The Rev. Amy Ebeling McCreath will be the first woman to serve as cathedral dean in the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts, appointed to the Cathedral Church of St. Paul in downtown Boston.

McCreath, a Dayton, Ohio, native, will be the ninth dean of the church when she begins her tenure on April 22, the diocese said Wednesday in a statement. She has served as the rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd in Watertown for eight years. Before that, she was a co-chaplain of the Lutheran Episcopal Ministry at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

McCreath has been a leader in the diocese as coordinator for ministry in higher education and as a member of several councils, including the Standing Committee, an elected council of advice to the bishop. She also supervised seminary students and interns as director of contextual education in Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge for two years.

Diocese Bishop Alan Gates appointed McCreath to succeed former dean John P. Streit Jr., who retired last February.

“Amy has exceptional gifts as a leader, with a demonstrated capacity to reimagine congregational identity, build partnerships in the wider community, draw others into shared ministry and navigate institutional systems with the personal heart of a pastor,’’ Gates said in the statement.

McCreath said in the statement she is honored to serve as the new dean.

“At this time of deep moral and political strain in the life of our nation and uncertainty in the lives of God’s people, the mission strategy to which God calls us is urgent,’’ she said. “I believe the cathedral can be a great resource to move that mission forward and bring hope and joy to many lives.’’

Laney Ruckstuhl can be reached at laney.ruckstuhl@globe.com.