BISHOPS

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Audrey Scanlan

The Rt. Rev. Dr. Audrey C. Scanlan is the first Bishop Diocesan of the Diocese of the Susquehanna. She was elected at the joint Annual Convention of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania and the Episcopal Diocese of Bethlehem on October 18, 2025.

Bishop Scanlan was first elected Bishop Diocesan of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania on March 14, 2015. She was ordained and consecrated as the eleventh bishop of the diocese of Central Pennsylvania on September 12, 2015, in Harrisburg. 

Before her ministry in Central Pennsylvania, Bishop Scanlan served in various capacities in the Diocese of Connecticut. She was on diocesan staff as Canon for Mission Collaboration and Congregational Life, was the Rector of two yoked congregations in Central Connecticut and served two other local congregations.  Bishop Scanlan has co-authored three volumes of lesson plans called “Rhythms of Grace,” and holds a doctorate in the Theology of Disability.

In her tenure in Central Pennsylvania, Bishop Scanlan has focused on Congregational Development and Vitality through the Shaped by Faith project and has worked to refine administrative processes in the diocese.  She has a love of pastoral ministry and has made the parishes and their clergy her first priority. She is a leader in working to reduce gun violence in our Commonwealth.  In the wider Church, Bishop Scanlan has chaired legislative committees on Ministry, and Sexual Harassment, Exploitation and Safe Church processes; taught Title IV (disciplinary canons) at the College for Bishops; served on the church-wide Committee on Nominations and was a member of the Joint Nominating Committee to Elect the Presiding Bishop. Currently, she serves as a bishop coach for newly ordained bishops and on the Disciplinary Court of Review for Bishops.

Bishop Scanlan and her husband Glenn have been married since 1984 and are the parents of three adult children – Emma, William, and Harriet- and four grandchildren. They live in Mechanicsburg, PA. She enjoys hiking and cooking among her hobbies.

The Rt. Rev. Kevin D. Nichols

The Rt. Rev. Kevin D. Nichols was appointed Assistant Bishop of the Diocese of the Susquehanna on October 18, 2025. He was appointed by Bishop Scanlan immediately following her election to serve as Bishop Diocesan. Bishop Nichols will be put forth for election as the next Bishop of the Diocese of the Susquehanna when Bishop Scanlan retires in October of 2027.

Bishop Nichols was ordained and consecrated as the IX Bishop of Bethlehem on September 15, 2018. He was elected on the first ballot of a Special Electing Convention held on April 28, 2018, at the Cathedral Church of the Nativity, Bethlehem. Prior to his election, Bishop Nichols was Chief Operating Officer and Canon for Mission Resources in the Diocese of New Hampshire. He was formerly president of the Diocese of New Hampshire’s Standing Committee and a member of the churchwide Task Force to Reimagine the Episcopal Church.

Bishop Nichols began his ministry as a bi-vocational priest, serving a small rural parish while working full-time as an account manager and management trainer for Sealed Air Corporation, a packaging company. A former Roman Catholic priest who received his Master of Divinity degree from St. Mary’s Seminary and University in Baltimore, he was received into the Episcopal priesthood in 1999 and has served as Rector of St. Stephen’s in Pittsfield, New Hampshire, and St. Andrew’s in Hopkinton, New Hampshire.

Bishop Nichols’ wife, Patti, is a licensed clinical social worker. They have four adult children, and five grandchildren.