The Episcopal Church appoints its first transgender cathedral dean
Rev. Micah Cronin makes history as the Episcopal Church’s first openly transgender dean. (Taylor McFarland Photography, All Saints’ Cathedral)
The Episcopal Church has welcomed its first transgender dean to its All Saints’ Cathedral in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
The Very Reverend Micah Cronin took on the role in August and is leading an LGBTQ+ affirming congregation with an average Sunday attendance of around 70 people, as detailed in an Episcopal News Service interview.
Speaking about what the moment represents, Cronin said: “The way I see our moment in The Episcopal Church right now is being a church that has taken a stand to welcome and include because of its Christian faith.
“Just by me existing as a trans person and as a priest, I get to have conversations with people that very few people get to have. I think we have a chance to preach the Gospel in places it wouldn’t otherwise be heard.”
A milestone for trans inclusion
Cronin told Episcopal News Service that he grew up in conservative churches in rural Western New York, which did not accept him as a transgender man. He said he became Episcopalian at 19 after finding an affirming church in Olean, New York.
He previously served as a transitional deacon in the Diocese of New Jersey, and wrote in 2022 about engaging people who resist tolerance, including those with anti-trans views. In an Earth & Altar essay, he wrote: “We are to seek and serve Christ in those whose political attitudes appear repugnant, even dangerous, to us,” and also referenced serving those who are “homophobic” and “anti-transgender”.
The Episcopal Church is the US member church of the Anglican Communion, with dioceses across the United States and a long-running internal history of debates over sexuality and gender. Trans clergy visibility in Christian denominations has often been a focal point in broader political and media debates about LGBTQ+ inclusion in religious institutions.
Cronin added: “What I have found in The Episcopal Church is a place where I can exist exactly as who I am and be found by Jesus and help other people find Jesus.”
Support from TransEpiscopal
Reverend Cameron Partridge of TransEpiscopal, a group that works towards fully embracing trans and non-binary people in the Episcopal Church, described Cronin’s elevation as a milestone.
He said: “It is so moving how The Episcopal Church has been a place where [Cronin] could follow Jesus authentically and step more fully into his vocation as a human being and a priest.”
Partridge also referenced one of its founding members Reverend Gari Green’s earlier ministry in Milwaukee before her death in 2024, adding: “I think Gari would see this moment as a true sign of hope and transformative possibility for our church and our world.”
