Bishop Marc

The Right Reverend Marc Handley Andrus is the eighth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of California. He was elected after three ballots in a special convention at San Francisco's Grace Cathedral on May 6, 2006, and was invested as Bishop of California on July 22, 2006. Prior to his election as Bishop of California, Andrus served as Bishop Suffragan in the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama.

Marc Handley Andrus was born on October 20, 1956, in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, to Mary Frances and Francis Andrus, and was raised in Kingston, Tennessee. He received his Bachelor of Science in Plant Science from the University of Tennessee, Knoxville in 1979, and a Masters in Social Sciences from Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, Blacksburg in 1982. After receiving his Masters Degree, Andrus went to work as a regional planner for the Accomack-Northampton Planning District Commission on Virginia's Delmarva Peninsula. In 1987, Andrus was awarded a Master of Divinity degree from the Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia. After being ordained deacon on June 20, 1987, Andrus became Senior Associate at Church of the Redeemer in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. While at Church of the Redeemer, Andrus was ordained priest on April 25, 1988. In 1990, Andrus became Chaplain at Episcopal High School in Alexandria, Virginia, until 1997 when he became Rector of Emmanuel Church in Middleburg, Virginia. He remained Rector of Emmanuel until his consecration as Bishop Suffragan for the Episcopal Diocese of Alabama on February 7, 2002. Andrus is married to Shiela Andrus, PhD, former Director of the Sparkman Center at the University of Alabama at Birmingham's School of Public Health, and they have two daughters: Chloe and Pilar.