Church court modifies ruling on bishop elections

By Heather Hahn

June 1, 2022 | UM News

The United Methodist Church’s top court has set Jan. 1, 2023, as the date when U.S. bishops facing mandatory retirement must step down and their newly elected successors take office.

That means new bishops will be able to begin their assignments in the usual timespan of nearly two months after U.S. jurisdictional conferences. The Council of Bishops has scheduled the regional meetings that elect bishops for Nov. 2-5 this year.

The Judicial Council spelled out its reasons for setting Jan. 1 as the changeover date in Memorandum 1446, which modifies an earlier decision that allows U.S. jurisdictional conferences to go forward this year.

In the memorandum released June 1, the church court reiterated its ruling that the Council of Bishops has the authority to call the regional meetings “for the limited purpose” of continuing “episcopacy in The United Methodist Church” as required by the denomination’s constitution.

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