George Worthington (October 14, 1840 – January 7, 1908) was the second

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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 ...

Biography

Worthington was born in

Lenox, Massachusetts Lenox is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. The town is based in Western Massachusetts and part of the Pittsfield Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 5,095 at the 2020 census. Lenox is the site of Shakespeare & Company and T ...

, and as a youth moved to New York City. He worked as a bookkeeper for his uncle and later studied at Hobart College (now part of

Hobart and William Smith Colleges Hobart and William Smith Colleges are Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts colleges in Geneva, New York. They trace their origins to Geneva Academy established in 1797. Students can choose from 45 maj ...

), graduating with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

in 1860, and 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 ...

in 1876, and a

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in 1885. He then studied at 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 ...

, graduating in 1863. The Bishop George Worthington Residence

Worthington was ordained deacon in June 1863, and priest in 1865. He served as assistant at St Paul's Church in

Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany a ...

, and then became rector of Christ Church in

Ballston Spa, New York Ballston Spa is a village and the county seat of Saratoga County, New York, United States, located southwest of Saratoga Springs. The population of the village, named after Rev. Eliphalet Ball, a Congregationalist clergyman and an early settler, wa ...

. In 1868, he became rector of

St. John's Church St. John's Church, Church of St. John, or variants, thereof, (Saint John or St. John usually refers to John the Baptist, but also, sometimes, to John the Apostle or John the Evangelist) may refer to the following churches, former churches or other ...

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

. He remained there until 1885 when consecrated Bishop of Nebraska. While in Detroit he was at times the acting for the Bishop of Michigan. In 1883, he was elected as Missionary Bishop of Shanghai, however, he declined the election. Due to his heart condition, Worthington was unable to remain in the high altitude of

, and consequently moved to

Pittsfield, Massachusetts Pittsfield is the largest city and the county seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield� ...

, in 1890, while the diocese was administered by his coadjutor, and eventual successor,

Arthur Llewllyn Williams Arthur Llewellyn Williams (January 30, 1856 – January 29, 1919) was the third diocesan bishop of Nebraska in The Episcopal Church. Early life and education Williams was born on January 30, 1856, in Owen Sound, Ontario, Canada, the son of the Re ...

. In May 1907, Worthington was appointed Bishop of the

Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe The Convocation of Episcopal Churches in Europe (formerly the Convocation of American Churches in Europe) is a jurisdiction of the Episcopal Church created in 1859 by an action of its general convention. The convocation includes all Episcopal cong ...

, after which he moved to France. He died suddenly in January 1908, as he was walking a street in

Menton Menton (; , written ''Menton'' in classical norm or ''Mentan'' in Mistralian norm; it, Mentone ) is a commune in the Alpes-Maritimes department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d'Azur region on the French Riviera, close to the Italian border. Me ...

, France. His cause of death was due to heart disease. His body was identified by his wife a day later, as he had no identification papers at the time of his death.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Worthington, George 1840 births 1908 deaths American expatriates in France Clergy from Detroit Hobart and William Smith Colleges alumni 19th-century American Episcopalians Episcopal bishops of Nebraska 19th-century American clergy