Drexel Gomez


Drexel Wellington Gomez was a Bahamian Anglican bishop.

Biography

Gomez was born on the Berry Islands in the Bahamas on 24 January 1937. He graduated from St Chad's College, Durham University, in 1959. He was enthroned and consecrated as Lord Bishop of Barbados at the Cathedral [Church of Saint Michael and All Angels|Cathedral Church of St. Michael] on 25 June 1972. In 1997 he was elected bishop of the Diocese of The [Bahamas and the Turks and Caicos Islands].
He was elected Archbishop of [the West Indies|Archbishop and Primate of the Province of the West Indies] in 1996. His full title became "His Grace the Most Reverend Drexel Wellington Gomez, Lord Archbishop, Metropolitan and Primate of the Church of the West Indies & Bishop of the Diocese Of Nassau & The Bahamas".
Along with Archbishop Peter Akinola, Anglican Primate of Nigeria, Gomez was a leading opponent of the ordination of non-celibate gay people as Anglican clergy. This issue escalated into a crisis for the Anglican Communion following the consecration of an openly non-celibate gay priest, Gene Robinson, as the Bishop of New Hampshire in the United States in 2003.
In October 2003, Gomez was appointed to the Lambeth Commission on Communion by the Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams. The commission produced the Report of the Lambeth Commission on Communion, published in October 2004.
In August 2007, Gomez was the main preacher at a service at which several Anglican archbishops consecrated two American priests as bishops despite the opposition of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Gomez accused the American church of "aggressive revisionist theology" and teaching lies.
Gomez retired in 2009. He died from stomach cancer in The Bahamas, on 14 October 2025, at the age of 88. His tomb is outside of St Agnes Anglican Church in Nassau.

Works

Liturgical works