The Rt. Rev. Frank Stanley Cerveny

Sixth Bishop of Florida

The Sixth Bishop of Florida, the Right Reverend Frank Stanley Cerveny, was called to the diocese in July 1972, to be dean of St. John's Cathedral. Bishop Hamilton West had asked for a coadjutor because he intended to retire at the end of 1974. On February 23, 1974, Dean Cerveny was elected bishop coadjutor.

He was consecrated as Bishop in the Church of God on May 23, 1974. The consecrator was the Presiding Bishop of the Church, the Right Reverend John Elbridge Hines, and co-consecrators were Bishop West and Bishop John Vander Horst, the Bishop of Tennessee. On January 1, 1975 Cerveny became the Sixth Bishop of Florida and on January 17 he was installed as Chief Pastor of this Diocese, which now unites over 30,000 Episcopalians in more than 70 congregations stretching from Jacksonville to Tallahassee and the Gulf, and south to Gainesville and PalmCoast.

Born in Springfield, Massachusetts, in 1933, Bishop Cerveny holds a B.A. from Trinity College, Hartford, where he was class president and was graduated with honors, and an M.Div. from General Theological Seminary in New York, where he was student body president. He holds four honorary doctorates. He began his ministry in 1958 as an assistant to the rector at Church of the Resurrection in Miamiand had been ordained priest there by Bishop Louttit, Bishop of the Diocese of South Florida. From Miamihe had gone to Trinity College New YorkCity, as an assistant, then had become rector, first of St. Luke's, Jackson, Tennessee, then of St. John's, Knoxville, Tennessee. From there he been called to St. John'sCathedral. It was said of him, then "he is regarded as a New Englander who is well adapted to the South" and that he was "keenly interested in the pastoral ministry, with concern of all ages."

Bishop Cerveny held numerous positions in the national Church and served on the national Board for Theological Education, served as chair of the Presiding Bishop's Select Committee, Deans and Bishop and the Environmental Stewardship Team of the national Church, in addition to acting as Trustee of University of the South.

During his episcopacy, the Diocese increased church membership, built heavily used CampWeedand the CervenyConference Centercentrally located lakefront acreage near Live Oak, and established the Episcopal Foundation for support of extended ministries within and outside the church. His commitment to witnessing the Gospel in both word and action in daily led Bishop Cerveny to take his sabbatical in Madrid, where he served as a worker priest at a Roman Catholic mission.

The years of Bishop Cerveny's episcopate coincided with the election of a new Presiding Bishop, ordination of women, election of women bishop, prayer book revision, the HIV/AIDS epidemic, gay rights, racism, abortion, death penalty, inclusive language texts, "church within a church" movement. Among Episcopalians, disagreement over such concerns fed potential disunity. Yet, Bishop Cerveny observed. we still in the Church, with visible growth in spirituality in the Diocese. "Diversity rooted in community will be creative rather than destructive," he taught.

With Bishop Cerveny focusing the people of the Diocese on common goals, accomplishments were many. Among them: The Episcopal Foundation was launched to enable ministry and growth beyond the reach of the annual budget of the Diocese. Men and women were ordained to the permanent diaconate, and our first Canon IX priest ordained. "Total Ministry" offered a growing understanding of clergy-lay sharing of the ministry of all the baptized. A Diocese-wide computer network brought secular technology to the service of the Church, interconnecting parishes and transmitting daily reports from General Convention in 1991. The Diocese underwrote experienced priests for missions congregations, enabling missions to more quickly reach parish status and releasing support funds for new missions. CBS/TV cameras were welcomed into the Bishop's office to film a documentary on diocesan ministry to criminals and victims. Bishop Cerveny and his Roman Catholic colleague Bishop Snyder iterated the drafting of a pastoral "Letter to Christians in Florida" on the death penalty, signed by leaders of major denominations in the state.

Bishop Cerveny's long friendship with the Bishop of Cuba led to a Partners in Mission and Companion Diocese relationship, a continual exchange of visitors, Cursillo candidates from Cuba, and establishments of a Cross of Nails chapter in Havana, enhancing Floridians lives with the witness and vitality of the Cuban church. Planners guided by a consulting firm identified mission sites, seeking affordable real estate ahead of predicting growth and cost increases. Large crowds assembled to mark such happy events as the Bishop's 50th birthday or the 10th anniversary of Cursillo. St. Mary's Outreach Mission, serving the inner city, Episcopal Child Day Care Centers grew to a national model. The Diocese became well-known throughout our church as a leader in renewal for both adults and youth. The Diocesan was created, an award-winning newspaper unifying ministries with the Diocese and the Anglican Communion.

Nine Bishops, including the Presiding Bishop, participated in the Sesquicentennial Diocese Convention of the Diocese of Florida. The Christian Healing Ministry, Inc. was encouraged by the Diocese, providing a center for healing, reconciliation, and peace. Diocesan Convention adopted a format preceding business sessions with prayer in small groups. The Rt. Rev. Robert Varley named Assistant Bishop in 1989, easing Bishop Cerveny's visitation schedule and becoming chief coordinator of the Twenty-First Century Document.

At the end of 1992, Bishop Cerveny, 59, resigned to become Executive Vice President of the Church Pension Group headquarters in New York City, joining the managerial team "ministering to ministers" as he put it. To the joy of his flock, he and Emmy kept their Jacksonville home, planning to return after retirement. The Diocese said reluctant and fond farewells. Bishop Cerveny's strong leadership had been an anchor in uncertain times; his episcopacy had spanned a time of worldwide disunities with a consistent call to unity in Christ.