The Rev. Sarah Fisher, rector of St. Catherine’s Episcopal Church in Marietta, Georgia, was elected ninth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina on Nov. 15. Photo: Diocese of East Carolina
[Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina] The Rev. Sarah Fisher, rector of St. Catherine’s Episcopal Church in Marietta, Georgia, was elected ninth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina on Nov. 15 during a meeting of the diocesan convention in Goldsboro, North Carolina.
Fisher was elected on the third ballot.
Before becoming rector of St. Catherine’s, she was associate rector of St. Patrick’s Episcopal Church in Dunwoody, Georgia. She was ordained to the priesthood in 2005 in the Diocese of Atlanta and holds degrees from The General Theological Seminary and Agnes Scott College.
Other nominees on the ballot were the Rev. Brian Cannaday, rector of St. Christopher Episcopal Church in League City, Texas, and the Rev. Caleb Lee, rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Wilmington, North Carolina. Lee withdrew his name from consideration after the second ballot.
The bishop-elect will succeed Bishop Rob Skirving, who will retire in 2026 after 11 years in office.
Pending the canonically required consent of a majority of the Episcopal Church’s diocesan standing committees and bishops with jurisdiction, Fisher will be ordained and consecrated as bishop diocesan on May 23, 2026, at the Riverfront Convention Center in New Bern, North Carolina.
The Diocese of East Carolina consists of 67 parishes and two college campus ministries and covers the area from I-95 to the coast in the state of North Carolina. The diocese serves several military bases, a large Latino community and parishes of all sizes across five deaneries.