The Rt. Rev. David C. Bane Jr., announced his intention to retire as Bishop of Southern Virginia during a special session of diocesan council Oct. 1. The retirement, which becomes effective Feb. 12 pending approval by the House of Bishops, will bring to a close a period of “conflict and division” which has enveloped the diocese in recent years.

Bishop Bane, 63, was consecrated bishop coadjutor in 1997 and became the ninth diocesan bishop upon the retirement of the Rt. Rev. Frank H. Vest in June 1998. Conflict in the diocese over the past several years culminated in the adoption of Resolution R-5 at the 2005 annual council meeting last February. The resolution called upon Bishop Bane to request that Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold appoint three bishops to evaluate diocesan programs and relationships and to recommend steps to move the ministry of the diocese forward, according to a diocesan news release distributed Oct. 1.

The Rev. Edward Tracy, president of the standing committee and rector of Johns Memorial Church in Farmville, said the standing committee would seek the appointment of an assisting bishop and would meet with Bishop Bane and the Rt. Rev. F. Clayton Matthews from the Office of the Presiding Bishop Oct. 18 to review the canonical process for the transition period.

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