Cameron Partridge (born 1973) is an American Episcopal priest, chaplain, and a

transgender A transgender (often abbreviated as trans) person is someone whose gender identity or gender expression does not correspond with their sex assigned at birth. Many transgender people experience dysphoria, which they seek to alleviate through ...

activist. He was the first transgender priest to preach at the

National Cathedral The Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul in the City and Diocese of Washington, commonly known as Washington National Cathedral, is an American cathedral of the Episcopal Church. The cathedral is located in Washington, D.C., the ca ...

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Biography

Cameron Partridge was born in

Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...

California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, in 1973. Prior to transitioning, he attended

Bryn Mawr College Bryn Mawr College ( ; Welsh: ) is a women's liberal arts college in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. Founded as a Quaker institution in 1885, Bryn Mawr is one of the Seven Sister colleges, a group of elite, historically women's colleges in the United ...

as an undergraduate, graduating in 1995. He later enrolled in the Master of Divinity degree program at Harvard Divinity School. While there, he wrestled with gender identity, and made the decision both to transition and to pursue ordination as an Episcopal priest. He notified his bishop, the Right Reverend M. Thomas Shaw, that he was transitioning, and was given support and approval to proceed in the ordination process in the

Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts is one of the nine original dioceses of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. History Massachusetts was founded by Puritans who did not accept such aspects of the Church of England as bisho ...

. He was ordained in 2005. He completed a Doctor in Theology at Harvard Divinity School in 2008. At that time, Partridge served as a parish minister at St. Luke's and St. Margaret's Episcopal church in Allston/Brighton. In 2011, he became the first openly transgender chaplain at Boston University, serving as the Episcopal chaplain on campus. He also lectured at Harvard Divinity School. Partridge has been an outspoken advocate for the full inclusion of queer and transgender people in the Episcopal Church and within

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth. It is the world's largest and most widespread religion with roughly 2.38 billion followers representing one-third of the global pop ...

more broadly. Partridge has regularly participated in the

Transgender Day of Remembrance The Transgender Day of Remembrance (TDoR), also known as the International Transgender Day of Remembrance, has been observed annually (from its inception) on November 20 as a day to memorialize those who have been murdered as a result of transp ...

held annually in the Boston area. He advocated for the Episcopal Church to include gender identity and expression as part of their non-discrimination policies, as part of a grassroots effort that led to the successful change in canon law in 2012. On Sunday, June 22, 2014, Rev. Partridge was the guest preacher at the National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., at a morning service in celebration of Pride month. He was the first transgender priest to preach at the cathedral.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Partridge, Cameron Living people American Episcopal priests Transgender rights activists Transgender men LGBT Anglican clergy LGBT people from California People from Berkeley, California Bryn Mawr College alumni 1973 births 21st-century American LGBT people Harvard Divinity School alumni