David Standish Ball (June 11, 1926 – April 18, 2017) was the seventh

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

of the

Episcopal Diocese of Albany The Episcopal Diocese of Albany is a diocese of the Episcopal Church covering 19 counties in northeastern New York state. It was created in 1868 from a division of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. History The Church of England arrived in ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

from 1984 to 1998.

Childhood, education and calling

David Standish Ball was born June 11, 1926, in

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...

, the son of Percival and Hazelton Ball. He attended

The Milne School The Milne School, frequently referred to as Milne High School, was the campus laboratory school for what is now known as the University at Albany, State University of New York, located in Albany, New York. Its mission was to provide a location for ...

in Albany, where he was class president and a popular athlete. Ball served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. He graduated from

Colgate University Colgate University is a private liberal arts college in Hamilton, New York. The college was founded in 1819 as the Baptist Education Society of the State of New York and operated under that name until 1823, when it was renamed Hamilton Theologi ...

in 1950. He answered the call to holy orders in the Episcopal Church. He attended 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 ...

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

from 1950 to 1953. He was ordained a

deacon A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...

on June 14, 1953, and a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

on December 21, 1953, in Albany. He served as a

curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

at Bethesda Church in

Saratoga Springs Saratoga Springs is a city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the area, which has made Saratoga a popular resort destination for over 2 ...

, in upstate

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, for three years. He was elected

canon Canon or Canons may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base * Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture ** Western can ...

in 1956, serving until 1961.George E. DeMille, ''Pioneer Cathedral: A Brief History of the Cathedral of All Saints, Albany'', pp. 160, 181-183 (1961). He served three years as Canon Sacrist and two years as Canon Precentor. He was then elected

dean Dean may refer to: People * Dean (given name) * Dean (surname), a surname of Anglo-Saxon English origin * Dean (South Korean singer), a stage name for singer Kwon Hyuk * Dean Delannoit, a Belgian singer most known by the mononym Dean Titles * ...

of the Cathedral of All Saints in Albany in 1960, and served over two decades, until 1984. During that time, he served on a number of non-profit boards, including as President of the Dudley Park Housing Authority, which developed a housing project in

Arbor Hill, Albany, New York Arbor Hill is a neighborhood in Albany, New York, Albany, New York, generally defined as the area from Streets of Albany, New York#Clinton Avenue, Clinton Avenue north to Tivoli Hollow and the Livingston Avenue Railroad Bridge and from Streets of ...

Bishop of Albany

On October 10, 1983, Ball was elected

Bishop coadjutor A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co- ...

of Albany at the age of 57."Bishop-Elect Chosen",

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...

story, found in ''Palladium Times,'' October 11, 1983, se
Fulton History website
Retrieved January 6, 2009. In February 1984, he was consecrated in

apostolic succession Apostolic succession is the method whereby the ministry of the Christian Church is held to be derived from the apostles by a continuous succession, which has usually been associated with a claim that the succession is through a series of bish ...

by Presiding Bishop

John Maury 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 Uni ...

, bishop David E. Richards, formerly

suffragan A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdictiona ...

of Albany and then bishop of the Anglican diocese of

Central America Central America ( es, América Central or ) is a subregion of the Americas. Its boundaries are defined as bordering the United States to the north, Colombia to the south, the Caribbean Sea to the east, and the Pacific Ocean to the west. ...

, and the incumbent sixth bishop Wilbur Emory Hogg. Upon Bishop Hogg's retirement, in October 1984, Ball was installed in the

cathedra A ''cathedra'' is the raised throne of a bishop in the early Christian basilica. When used with this meaning, it may also be called the bishop's throne. With time, the related term ''cathedral'' became synonymous with the "seat", or principa ...

in the

choir A choir ( ; also known as a chorale or chorus) is a musical ensemble of singers. Choral music, in turn, is the music written specifically for such an ensemble to perform. Choirs may perform music from the classical music repertoire, which ...

at the

Cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

of All Saints, as the 7th Bishop of Albany.History of the Albany Episcopal Diocese
. Retrieved January 6, 2009.''The Episcopal Church Annual'' (2004 Morehouse Publishing), , found a
Google Books website
Retrieved January 6, 2009. Ball served from 1984 to 1998 as the seventh Diocesan bishop of Albany. Ball opposed women's

ordination Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorization, authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominational ...

in the 1970s and was briefly associated with the Episcopal Synod of America but later changed his position, serving with and ordaining female priests and deacons since at least 1989. He took part in several consecrations of other bishops, including that of his successors. He was considered a conservative on issues such as apostolic succession. He retired in 1998, at the then mandatory retirement age of 72.

In retirement

Upon his retirement, Ball was succeeded by then-bishop

Daniel W. Herzog Daniel William Herzog (July 9, 1941 – August 4, 2023) was an American Anglican bishop. He served in the Diocese of Albany from 1998 to 2007.

. Ball again became active in many local charities. The Bishop Ball Golf Tournament, an annual

fundraiser Fundraising or fund-raising is the process of seeking and gathering voluntary financial contributions by engaging individuals, businesses, charitable foundations, or governmental agencies. Although fundraising typically refers to efforts to gathe ...

for the cathedral, is named in his honor. The

Doane Stuart School The Doane Stuart School is a private college preparatory school in Rensselaer, New York. The School is coeducational and interfaith, and it educates students from early childhood through Grade 12. History The Doane Stuart School ("Doane Stuart") ...

, on whose board he sat until mid-2008, named a trustee award for him. Ball continued to serve as Bishop-in Residence at the Cathedral of All Saints. He gained a reputation on such issues as

ecumenism Ecumenism (), also spelled oecumenism, is the concept and principle that Christians who belong to different Christian denominations should work together to develop closer relationships among their churches and promote Christian unity. The adjec ...

and alternate oversight in the Anglican Communion.''Times Union'' 30 March 2007
/ref> Ball died in Loudonville, New York on April 18, 2017.

References

External links

Cathedral of All Saints website

Episcopal Diocese of Albany official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Ball, David Standish 1926 births 2017 deaths Anglo-Catholic bishops Colgate University alumni Religious leaders from Albany, New York American Anglo-Catholics 20th-century American Episcopalians Episcopal bishops of Albany

Childhood, education and calling

Bishop of Albany

In retirement

See also

References

External links