
Former Rector of the Most Holy Trinity Anglican Church Father Etienne Bowleg has died.
Bowleg, a former professor at The College of The Bahamas, was known for his personal and impassioned sermons which helped to connect him to his congregation.
Father Bowleg made news headlines in 2010 after he renounced all allegiance as a priest of the Anglican Diocese of the Bahamas and Turks and Caicos Islands.
At the time, Anglican Bishop Laish Boyd described Father Bowleg's renunciation as a "sad and serious occurrence in the life of the Diocese”.
Bowleg was at the center of a bitter and very public legal battle over his real age and involuntary retirement.
At the time, Father Bowleg contended that he was 64 years old. However, he had a 1937 birth certificate and was recognized by the Anglican Diocese as being 72 - two years beyond the mandatory retirement age for Anglican priests.
The retirement age of Anglican priests is 65, but the Anglican bishop can extend it by another five years.
In 2010, Senior Justice Jon Isaacs lifted an injunction that prohibited the removal of Father Bowleg as rector of the Most Holy Trinity, located in Stapledon Gardens.
In the end, Bowleg was forced out and Holy Trinity’s locks were changed. He eventually formed his own church with a small but loyal congregation.
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