Albion Williamson Knight Jr. (1 June 1924 – 22 May 2012) was the second Archbishop of the

United Episcopal Church of North America The United Episcopal Church of North America (UECNA) is a church in the Anglican tradition and is part of the Continuing Anglican movement. It is not part of the Anglican Communion. The UECNA describes itself as "embracing the broad base of cer ...

from 1989 until his resignation in 1992. As the Archbishop of the UECNA, Knight more than tripled the number of parishes belonging to the church. He later helped found the

Church of England (Continuing) The Church of England (Continuing) is part of the Continuing Anglican Movement. Although the church was widely discussed in Anglican circles at the time of its founding, it has not achieved significant growth since that time. In 2019 the church ...

, a conservative church in England that opposes both the growth of

Anglo-Catholic Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches. The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglica ...

practices and doctrines within the

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and the more liberal religious and social stance of the Church of England. Knight was born in Jacksonville, Florida, the son of Albion Williamson Knight (1891-1953) and Anna Marion née Russell (1893-1966). He was the grandson of Albion W. Knight, formerly Bishop of Cuba in the

Episcopal Church in the USA The Episcopal Church, based in the United States with additional dioceses elsewhere, is a member church of the worldwide Anglican Communion. It is a mainline Protestant denomination and is divided into nine provinces. The presiding bishop of ...

and subsequently Bishop Coadjutor of New Jersey. He graduated from the U.S. Military Academy in 1945, and retired from the Army in 1973 as a Brigadier General. He earned master's degrees from the University of Illinois and American University. Knight was ordained a deacon in the

in 1964 and as a priest in that church in 1965. He joined the United Episcopal Church of North America in late 1983 and later became the bishop of its Eastern diocese (1984) before being elected its Archbishop (1985). He was consecrated in Bethesda, Maryland on 2 June 1984 by Charles D. D. Doren, the first bishop in 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. Thes ...

and first Archbishop of the UECNA. During his tenure, Knight sponsored the creation of a denominational Seminary, reorganized the Church into Missionary Districts, and embarked on a revision of the Constitution and Canons which was initially voted on in 1991. This changed the title of the senior bishop in the UECNA to Presiding Bishop. However, he resigned in 1992 to pursue his political aspiration, and was succeeded as Presiding Bishop by John Cyrus Gramley (1931 to 1996). In 1992, Knight was the vice-presidential candidate of the

US Taxpayers Party The Constitution Party, formerly the U.S. Taxpayers' Party until 1999, is a political party in the United States that promotes a religious conservative view of the principles and intents of the United States Constitution. The party platfor ...

in the U.S. presidential election. Knight died on 22 May 2012, at his home in

Gaithersburg, Maryland Gaithersburg ( ), officially the City of Gaithersburg, is a city in Montgomery County, Maryland, United States. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, Gaithersburg had a population of 69,657, making it the ninth-largest location in the state. Gai ...

.Obituary: Albion W. Knight Jr., Army brigadier general
''Washington Post'', 28 May 2012

References

* , - {{DEFAULTSORT:Knight, Albion W. Jr. 1924 births 2012 deaths 20th-century American politicians American Continuing Anglicans Burials at Arlington National Cemetery Maryland Constitutionalists Constitution Party (United States) vice presidential nominees Presiding Bishops of the United Episcopal Church of North America 1992 United States vice-presidential candidates