The Rt. Rev. Robert H. Johnson has been selected by the standing committee of the Diocese of Southern Virginia to become that diocese's interim bishop. Bishop Johnson retired as the Bishop of Western North Carolina in September 2004 after almost 17 years of service.

He will succeed the Rt. Rev. David C. Bane, Jr., who announced his intention to retire last October. The standing committee serves as the ecclesiastical authority during the transition period.

The Rev. Charles Joy, rector of St. Andrew’s Church in Norfolk and a member of the Standing Committee, made the announcement to the Executive Board at its January meeting.

“Bishop Johnson will serve as ‘the interim interim’ from the conclusion of annual council in February until at least the middle of July, except for a period in late March and early April when he has a prior commitment.”

Bishop Johnson was recommended to the diocese by the Rt. Rev. Clay Mathews from the Office of the Presiding Bishop. “Bishop Johnson is an experienced leader who will provide a ‘nonanxious’ presence as we begin this next phase in our transition,” said Fr. Joy.

Last year, the annual diocesan council asked Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold to appoint a panel of three diocesan bishops to investigate and report on conflict in the diocese. The six-page report—which was written by the Rt. Rev. Charles E. Jenkins III, Bishop of Louisiana, the Rt. Rev. Chilton A.R. Knudsen, Bishop of Maine, and the Rt. Rev. Gordon P. Scruton, Bishop of Western Massachusetts—concluded that the roots of division in the diocese extend back at least 50 years and recommended a number of structural changes including the appointment of a “skilled interim bishop” for a period of three years.

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