Albert Arthur Chambers (June 22, 1906 – June 18, 1993) was the seventh bishop of the
Episcopal Diocese of Springfield
The Episcopal Diocese of Springfield is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. It is located in the state of Illinois and includes the area east of the Illinois River and south of the Counties of Woodford, Livings ...
, serving from 1962 to 1972. He then retired in part because he opposed revising the
Book of Common Prayer
The ''Book of Common Prayer'' (BCP) is the name given to a number of related prayer books used in the Anglican Communion and by other Christian churches historically related to Anglicanism. The original book, published in 1549 in the reign ...
and
ordaining women as priests, which would be expressly authorized by the General Convention in 1976.
Chambers ultimately left the
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
and acted, briefly, as primate of the Anglican Church in North America (Episcopal), later renamed the
Anglican Catholic Church
The Anglican Catholic Church (ACC), also known as the Anglican Catholic Church (Original Province), is a body of Christians in the continuing Anglican movement, which is separate from the Anglican Communion led by the Archbishop of Canterbury ...
.
Early and family life
Chambers was born in
Cleveland, Ohio
Cleveland ( ), officially the City of Cleveland, is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located in the northeastern part of the state, it is situated along the southern shore of Lake Erie, across the U.S. ...
to Arthur Samuel Chambers and his wife, the former Eleanor Jenny Terbrack. He had a least one sister, who ultimately survived him. Educated at
Hobart College, he received his B.A. in 1928, then prepared for ordination at the
General Theological Seminary
The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church (GTS) is an Episcopal seminary in New York City. Founded in 1817, GTS is the oldest seminary of the Episcopal Church and the longest continuously operating Seminary in the Anglican Communi ...
in New York, from which he graduated in 1932. He later received Divinity degrees from Hobart in 1957, GTS in 1961 and
Nashotah House
Nashotah House is an Anglicanism, Anglican seminary in Nashotah, Wisconsin. The seminary opened in 1842 and received its official charter in 1847. The institution is independent and generally regarded as one of the more theologically Conservatism, ...
in 1963.
He married the former Frances Hewette Davis, and they raised two daughters (Sally and Fran) before her death in 1976. He remarried, to Janet Snyder Wilson, who also predeceased him.
Ministry
Ordained as a deacon by Bishop Ferris in May 1931, Chambers was ordained a priest by bishop Davis in February 1932. Early in the
Great Depression
The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...
, Chambers served as a missionary curate in four rural New York parishes (St. John
Dunkirk, New York
Dunkirk is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. It was settled around 1805 and incorporated in 1880. The population was 12,743 as of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. Dunkirk i ...
], St. Peter in Chains
Angola, New York
Angola is a village in the town of Evans in Erie County, New York, United States. Located east of Lake Erie, the village is southwest of downtown Buffalo. As of the 2010 Census, Angola had a population of 2,127. An unincorporated community kn ...
, St. Andrew in
Irving, New York
Irving is a hamlet in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. It is located near the eastern town line and the eastern county line in the town of Hanover. U.S. Route 20 and New York State Route 5 pass through the hamlet, which is next to Catta ...
and St. Peter in
Forestville, New York
Forestville is a hamlet (and census-designated place) in Chautauqua County, New York, United States. The population was 697 at the 2010 census. The hamlet is within the town of Hanover and in the northeast part of the county. It was an incorporate ...
, before becoming a canon at
St. Paul's Cathedral, in
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from South ...
(1933-1936). Rev. Chambers then accepted a position as rector of St. Thomas Church in
Neenah-Menasha,
Wisconsin
Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...
(1936–42), and left that position to become rector of
St. Peter's Church in
Auburn, New York
Auburn is a city in Cayuga County, New York, United States. Located at the north end of Owasco Lake, one of the Finger Lakes in Central New York, the city had a population of 26,866 at the 2020 census. It is the largest city of Cayuga County, the ...
(1942-1949). Rev. Chambers served as rector of the
Church of the Resurrection in
Manhattan, New York
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
for 13 years (1949-1962). In New York, he became involved in larger church affairs as a delegate to the General Convention in 1946, to the National Council of Churches (1954–57) and later on the New York diocese's standing committee and its president in 1961. He was runner-up in elections for assistant bishop in the New York and Long Island dioceses.
In 1962, Chambers was selected as bishop of
Springfield, Illinois
Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...
, and served a decade (1962-1972) until retiring, moving to
Dennis, Massachusetts
Dennis is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, located near the center of Cape Cod. The population was 14,674 at the 2020 census.
The town encompasses five distinct villages, each of which has its own post office. These cons ...
, and beginning to collect Social Security benefits.
Rt. Rev. Chambers strongly objected to the ordination of women, which the Episcopal Church approved at its General Convention in 1976. Disregarding this new policy, the retired bishop secretly entered dioceses to perform confirmations at parishes that likewise opposed the ordination of women, without the consent of the current diocesan bishop (who would normally perform such confirmations despite the congregation's protests of other matters). The House of Bishops chastised him in 1977. Undeterred, Chambers went on to help found the
Continuing Anglican movement
The Continuing Anglican Movement, also known as the Anglican Continuum, encompasses a number of Christian churches, principally based in North America, that have an Anglican identity and tradition but are not part of the Anglican Communion.
The ...
, consecrating four breakaway bishops in Denver on January 28, 1978, in conjunction with a bishop Francisco J. Pagtakhan of the Philippine Independent Church, but without the consent of the Episcopal bishop of Colorado,
William C. Frey. He became episcopal visitor of the created Diocese of the Holy Trinity, which encompassed breakaway parishes in California, Nevada and Colorado.
Death and legacy
Bishop Chambers ultimately retired to Florida by 1983. He survived two wives, and his daughter said he ultimately softened his stand regarding the ordination of women. He died in a hospital in Sun City Center, Florida, survived by his daughters and grandchildren.
New York Times obituary
/ref>
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chambers, Albert Arthur
1906 births
1993 deaths
American Continuing Anglican bishops
American Anglo-Catholics
Hobart and William Smith Colleges alumni
General Theological Seminary alumni
Religious leaders from New York City
People from Springfield, Illinois
People from Cleveland
20th-century American Episcopalians
Episcopal bishops of Springfield
20th-century American clergy