Arnold Lewis

The Right Reverend

Arnold Meredith Lewis
Suffragan Bishop of the Armed Services and Federal Ministries
ChurchEpiscopal Church
DioceseArmed Services and Federal Ministries
ElectedOctober 21, 1964
In office1964–1971
SuccessorClarence E. Hobgood
Previous post(s)Missionary Bishop of Salina (1956–1964)
Orders
OrdinationMay 1936 (deacon)
December 1936 (priest)
by Ernest M. Stires
ConsecrationFebruary 2, 1956
by Henry Knox Sherrill
Personal details
Born(1904-10-11)October 11, 1904
East Hampton, New York, United States
DiedMay 2, 1994(1994-05-02) (aged 89)
Holly Hill, Florida, United States
DenominationAnglican

Arnold Meredith Lewis (October 11, 1904 – May 2, 1994) was a bishop in The Episcopal Church, serving Western Kansas from 1956 to 1964 and the United States armed forces from 1964 to 1971.

Early life and education

Lewis was born in East Hampton, New York on October 11, 1904, to Morley B. Lewis and Mary Robina Ettershank. He was educated at the Williston Academy in Easthampton, Massachusetts and graduated in 1922. He then studied at Springfield College from where he earned a Bachelor of Science in 1927 and a Master of Humanities in 1930. he undertook theological training at the Union Theological Seminary, the General Theological Seminary and the Virginia Theological Seminary, graduating from the latter with a Bachelor of Divinity in 1937.[1]

Ordained ministry

Lewis was ordained deacon in May 1936 and priest in December 1936 by Bishop Ernest M. Stires of Long Island. He married Frances Harrington Swift on June 6, 1927, and together had two children. After ordination he served as priest-in-charge of St Mark's Church in Westhampton Beach, New York between 1936 and 1940. During WWII he was a chaplain in the US Army, up until 1946. From 1946 to 1951 he was the Executive Director of the Presiding Bishop's Committee on Laymen's work. In 1951 he was elected Dean of St John's Cathedral in Jacksonville, Florida, a post he retained until 1956.[2][3]

Bishop

On September 13, 1955, Lewis was elected Missionary Bishop of Salina during the 58th general convention which took place in Honolulu. He was consecrated bishop of the Missionary District of Salina on February 2, 1956, at Christ Cathedral in Salina, Kansas by Presiding Bishop Henry Knox Sherrill. He resigned his bishopric in 1964 in favor of his election as the first Suffragan Bishop of the Armed Services and Federal Ministries. He remained in office until his retirement in 1971.[4][5]

References

  1. ^ "THE RT. REV. ARNOLD MEREDITH LEWIS (539)". The Living Church: 513. 1957.
  2. ^ "BISHOPS ARE ELECTED; Episcopalian Session Assigns Missionary District Heads". The New York Times. September 14, 1955. p. 23. The Very Rev. Arnold M. Lewis, Dean of St. John's Cathedral of Jacksonville, Fla., since 1951, today was elected Bishop of the missionary district of Salina, Kan., by the fifty-eighth triennial general convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church.
  3. ^ "CATHEDRAL DEAN NAMED; New York Lay Work Executive Accepts Florida Call". The New York Times. December 27, 1950. p. 39. The Rev. Arnold Meredith Lewis, executive director of the Presiding Bishop's Committee on Layman's Work in New York City, has accepted the call to become dean of St. John's Cathedral.
  4. ^ "The Right Reverend Arnold M. Lewis". Armed Forces and Federal Ministries: The Armed Forces Bishop. The Episcopal Church. Arnold Lewis has the distinction of being the first Armed Forces Bishop of the Episcopal Church.
  5. ^ "Bishop Lewis Dies". The Living Church. 208 (24): 12. June 12, 1994. The Rt. Rev. Arnold M. Lewis, fifth bishop of Western Kansas and later Suffragan Bishop for the Armed Forces, died May 2 at his home in Holly Hill, Florida, at the age of 90.
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