The Rt. Rev. J. Neil Alexander, who has served as bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Atlanta for about a decade, announced Wednesday he will step aside to return to the classroom.
Alexander, 57, will join Emory University's Candler School of Theology in the fall of 2012 as a professor in the practice of liturgy and director of Candler's Anglican Studies program.
"I suppose I've always been a teacher at heart," said Alexander. "I love the classroom, the interchange of ideas, and the joy of watching students grow and mature as thinkers and scholars. The life of a teacher is a wonderful life and I look forward to getting back to it."
He has an extensive background in theological education, including positions at two Episcopal seminaries.
His resignation will become effective upon the ordination of a successor. The diocese covers Middle and North Georgia.
He "brings to Candler a significant scholarly record, as well as extraordinary insights about the needs of the church and the formation of congregational leaders,” Jan Love, dean and professor of Christianity and World Politics at Candler, said in a statement.
Alexander serves as president of the board of director of the College for Bishops and as a board member of the Archives of the Episcopal Church.
In 2009, he was elected to a six-year term as the 23rd chancellor of The University of the South. He will serve in that position through the board's October 2012 annual meeting.
Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Katharine Jefferts Schori said in a statement that Alexander's work as bishop of the Atlanta diocese " has been marked by growth, reaching out to and welcoming new people, and extending the mission and ministry of congregations."
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