Bishop John Rodgers, a longtime resident of the diocese, has agreed to assist Bishop Robert Duncan now that former Pittsburgh Assistant Bishop Henry Scriven has completed his service in the diocese and taken a position in England. Bishop Duncan will continue to conduct parish visitations. However, in rare cases where he is not available, Bishop Rodgers will be on hand for confirmations, ordinations and other tasks.

. . . Bishop Rodgers first joined the Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh in 1976 when he accepted the first dean and president of Trinity Episcopal School for Ministry. After retiring from the seminary, Bishop Rodgers also served as rector of St. Stephens in Sewickley as well as various diocesan offices. A scholar, with a doctoral degree in systematic theology from the University of Basil, Switzerland, Bishop Rodgers also served as an officer in the Marine Corps after attending the Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland.

In fact, Bishop Rodgers traces his engagement with his faith to his time serving as part of a marine detachment on a Navy destroyer. "You realize that these waves are very big and they dont know your name. So I started to pray," he said.

Ordained a bishop in 2000 for the Anglican Mission in the Americas, a group of congregations committed to evangelism that left The Episcopal Church and came under the authority of the Anglican Provinces of Rwanda and Southeast Asia, Bishop Rodgers is no stranger to the politics of The Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion. In fact, those politics kept him from being able to officially function as a bishop in The Episcopal Diocese of Pittsburgh until it voted to separate from The Episcopal Church.