Garth Minott elected Anglican Bishop of Kingston

University of the West Indies chaplain, the Reverend Canon Garth Minott, has been elected the new Anglican Bishop of Kingston, the most powerful region in the Jamaican church.

Minott was elected this afternoon following votes by the clergy and the laity at the 151st annual meeting of the Synod of the Anglican Church in Jamaica and the Cayman Islands.

He was nominated by Archbishop of the West Indies and Bishop of Jamaica and The Cayman Islands, the Most Rev Dr Howard Gregory.

Minott was the single nominee last year but had failed to get enough support from his fellow clergy.

Minott, who is in his 50s, will be officially installed later this year as the Suffragan Bishop of Kingston, a position that functions in an assistant capacity to the Bishop of Jamaica.

He'll replace the Right Reverend Dr Robert Thompson, who retired in 2020.

Though declining in numbers, the Anglican Church is one of the more influential denominations in Jamaica, which runs some of the country's top schools and administers several child services.

Latest available data taken from the 2011 population census shows that the Anglican population stood at approximately 75,000, a two percentage point decline over the 2001 figure – representing just under three per cent of the country's population.

Some facts about Rev Garth Minott:

· Appointed canon in October 2016

· Lectures at The United Theological College of the West Indies (UTCWI)

· Ordained a deacon in 1992 and a priest the following year

· Bachelor of Arts in Theology from The University of the West Indies (1992); Master's in Theology from McGill University, Canada (2001); and Diploma in Ministerial Studies (UTCWI, 1992)

· Research interests: Christian Ethics; Pastoral Studies; Religious Studies 

· Served at Holy Trinity Church in Westgate, Montego Bay, St James from 1992-1994; Rector of St. Mark's Church, Brown's Town, St Ann from March 1994 – July 2003; Warden of Anglican Students at UTCWI since August 2003.

· Married with two children

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