The Office of the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church
Diocesan Press Service. April 26, 1974 [74120]
The chief executive officer and spiritual leader of the Episcopal Church is the Presiding Bishop. That title was not used in the Journals of the General Convention until 1795. Prior to that date, it is assumed that the President of the General Convention or of the House of Bishops was de facto Presiding Bishop.
The first General Convention of the Episcopal Church was at Christ Church, Philadelphia, in 1789. Bishop William White of Pennsylvania -- who was both the first and the fourth President or Presiding Bishop -- was largely responsible for calling together the two bishops, 20 clergy, and 16 laymen. The Convention met in two sessions -- July 28 - August 8 and September 29 - October 3. During the first session and for the first five days of the second the Convention consisted of only one House.
On October 5, 1789, a separate House of Bishops was first organized and Bishop Samuel Seabury of Connecticut became President of the House in accordance with the rule of seniority, based on the date of consecration to the episcopate.
Bishop Seabury had been consecrated in Aberdeen, Scotland in 1784, the first bishop of the American Church, while Bishop White was consecrated in 1787 at Lambeth Palace, London.
In 1792 the House of Bishops adopted a rule that the office of President should "be held in rotation, beginning from the North. " Thus, Bishop Samuel Provoost of New York became President of the House of Bishops on September 13, 1792.
In 1795, under the rotation rule, Bishop White automatically became President of the House of Bishops. That year, for the first time, the title Presiding Bishop was used in the signing of the minutes of the House of Bishops.
In 1799 Bishop White was again requested to preside since "the Bishop whose turn it would have been to preside " was not present. Two years later the rule of rotation was suspended and on September 12, 1804, the rule of seniority based on the date of consecration was again adopted and continued in effect for 115 years.
Bishop White served as Presiding Bishop for 41 years, longer than any other. Bishop Charles Palmerston Anderson of Chicago served for the shortest time, from November 13, 1929 until his death less than three months later, on January 30, 1930.
In 1901 there began a series of efforts to make the office of Presiding Bishop elective, but it was not until the Convention of 1919 that a constitutional amendment was adopted which provided that he should be elected by the House of Bishops and his election confirmed by the House of Deputies. His term of office was set for six years, with no regulation against his being reelected. The amendment provided that the Presiding Bishop should retain his own diocesan jurisdiction.
The first election of a Presiding Bishop under the new constitutional amendment occurred at the General Convention of 1925 when Bishop John Gardner Murray of Mary- land was elected.
Henry St. George Tucker was the first Presiding Bishop who was required to re- sign his own jurisdiction under a new provision in the Constitution, to occur when he assumes office or within six months. Bishop Tucker resigned his diocesan post in Virginia in 1944, as soon as the new provision went into effect, which was six years after he became Presiding Bishop in 1938.
The Presiding Bishop's term of office is now for 12 years, beginning 12 months after the close of the General Convention at which he is elected, or until the Convention after he becomes 65 years of age.
In 1940 the General Convention designated the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, Washington, D.C., as "the Seat of the Presiding Bishop for his use on occasions incident to the exercise of his office as Presiding Bishop. " Four leaders of the Episcopal Church have been installed as Presiding Bishop at the Cathedral: Bishops Henry St. George Tucker (1938), Henry Knox Sherrill (1947), Arthur Lichtenberger ( 1958), and John Elbridge Hines ( 1965). Bishop John Maury Allin will be installed as the 23rd Presiding Bishop in the cathedral on June 10-11, 1974.
According to the canons of the Church (I-2-4a), the duties of the Presiding Bishop as "the chief pastor" are that he shall:
"( 1) Be charged with responsibility for giving leadership in initiating and developing the policy and strategy of the Church;
"(2) Speak God's word to the Church and to the world, as the representative of this Church and its episcopate in its corporate capacity;
"(3) Take order for the consecration of Bishops, when duly elected; and, from time to time, assemble the Bishops of this Church to meet with him, either as the House of Bishops or as a Council of Bishops, and set the time and place of such meetings;
"(4) Preside over meetings of the House of Bishops; and, when the two Houses of the General Convention meet in Joint Session, have the right of presiding over such Session, of calling for such Joint Session, of recommending legislation to either House and, upon due notification, of appearing before and addressing the House of Deputies; and whenever he shall address the General Convention upon the state of the Church, it shall be incumbent upon both Houses thereof to consider and act upon any recommendations contained in such address;
"(5) Visit every Diocese of this Church for the purpose of
"(I) Holding pastoral consultations with the Bishop or Bishops thereof and,
with their advice, with the lay and clerical leaders of the jurisdiction;
"(ii) Preaching the Word; and
"(iii) Celebrating the Sacrament of the Lord's Supper. "
The canons also require the Presiding Bishop to "report annually to the Church. " If he desires, he may "issue Pastoral Letters in his own person."
If the Presiding Bishop resigns his office, or becomes disabled, or dies in office, the Constitution (1-3) provides that a special meeting of the House of Bishops shall be called to elect a successor, unless the next General Convention is scheduled to meet within three months. The member elected by the House of Bishops must then receive majority concurrence by the Standing Committees of the dioceses of the Church.
The Presiding Bishop is ex officio President of the Executive Council, which must meet at least three times each year.
The Episcopal Church is one of the few churches and provinces of the Anglican Communion which does not designate its chief officer an archbishop or metropolitan.
The Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church has the status and prestige of the arch- bishops and metropolitans in other churches of the Anglican Communion, though he does not possess many of the canonical duties which are historically associated with those offices. The Presiding Bishop ranks in dignity with the Archbishops of Canterbury and York, the Primus of the Episcopal Church in Scotland, the Primate of Canada, and other heads of the different churches and provinces of the Anglican Communion.
In the Episcopal Church, the relationship between the Presiding Bishop and the other bishops of the Church is "primus inter pares," "first among equals."
The Presiding Bishop's official residence is Dover House, near Greenwich, Conn. Ills office is at the Episcopal Church Center, 815 Second Avenue, New York, N.Y. 10017.
[Contact Archives for table of Presiding Bishops of the Episcopal Church - Ed.]