The Rt. Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde

Mariann Edgar Budde serves as spiritual leader for 88 Episcopal congregations and 10 Episcopal schools in the District of Columbia and four Maryland counties. The first woman elected to this position, she also serves as the chair and president of the Protestant Episcopal Cathedral Foundation, which oversees the ministries of the Washington National Cathedral and Cathedral schools.

A passionate believer in the gospel of Jesus and the Episcopal Church’s particular witness, Bishop Budde is committed to the spiritual and numerical growth of congregations and developing new expressions of Christian community. She believes that Jesus calls all who follow him to strive for justice and peace, and to respect the dignity of every human being.

Bishop Budde was consecrated as the ninth bishop of Washington in November 2011, and served as Interim Dean of Washington National Cathedral from 2016-2017. Prior to her election, she served for 18 years as rector of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Minneapolis.

She earned a B.A. in history at the University of Rochester, graduating magna cum laude. She earned both a Masters in Divinity (1989) and Doctor of Ministry (2008) from Virginia Theological Seminary. Her sermons have been published in several books and journals and she is the author of two books, Receiving Jesus: The Way of Love (2019) and Gathering Up the Fragments: Preaching as Spiritual Practice (2007).

When not working, you’ll often find her riding her bicycle, cooking dinner for friends or visiting family. Bishop Budde and her husband, Paul, have two adult sons, Amos and Patrick.