Elected 1928, Day 1; served to 1943

The Rev. ZeBarney Thorne Phillips was born in Springfield, Ohio, on May 1, 1875, and attended Wittenburg College earning four degrees. He was ordained to the priesthood in 1900, and served at several parishes in Ohio before being called to Trinity Church in Chicago (1902-1909). From 1912 to 1922 he led St. Peter’s in St. Louis, and from 1922 to 1924 he served at St. Savior’s in Philadelphia. In 1924 he became rector of the Church of the Epiphany in Washington, D.C., which allowed him proximity to his ministry as Senate Chaplain, a position to which he was appointed by President Coolidge in 1927. Phillips was an enthusiastic and talented musician, and had been a church organist and choirmaster before his ordination. He served for six months as the Dean of the Washington Cathedral, but was taken ill suddenly and died at home at the age of 67. He was widely loved in his community and his funeral was the largest that had been held at the Cathedral to that date.