The Rev. John C. Bauerschmidt was elected Bishop of Tennessee on the 12th ballot Oct. 28, but not before one final surprise. After pulling within one clergy vote of the required two-thirds majority in both the lay and clergy order on the ninth ballot, an audible gasp reverberated through the sanctuary of Christ Church Cathedral in Nashville after the 11th ballot when, for the second time, Fr. Bauerschmidt lost the support of a clergy voter. The closest challenger was the Rev. James L. Burns, rector of Church of the Heavenly Rest in New York City. The other candidate was the Rev. Carter N. Paden, rector of St. Peter’s, Chattanooga, Tenn.

Aside from a little more extensive private conversation among clergy after the 11th ballot, a diocesan spokesperson told The Living Church the special convention did not do anything different in an attempt to bring to conclusion the lengthy process which began with a different slate of candidates last spring. Including the 39 votes held March 18, March 25 and again on May 6, Tennessee required 51 ballots to find a successor to the Rt. Rev. Bertram N. Herlong who retires as diocesan Oct. 31.

The election of Bishop Herlong in 1993 required 15 ballots. Elections in all three Tennessee dioceses often require multiple ballots because the constitution and canons of each specify a two-thirds majority in both houses.

When informed of his election by the president of the diocesan standing committee, Fr. Bauerschmidt said he was “humbled and elated.” A Virginia native, Fr. Bauerschmidt is a 1984 graduate of the General Theological Seminary in New York City. He also earned a D. Phil. degree from Oxford University in England in 1996. He has been rector of Christ Church, Covington, La., since 1997. Last year the parish suffered mild damage from Hurricane Katrina and offered assistance to several evacuees from New Orleans.

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