The 35th meeting of synod of the Anglican Episcopal Church in Brazil has elected the bishop of the Diocese of the Amazon, the Rt. Rev. Marinez Bassotto as its primate. Archbishop Bassotto will be the IEAB’s first woman primate and the first woman primate of the Anglican churches of Central and South America. Meeting in Belém on 13 November 2022, the House of Bishops elected her primate in succession to the Most Rev. Naudal Alves Gomes. Her election was confirmed by the church’s lower house of clergy and lay deputies to synod. Archbishop Bassotto was installed in office later that day at a service in the Catedral de Santa Maria in Belém.
Elected the IEAB’s first woman bishop in 2018, Archbishop Bassotto was awarded the Cross of St Augustine in March 2022 by the archbishop of Canterbury, the Most Rev. Justin Welby. The citation stated her award was given in recognition of “outstanding service in supporting the Communions role in the care of creation and on issues of climate justice, giving voice to indigenous peoples.”
