Diocese of the North Eastern Caribbean & Aruba Elects New Bishop
The Diocese of the North Eastern Caribbean & Aruba has elected the successor to long-serving and now retired, Bishop L. Errol Brooks. On the fourth ballot of the Electoral College, the Very Revd Ernest Flemming was elected as the next bishop. He has been the Dean of the Cathedral of St John the Divine in St John’s, Antigua for the last several years. He succeeded Dean Rudolph Smithen.
Dean Flemming is known for his caring and pastoral style of ministry.
Bishop Brooks had twice served as the Acting Archbishop during his twenty-three years in office. He was featured on BBC 2’s, An Island Parish in 2017.
The Diocese is unique in that it covers twelve different islands with six different political jurisdictions.
Three are independent nations but the Netherlands, France, and the UK have dependencies in the diocese.
The independent nations are: Antigua & Barbuda, St Kitts & Nevis, and Dominica. All are members of the Commonwealth. The Netherlands Antilles are: St Maarten, Statia, Saba, and Aruba. Anguilla and Monserrat are UK Overseas Territories. The French islands are: St Martin and St Bart.
France and the Netherlands share St Martin and St Maarten. The entire island is only 37 square miles in size.
The Anglican Church is the largest Christian body in the former English colonies of the UK and in the two Overseas Territories in the diocese.
No date for Dean Flemming’s consecration has been set. It is pending the consent of the Bishops of the Church of the Province of the West Indies.
The Diocese lies in most natural disaster prone part of the world. Each year it faces hurricanes, volcanic eruptions, earthquakes, and tsunamis.
