Brice Sidney Sanders (October 15, 1930 – June 5, 1997) was sixth bishop of the

Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina The Episcopal Diocese of East Carolina is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States that covers most of eastern North Carolina. The diocese was formed from the existing Diocese of North Carolina on October 9, 1883, by action of the ...

between 1983 till 1997.

Early life and education

Sanders was born on October 15, 1930, in Nashville, Tennessee, the son of Waller Richard Sanders and Agnes Mortimer Jones. His brother,

William Evan Sanders William Evan Sanders (December 25, 1919 – November 18, 2021) was an American Episcopalian bishop. He was the eighth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee from 1977 to 1985, and first bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of East Tennessee from ...

, served as the eighth Bishop of Tennessee. He studied at Vanderbilt University from where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1952 and later at the Episcopal Theological School from where he earned his Master of Sacred Theology in 1955. On August 22, 1953, he married Nancy Elizabeth Robinson and together had three children. He was awarded a

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ran ...

from the Virginia Theological Seminary in 1980 and another from the University of the South in 1984.

Ordained ministry

Sanders was ordained deacon in 1955 and priest on February 22, 1956, by Bishop

John Vander Horst John Vander Horst (January 12, 1912 – April 19, 1980) was bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Tennessee from 1961 to 1977. Early life and education Vander Horst was born in Orange, New Jersey, on January 12, 1912. He was educated at Baltimore's G ...

, Suffragan Bishop of Tennessee, at St James' Church, Union City, Tennessee. He was in charge of St James' from 1955 to 1958. In 1958 he became rector of the Church of the Good Shepherd, in

Fountain City, Tennessee Fountain City is a neighborhood in northern Knoxville, Tennessee, in the southeastern United States. Although not a census-designated place (it is grouped with Knoxville for census-purposes), the populations of the two ZIP codes that serve Founta ...

, and in 1961 became rector of Eastern Shore Chapel in Virginia Beach, Virginia. Between 1970 and 1975, he served as chaplain and associate dean for student affairs at Virginia Theological Seminary, before becoming Dean of St Andrew's Cathedral in Jackson, Mississippi in 1975.

Episcopacy

On June 9, 1979, Sanders was elected on the second ballot, as the Coadjutor Bishop of East Carolina, during a special convention in

New Bern, North Carolina New Bern, formerly called Newbern, is a city in Craven County, North Carolina, United States. As of the 2010 census it had a population of 29,524, which had risen to an estimated 29,994 as of 2019. It is the county seat of Craven County and t ...

. He was then consecrated on October 26, 1979, by Presiding Bishop

John Allin John Maury Allin (April 22, 1921 – March 6, 1998) was an American Episcopalian bishop who served as the 23rd Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church from 1974 to 1985. Early life Allin was born in Helena, Arkansas. He graduated from the Un ...

, at St Mary's Church in Kinston, North Carolina. He succeeded as diocesan bishop in August 1983 and remained bishop till his death in 1997."Bishop Sanders of East Carolina Dies"
''Diocesan Press Service'', 29 June 1997. Retrieved on 14 March 2020.

References

1930 births 1997 deaths 20th-century American Episcopalians People from Nashville, Tennessee Vanderbilt University alumni Episcopal Divinity School alumni Episcopal bishops of East Carolina 20th-century American clergy {{US-Anglican-bishop-stub