Jack Iker

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The Right Reverend

Jack Iker

SSC
Bishop of Fort Worth
JackIkerGoldHat.jpg
ChurchN/A
SeeFort Worth
In office2009–2019
PredecessorNew title
SuccessorRyan S. Reed
Orders
ConsecrationApril 24, 1993
Personal details
Birth nameJack Leo Iker
Born (1949-08-31) August 31, 1949 (age 72)
Cincinnati, Ohio, US
Alma mater

Jack Leo Iker SSC (born August 31, 1949) is a retired American bishop of the Anglican Church in North America .

Iker is a native of Cincinnati, Ohio. He studied at the University of Cincinnati and the General Theological Seminary. Prior to his election as bishop, he was rector of the Church of the Redeemer, the largest Episcopal parish in Sarasota, Florida.[1] He served on the boards of Forward in Faith North America and the American Anglican Council.[2] Like many Anglo-Catholic clergy, he is a member of the Society of the Holy Cross.

Iker was the third bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, consecrated as co-adjutor in 1993 and as incumbent in 1995. He was one of the most theologically conservative bishops during his tenure and would be one of the last Episcopal bishops opposed to women's ordination. In 2008, most of the clergy and parishes in the diocese left The Episcopal Church to create the identically named Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth, affiliated to the Anglican Church in North America. Iker left the Episcopal Church with them, becoming the first bishop of the new diocese. He was one of the founding bishops of the Anglican Church in North America in 2009.[3]

In 2017, Iker declared his diocese was in impaired communion with ACNA dioceses which ordain women:[4]

Most ACNA bishops and dioceses are opposed to women priests, but as it presently stands, the ACNA Constitution says each diocese can decide if it will ordain women priests or not. We now need to work with other dioceses to amend the Constitution to remove this provision. We are in a state of impaired communion because of this issue. The Task Force concluded that "both sides cannot be right." At the conclave, I informed the College of Bishops that I will no longer give consent to the election of any bishop who intends to ordain female priests, nor will I attend the consecration of any such bishop-elect in the future. I have notified the Archbishop of my resignation from all the committees to which I had been assigned to signify that it is no longer possible to have "business as usual" in the College of Bishops due to the refusal of those who are in favor of women priests to at least adopt a moratorium on this divisive practice, for the sake of unity. Bishops who continue to ordain women priests in spite of the received tradition are signs of disunity and division.

Iker retired in December 2019.[5]

See also[]

References[]

  1. ^ "The Bishop's Biography". Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth [ACNA]. 2014. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  2. ^ "The Bishop's Biography". Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth [ACNA]. 2014. Retrieved January 20, 2018.
  3. ^ Goodstein, Laurie (December 3, 2008). "Episcopal Split as Conservatives Form New Group". The New York Times. Retrieved August 27, 2012.
  4. ^ Iker, Jack. "The Bishop's Annual Address to the 35th Convention of the Diocese of Fort Worth Saturday, Nov. 4, 2017". The Episcopal Diocese of Fort Worth. Archived from the original on November 21, 2017.
  5. ^ "Jack Iker, a Founding Bishop of ACNA, Retires in Fort Worth". The Living Church. January 2, 2020.
Anglican Communion titles
Preceded by Episcopal Bishop of Fort Worth
1995–2008 		Succeeded by

(provisional)
Religious titles
New title ACNA Bishop of Fort Worth
2009–2019 		Succeeded by

Retrieved from ""