THE Bishop of Central New York since 2016, Dr DeDe Duncan-Probe, has been added as a nominee by petition as a candidate for next Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States.

The only female nominee, she joins the initial slate of four in the election of the Most Revd Michael Curry’s successor (News, 5 April).

The men are: the Bishops of Nebraska, the Rt Revd J. Scott Barker; Pennsylvania, the Rt Revd Daniel G.P. Gutiérrez; Northwestern Pennsylvania, the Rt Revd Sean Rowe; and Atlanta, the Rt Revd Robert Wright.

From 3 to 15 April, however, any bishop or deputy to the General Convention, due to be held in June, was permitted to nominate a bishop. The nomination of Bishop Duncan-Probe, who is 61, was confirmed on Tuesday. Her diocese extends from the Canadian border to the Pennsylvania state line.

Dr Duncan-Probe was ordained in 2004 after a career in education and business. She has a Master’s degree in divinity from the General Theological Seminary, New York, and a doctorate in theology from the Graduate Theological Foundation, completed at Oxford University. Before her consecration, she was an adjunct faculty member at Virginia Theological Seminary.

Nominees, by custom, are not permitted to give media interviews. Steve Nishibayashi, who co-chairs of the Joint Nominating Committee, said: “We are grateful that the Holy Spirit continues to guide the Church’s discernment process towards electing our next Presiding Bishop.”