The Rev. David L. Moyer, rector of Church of the Good Shepherd, Rosemont, Pa., was consecrated as a Bishop Suffragan for the Armed Forces in the Anglican Church in America, a jurisdiction of the Traditional Anglican Communion (TAC), on Feb. 16 at Good Shepherd.

Also consecrated at the same time was the Rev. David Chislett, rector of All Saints’, Brisbane, in the Anglican Church of Australia. Both men were also licensed as bishops in the Diocese of The Murray by one of the two co-consecrating bishops whose sees are in communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury.

In a letter sent by the Rt. Rev. Ross Owen Davies, Bishop of The Murray, to the Most Rev. Phillip Aspinall, Archbishop of Brisbane, Bishop Davies said he chose to participate “to ensure that the consecration is seen as having credibility in the Anglican Communion and as my public statement that it is essential that we have alternative episcopal oversight.”

The chief consecrator was Archbishop John Hepworth of the TAC. The Rt. Rev. Maternus Kapinga, Bishop of Ruvuma in the Anglican Church of Tanzania, was the other co-consecrator in communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury.

Bishop Moyer was charged with abandonment of communion and deposed as an Episcopal priest in 2002 by the Rt. Rev. Charles E. Bennison, Jr., Bishop of Pennsylvania. The validity of that deposition has not been universally recognized by members of the Episcopal Church House of Bishops, and Bishop Moyer has remained as rector at Good Shepherd while a lawsuit accusing Bishop Bennison of breach of contract is adjudicated by the Court of Common Pleas of Montgomery County.

In addition to his new episcopal duties, an announcement on the parish website said Bishop Moyer will continue with his previous duties at Good Shepherd, which remains part of the Episcopal Church and the Diocese of Pennsylvania.