holy Spirit Anglican Church were among the candidates.

Clergymen and parishioners participated in the voting process, which got underway in the afternoon following a morning of nominations.

In a surprising move, Rev. Fr. Harry Bain, the rector of Christ The King in Grand Bahama actually nominated his colleague Fr. Moss, the priest in charge of the Church Of The Ascension as one of the candidates, declining to enter the race himself, even though there had been speculation that he would.

As the voting wore on, rumoured frontrunners like Archdeacons Palacious, Brown and Cartwright lost their bids.

The mover of the nomination was allowed 10 minutes and the seconder was given another five minutes to support their choice of candidate.

The co-adjutor Bishop will become the next diocesan bishop and be eligible for consideration for the election of the next archbishop.

No one was allowed to nominate himself and according to Anglican tradition no woman could have been nominated for the position.

If a successor had not been chosen, the process would have had to be started all over in the next 60 days.

Fr. Boyd said he would continue to serve as the rector of Holy Cross Parish for the immediate future, however, "in due course" he would have to give up that position and transfer to the Anglican Diocesan office.

Archbishop Gomez said he plans to do some more theological work after he steps down, but beyond that he was uncertain about his future plans.

"I am not sure what I would be up to, but the first order of business would be to try and get a little relaxation," he said. "My present position does not make much provision for that."

Alaric Saunders a member of Holy Trinity Parish was one of many Anglicans who responded to yesterday’s vote. "I don’t think the election will have any affect other than maybe some new ideas will be pumped into the diocese because you know the younger generation they always come up with new ideas.

"I think now everybody has come to realise that one had to be elected and since that has been effected through their choices now they can move on and move the Diocese forward."

"I’m very pleased that it’s over and that the Church can move forward," said Iona Cox, another member of the Anglican Church.

"We have been praying for weeks that the Lord would have His way and that His will would be done. I strongly believe that is the case and you will see exciting things going forward in the Anglican Church and I am happy about that."

Archbishop Gomez made the request for a co-adjutor Bishop at the 105th session of Synod last October, with one of the main reasons being continuity.

The Anglican Diocese is engaged in a diocesan-wide project in mission and ministry, trying to involve as many people as possible in coming up with a new mission statement and providing a strategic plan for the next five to 10 years.