Ernest Arthur Copleston (1855 – 24 August 1933) was an Anglican

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 c ...

in the first half of the 20th century. He was born in Barnes, Surrey, the fourth son of Rev. Reginald Edward, vicar of Barnes, fellow of Exeter College, Oxford,"Ecclesiastical Intelligence", ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper '' The Sunday Times'' (f ...

'' (London), Thursday, 30 January 1902; pg. 6; Issue 36678; col B and Anne Elizabeth née Sharpe, educated at St John's College, Oxford and

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform ...

in 1878. His career began with

curacies 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 ...

at St Luke's Church, Maidenhead and St. Paul's Church, Kandy. On 18 August 1883 he was appointed the incumbent at the Holy Emmanuel Church, Moratuwa, together with St Peter’s Church, Koralawella, and then Principal of the Diocesan Training College, Kandy until 1903. On 30 August 1903 he was consecrated as the fifth

Anglican Bishop of Colombo The Anglican Bishop of Colombo is the ecclesiastical head of the Anglican Diocese of Colombo, a diocese in the Church of Ceylon which is part of the Anglican Communion. The Anglican Diocese of Colombo was founded in 1845, as the diocese of the C ...

St. Paul's Cathedral, Calcutta St. Paul's Cathedral is a Church of North India (CNI) cathedral of Anglican background in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, noted for its Gothic architecture and dedicated to Paul the Apostle. It is the seat of the Diocese of Calcutta. The c ...

. A position in which he served for 21 years, until he was replaced by

Mark Carpenter-Garnier The Rt Rev Mark Rodolph Carpenter-Garnier (1 January 1881 – 11 October 1969) was an Anglican bishop in the first half of the 20th century. Born in Wickham, Hampshire''1911 England Census'' on New Year's Day, he was the third son of John ...

in 1924. His brother Reginald Stephen Copleston was also an Anglican

, whilst another brother, Frederick Selwyn Copleston, was the first Chief Judge of the Chief Court of Lower Burma. His nephew

Frederick Copleston Frederick Charles Copleston (10 April 1907 – 3 February 1994) was an English Roman Catholic Jesuit priest, philosopher, and historian of philosophy, best known for his influential multi-volume '' A History of Philosophy'' (1946–75). ...

, son of Frederick Selwyn Copleston, was a notable Jesuit priest.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Copleston, Reginald Stephen 1855 births People from Barnes, London Alumni of St John's College, Oxford Anglican bishops of Colombo 20th-century Anglican bishops in Asia 1933 deaths British expatriates in Sri Lanka