[Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida] The Very Rev. Peter Eaton, dean of St. John’s Cathedral in Denver, Colorado, was elected as bishop coadjutor of the Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida on Jan. 31, pending the required consents from a majority of bishops with jurisdiction and standing committees of The Episcopal Church.

Eaton, 56, was elected during a special convention held at Trinity Cathedral in Miami. He was elected on the fourth ballot out of a field of six nominees. He received 87 votes of 161 cast in the lay order and 72 of 125 cast in the clergy order. An election on that ballot required 82 in the lay order and 63 in the clergy order.

“I shall strive every day to be worthy of the trust and confidence that you have placed in me today,” said Eaton following the election. “I am particularly honored to be called to work with Bishop Frade, who, with his wife Diana, enjoys the respect and love not just of the Diocese of Southeast Florida, but of so many in our Church.”

A bishop coadjutor is elected to replace the diocesan bishop upon retirement. Frade, diocesan bishop since 2000, will retire in January 2016.

Under the canons (III.11.4) of The Episcopal Church, a majority of bishops exercising jurisdiction and diocesan standing committees must consent to Eaton’s ordination as bishop coadjutor within 120 days of receiving notice of the election.

Eaton has served as dean at St. John’s Cathedral since 2002. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1982 from King’s College, London, along with an Associate of King’s College in theology. In 1985, he earned a Bachelor of Arts in Theology degree from Queen’s College, Cambridge, and in 1989 a Master of Arts degree. In 1986, he earned a Certificate in Theology from Wescott House Seminary in Cambridge. From 1989-1991, he was a graduate research student in Early Christian history and literature at Magdalen College, Oxford.

The other nominees were:

• The Rev. Michael J. Battle, 51, interim dean for students and community life, Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts;
• The Very Rev. DeDe Duncan-Probe, 52, rector of St. Peter’s in the Woods Episcopal Church in Fairfax  Station, Virginia;
• The Rev. John C. N. Hall, 56, rector of St. Boniface Episcopal Church in Sarasota, Florida;
• The Rev. Allen F. Robinson, 44, rector of St. James Episcopal Church in Baltimore, Maryland;
• The Rev. Canon Martin W. Zlatic, 58, rector of St. Joseph’s Episcopal Church in Boynton Beach, Florida.

Pending the required consents, Eaton will be ordained and consecrated as the bishop coadjutor of Southeast Florida on Saturday, May 9 at Trinity Cathedral in Miami.

The Episcopal Diocese of Southeast Florida includes 76 congregations, with approximately 38,000 parishioners, from Key West north to Jensen Beach and west to Clewiston.