Life and ministry

Gomez was born on the Berry Islands

Berry Islands

The Berry Islands are a chain of islands and a district of the Bahamas, covering about thirty square miles of the north western part of the Out Islands...

.He graduated from St Chad's College

St Chad's College

St Chad's College is a college of the University of Durham in England. One of the smallest of Durham's colleges in terms of student numbers , it has the largest staff, the most extensive college library facilities, and consistently the highest academic results in Durham...

, Durham University

Durham University

The University of Durham, commonly known as Durham University, is a university in Durham, England. It was founded by Act of Parliament in 1832 and granted a Royal Charter in 1837...

 in 1959. He was consecrated as the Bishop of Barbados

Bishop of Barbados

The Anglican diocese of Barbados was set up in 1824, as one of two covering the whole Caribbean. Before that, the area was nominally under the charge of the Bishop of London, a situation that had been assumed to hold from 1660 onwards...

 and in 1997 was elected the Bishop of the Bahamas & the Turks & Caicos Islands. He was elected Archbishop

Archbishop

An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...

 and Primate of the Province of the West Indies in 1998. His full title is His Grace, The Most Revd Drexel Wellington Gomez, Lord Archbishop

Archbishop

An archbishop is a bishop of higher rank, but not of higher sacramental order above that of the three orders of deacon, priest , and bishop...

, Metropolitan and Primate of the Church of the West Indies & Bishop of the Diocese Of Nassau

Nassau, Bahamas

Nassau is the capital, largest city, and commercial centre of the Commonwealth of the Bahamas. The city has a population of 248,948 , 70 percent of the entire population of The Bahamas...

 & The Bahamas (Including the Turks & Caicos Islands).

Along with Archbishop Peter Akinola

Peter Akinola

Peter Jasper Akinola is the former Anglican Primate of the Church of Nigeria. He is also the former Bishop of Abuja and Archbishop of Province III, which covers the northern and central parts of the country....

, Anglican Primate of Nigeria

Nigeria

Nigeria , officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a federal constitutional republic comprising 36 states and its Federal Capital Territory, Abuja. The country is located in West Africa and shares land borders with the Republic of Benin in the west, Chad and Cameroon in the east, and Niger in...

, Gomez is a leading opponent of the ordination of practising homosexuals as Anglican clergy, an issue that escalated into a crisis for the Anglican Communion following the consecration of openly gay priest Gene Robinson

Gene Robinson

Vicki Gene Robinson is the ninth bishop of the Diocese of New Hampshire in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Robinson was elected bishop in 2003 and entered office in March 2004...

 as the Bishop of New Hampshire in the United States in 2003.

In October 2003, Gomez was appointed to the Lambeth

Lambeth

Lambeth is a district of south London, England, and part of the London Borough of Lambeth. It is situated southeast of Charing Cross.-Toponymy:...

 Commission on Communion by the Archbishop of Canterbury

Archbishop of Canterbury

The Archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and principal leader of the Church of England, the symbolic head of the worldwide Anglican Communion, and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. In his role as head of the Anglican Communion, the archbishop leads the third largest group...

, Rowan Williams

Rowan Williams

Rowan Douglas Williams FRSL, FBA, FLSW is an Anglican bishop, poet and theologian. He is the 104th and current Archbishop of Canterbury, Metropolitan of the Province of Canterbury and Primate of All England, offices he has held since early 2003.Williams was previously Bishop of Monmouth and...

. The commission produced the Report of the Lambeth Commission on Communion (also known as The Windsor Report and the Eames Report), published in October 2004.

In August 2007, Gomez was the main preacher at a service at which several Anglican archbishops consecrated two American priests as bishops despite the opposition of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America‎. Gomez accused the American church of "aggressive revisionist theology" and teaching lies.