Arnold Meredith Lewis (October 11, 1904 – May 2, 1994) was a bishop in
The Episcopal Church
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 Ecclesiastical provinces and dioces ...
, serving
Western Kansas Western Kansas may refer to:
* The western part of Kansas
* West Kansas, proposed state
* Episcopal Diocese of Western Kansas
The Episcopal Diocese of Western Kansas, created in 1971, is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of ...
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
Williston Northampton School (simply referred to as Williston) is a Independent school, private, Mixed-sex education, co-educational, Day school, day and Boarding school, boarding college-preparatory school in Easthampton, Massachusetts, United S ...
in
Easthampton, Massachusetts and graduated in 1922. He then studied at
Springfield College
Springfield College is a private college in Springfield, Massachusetts. It confers undergraduate and graduate degrees.
It is known as the birthplace of basketball because the sport was invented there in 1891 by Canadian-American instructor J ...
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 Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD or BDiv; la, Baccalaureus Divinitatis) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology ...
in 1937.
Ordained ministry
Lewis was ordained deacon in May 1936 and priest in December 1936 by Bishop
Ernest M. Stires
Ernest Milmore Stires (May 20, 1866 - February 12, 1951) was the third Episcopal Diocese of Long Island, Bishop of Long Island in the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church from 1925 to 1942.
Early life and education
Stires was born ...
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.
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.
References
1994 deaths
Bishops of the Episcopal Church (United States)
Religious leaders from Florida
Episcopal bishops of Kansas
Virginia Theological Seminary alumni
Springfield College (Massachusetts) alumni
United States Army chaplains
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