The Rt. Rev. Clifton Daniel III, dean of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City, said on March 15 that he will resign effective June 30.

Daniel was appointed dean in June 2018, having served as interim dean since March 2017. Previously he served as bishop coadjutor and diocesan bishop of the Diocese of East Carolina (1996-2013) and as provisional bishop of the Diocese of Pennsylvania (2013-2016). 

In a letter to New York Bishop Andrew Dietsche and the cathedral’s lay leaders, Daniel expressed “thanksgiving and gratitude for the call to serve this great Cathedral of St. John the Divine as your dean for five eventful and wonderful years,” adding that his resignation is “in accord with the terms of my original agreement with the bishop and Board of Trustees.”

“Serving as dean of this great cathedral has been a signal honor of my ordained ministry, and I am profoundly grateful,” Daniel wrote.

Daniel began serving as dean following the resignation of the Very Rev. James Kowalski, who served as dean from 2002-17.