The Most Rev. Drexel Gomez, former archbishop in the global Anglican Communion who was known for advancing theologically conservative views, has died. He was 88.
Gomez died in his native Bahamas on Tuesday following a lengthy illness, reported Anglican Ink. He is survived by his wife, four children and 11 grandchildren.
The Anglican Diocese of the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, where Gomez formerly served as bishop, issued a statement expressing their condolences to his family and friends.
“His contribution spans the diocese, the community of the Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands, the Province of the West Indies, and the worldwide Anglican Communion,” stated the diocese.
“It would be fair to say that the impact of this Bahamian son from Bullocks Harbour, the Berry Islands, to the world stage has been nothing short of tremendous.”
Drexel Wellington Gomez was born in 1937 in the Bahamas-owned Berry Islands, and was educated at Codrington College in Barbados and St. Chad’s College in the United Kingdom.
Gomez was ordained a deacon in 1959 and a priest in 1961. In 1972, he became the bishop of the Diocese of Barbados at age 36, the first Caribbean-born person to lead the regional body.
Gomez was elected archbishop and primate of the West Indies in 1998, serving in the leadership position until he retired in 2008. He remained active in church affairs until earlier this year.
During his time in office, the 77 million-member Anglican Communion experienced much theological debate, including threats of schism over the consecration of the Rev. Gene Robinson as the first openly gay bishop in the U.S.-based Episcopal Church.
Gomez denounced such theologically progressive trends, becoming a prominent and influential voice among Anglican Communion member churches based in the Global South.
In 2007, for example, Gomez criticized The Episcopal Church, acting “in defiance of the rest of the entire Anglican Communion” when they advanced “homosexual practice.”
“In the church’s long history, the uninterrupted consensus is that physical intercourse is only intended for man and woman within marriage in a life long commitment,” stated Gomez at the time.
“Anything else is contrary to God’s will for humanity. The ground for the church taking this stand is the Bible and it is transparently clear about homosexual behavior.”
Gomez was part of the Lambeth Commission on Communion, which released a document in 2004 known as “The Windsor Report” that analyzed the impact of the Robinson ordination on unity within the global Anglican body.
The report was critical of the Episcopal Church’s decision to ordain Robinson, but also encouraged unity and the fostering of reconciliation among the different sides of the debate.
In the summer of 2022, the Diocese of The Bahamas and The Turks and Caicos held a multiday celebration to mark the 50th anniversary of when Gomez was consecrated a bishop.
The Rt. Rev. Robert Thompson, retired bishop of the Diocese of Jamaica & the Cayman Islands, delivered remarks as part of the observance, saying that Gomez “represented the best of Caribbean scholarship” and that he “used every opportunity” to “defend a theological synthesis that was as spiritually uplifting as it was liberating for the people.”
“There has been much discussion on the identity, integrity and authority of Anglicanism in recent decades,” said Thompson in 2022. “Archbishop Gomez, himself, has been at the forefront of some of those discussions.”
“Archbishop Gomez is easily numbered among the audacious Anglicans whose love for Christ and the Church inspired generations of faithful disciples.”
