Two bishops suffragan for the Diocese of Connecticut were consecrated Oct. 14 at the First Cathedral in Bloomfield. The Rev. Canon Wilfrido Ramos-Orench and the Rev. Canon James E. Curry were consecrated as a congregation of about 1,500 looked on.

The Rt. Rev. Douglas E. Theuner, Bishop of New Hampshire and president of Province 1, was the chief consecrator. The Rt. Rev. Andrew Smith, Bishop of Connecticut, and the Rt. Rev. Clarence Coleridge, retired Bishop of Connecticut, were co-consecrators. Other consecrating bishops were, for Bishop Curry, the Rt. Rev. Chilton A.R. Knudsen, Bishop of Maine, the Rt. Rev. Barbara C. Harris, Bishop Suffragan of Massachusetts, and the Rt. Rev. Gordon P. Scruton, Bishop of Western Massachusetts; and for Bishop Ramos, his brother, the Rt. Rev. Jose Antonio Ramos-Orench, former Bishop of Costa Rica, and two retired bishops of Puerto Rico, the Rt. Rev. Albert E. Swift and the Rt. Rev. Francisco Reus-Froylan.

The Rt. Rev. Steven Charleston, dean and president of Episcopal Divinity School, told the bishops-elect in his sermon to let their confidence emerge from humility and not from the purple shirts that bishops wear. "Let those who would be truly great open their hearts ... listen and learn, open your eyes and see, don't close yourself off with vain confidence."

The service featured a Puerto Rican dance group, bilingual prayers, and a sermon introduced with a Lakota Sioux greeting. Music came from Anglican, African American, Haitian and Latino cultural traditions. A diocesan choir sang an anthem composed for the occasion.

Bishop Curry has worked on the diocesan staff in Connecticut since 1998, and was rector of Trinity Church, Portland, Maine, for 10 years prior to that. Bishop Ramos was a missioner in as regional ministry in Hartford at the time of his election.