Gregory Thurston Bedell (August 27, 1817 – March 11, 1892) was the third

Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United State ...

Bishop of Ohio.

Early life

Bedell was born in

Hudson, New York Hudson is a city and the county seat of Columbia County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, it had a population of 5,894. Located on the east side of the Hudson River and 120 miles from the Atlantic Ocean, it was named for the rive ...

in 1817, the son of Rev. Gregory Townsend Bedell of

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and his wife, Penelope Thurston Bedell.Dwight, 711 While an infant, Bedell's family moved to

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.Magazine of Western History, 405 In 1822, they moved again to Philadelphia where his father became the rector of St. Andrew's Episcopal Church. Bedell was given a thorough preparation for college in Dr. Muhlenberg's increasingly admired school in Queen's County, New York. After gaining the diploma from the Institute at Flushing, Bedell attended Bristol College, an Episcopal institution not destined for a long life. He graduated in 1836 and headed to Alexandria to be prepared for ordination at the Virginia Theological Seminary, graduating in 1840.Perry, 143 Bedell was ordained deacon that same year by his great-uncle, Bishop Richard Channing Moore, and was ordained priest by the same bishop in 1841.Batterson, 192 After his ordination to the priesthood, he served as rector of Church of the Holy Trinity in

West Chester, Pennsylvania West Chester is a borough and the county seat of Chester County, Pennsylvania. Located within the Philadelphia metropolitan area, the borough had a population of 18,461 at the 2010 census. West Chester is the mailing address for most of its neighb ...

. Two years later, Bedell moved to Church of the Ascension in

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, where he remained until his elevation to the episcopate. While there, Bedell earned a doctorate of divinity from

Norwich University Norwich University – The Military College of Vermont is a private senior military college in Northfield, Vermont. It is the oldest private and senior military college in the United States and offers bachelor's and master's degrees on-campus ...

. In 1845, Bedell married Julia Strong. They had three children, all of whom died in infancy.

Bishop of Ohio

Bedell was consecrated coadjutor Bishop of Ohio in 1859. He was the 67th bishop in the ECUSA, and was consecrated in St. Paul's Church,

Richmond, Virginia (Thus do we reach the stars) , image_map = , mapsize = 250 px , map_caption = Location within Virginia , pushpin_map = Virginia#USA , pushpin_label = Richmond , pushpin_m ...

by Bishops

William Meade William Meade (November 11, 1789March 14, 1862) was an American Episcopal bishop, the third Bishop of Virginia. Early life His father, Colonel Richard Kidder Meade (1746–1805), one of George Washington's aides during the War of Independence, ...

Charles Pettit McIlvaine Charles Pettit McIlvaine (January 18, 1799 – March 13, 1873) was an Episcopal bishop, author, educator and twice Chaplain of the United States Senate. Early life and family McIlvaine was born on January 18, 1799, in Burlington, New Jers ...

, and

John Johns John Johns (July 10, 1796 – April 5, 1876) was the fourth Episcopal bishop of Virginia. He led his diocese into secession and during the American Civil War and later tried to heal it through the Reconstruction Era. Johns also served as Presi ...

, along with other co-consecrators.Batterson, 193 He served as coadjutor bishop for fourteen years and, during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, preached loyalty to the Union. When Bishop McIlvaine died in 1873, Bedell succeeded him as the third Bishop of Ohio. In 1875, the diocese was divided into northern and southern parts, and Bedell remained bishop of the northern part, which retained the name "Ohio".Appelton's, v.1, 215 Theologically, Bedell leaned toward the evangelical side of the Episcopal Church, in contrast to the growing

Tractarian The Oxford Movement was a movement of high church members of the Church of England which began in the 1830s and eventually developed into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose original devotees were mostly associated with the University of O ...

movement. That one coming out of Muhlenberg's Church Institute at Flushing (and from 1836, College Point NY) sympathized more with the evangelical element of Anglican Christianity should not surprise us; for Muhlenberg called himself an "Evangelical Catholic" Christian. The first half of the term connoted the spontaneous, Spirit-driven aspect of the Faith; the latter stood for order, structure, and the orthodox dogmas of the historic Catholic Church of the Creed. While many of the Flushing and College Point alumni identified with the High Church and (later) Anglo-Catholic wings of the PECUSA, many did not. Bedell resigned his episcopal duties in 1889, owing to physical infirmity, and died in 1892.

Notes

References

* * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bedell, Gregory Thurston 1817 births 1892 deaths Bishops in Ohio People from Hudson, New York Norwich University alumni 19th-century American Episcopalians Episcopal bishops of Ohio 19th-century American clergy