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Church leaders seek ways to support Diocese of Haiti during long-term leadership transition

March 11, 2026

[Episcopal News Service] The Episcopal Church, after struggling for years to support Haitian Episcopalians amid internal diocesan divisions, as well as the country’s ongoing civil unrest and humanitarian crises, is taking steps to strengthen communication with diocesan leaders and to assist local ministries. Executive Council, the churchwide governing body, has formed a committee devoted to Haiti that has been in contact with local leaders to provide support to Episcopal schools and other ministries in the Caribbean nation, one of the poorest in the world. The church also recently sent a shipment of 1,500 French-language copies of the Book of Common Prayer in response to a request from the Diocese of Haiti Standing Committee. The diocese, one of The Episcopal Church’s largest by reported membership, has been without a bishop since 2019, after the result of its last bishop election was disputed. There remains no clear timeline for calling a new bishop, though churchwide leaders are hopeful that the diocese’s long leadership transition eventually will end in stability. “We have begun a search-preparedness process that will hopefully lead to a successful election and consent process for a bishop down the road,” the Rev. Charles Robertson, canon and senior adviser to Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe, told Episcopal News Service. Robertson is part of the group of churchwide leaders who have been working to reconnect with Episcopal leaders in Haiti. Robertson put particular emphasis on the ministries underway in Haitian congregations, schools and clinics. “There’s so much incredibly good work being done on the ground,” he said, “heroic work that is being done by clergy and lay leaders throughout the diocese in various areas.” In 2019, after the diocese’s bishop election failed to receive the necessary churchwide consents from a majority of bishops and diocesan standing committees, Bishop Jean Zaché Duracin retired without a successor, and the standing committee assumed authority over the diocese. In subsequent years, the diocese reportedly devolved into chaos and infighting, with two rival factions claiming they had elected the diocese’s legitimate standing committee. Some Episcopalians have urged The Episcopal Church to play a greater role in resolving the turmoil in the Diocese of Haiti, though churchwide officials’ ability to intervene is limited by the church’s Constitution and Canons – at least until potential revisions can be proposed, considered and approved. In 2024, General Convention passed a resolution that called for a study of “the leadership obstacles faced by the Diocese of Haiti” and for the development of a new canonical process that would allow churchwide leaders to assist Haiti and any other diocese that faces a similar crisis in the future. The Standing Commission on Structure, Governance, Constitution and Canons is expected to draft and submit its proposal for consideration in 2027 by the 82nd General Convention. Episcopal leaders, though limited in what they can do, have remained active in offering support to Haiti. Bishop Pierre Whalon, the French-speaking former leader of the Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe, has been available to provide pastoral support as needed. Robertson also has been working with the Executive Council Committee on Mission and Ministry in Haiti, chaired by the Rev. Wilmont Merchant, a South Carolina priest. The donation of 1,500 prayer books was a small but tangible success in the committee’s collaboration with the Haiti standing committee, which said it did not have enough prayer books in French. “We felt that was an easy task to complete,” Merchant told Executive Council at its Feb. 20 online meeting. Additional support is under consideration. Robertson also preached at a Feb. 28 prayer service hosted by Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria. The event was organized to “pray for God’s guidance in Haiti, meet others whose hearts remain with the Haitian people and collaborate as we look toward a more hopeful future.” – David Paulsen is a senior reporter and editor for Episcopal News Service based in Wisconsin. He can be reached at dpaulsen@episcopalchurch.org.