Hays Hamilton Rockwell (born August 17, 1936) is an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

prelate who was ninth bishop of the

Episcopal Diocese of Missouri The Episcopal Diocese of Missouri is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America with jurisdiction over 54 counties in eastern Missouri. It has 42 congregations and is in Province 5 of the Episcopal Church in the United Sta ...

Early life and education

Rockwell was born in

Detroit, Michigan 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 ...

on August 17, 1936, the son of Walter Francis Rockwell and Kathryn McElroy. He was educated at

Brown University Brown University is a private research university in Providence, Rhode Island. Brown is the seventh-oldest institution of higher education in the United States, founded in 1764 as the College in the English Colony of Rhode Island and Providenc ...

(B.A., 1958) and the

Episcopal Theological School 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 ...

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(B.Div. 1961). He also earned an honorary

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 ...

from

Kenyon College Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio. It was founded in 1824 by Philander Chase. Kenyon College is accredited by the Higher Learning Commission. Kenyon has 1,708 undergraduates enrolled. Its 1,000-acre campus is se ...

in 1974, and from the

Seminary of the Southwest Seminary of the Southwest (formally the Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest and informally SSW) is an Episcopal seminary in Austin, Texas. It is one of nine accredited seminaries of the Episcopal Church in the United States. Seminar ...

in 1984.

Ordained ministry

Rockwell was ordained deacon in 1961 and priest in 1962. He began his priestly career at St. George's School, Middletown, Rhode Island (1961–69) and then moved to

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

where he served first as chaplain at the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants undergraduate and graduate degrees, including doctoral and professional degrees. The University of Roc ...

(1969–71) and then as dean at

Bexley Hall Bexley Hall was an Episcopal seminary from 1824 until April 27, 2013, when it federated with Seabury-Western Theological Seminary as Bexley Hall Seabury-Western Theological Seminary Federation, also known as 'Bexley Seabury For three years, Bexl ...

Theological Seminary (1971–76). From there he moved to New York City in 1976 where he served for fifteen years as the fourteenth rector of St. James' Episcopal Church on the

Upper East Side The Upper East Side, sometimes abbreviated UES, is a neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan in New York City, bounded by 96th Street to the north, the East River to the east, 59th Street to the south, and Central Park/Fifth Avenue to the wes ...

. Under his leadership St. James' initiated a ministry for the homeless and became one of the first churches to divest from investments in apartheid South Africa. In 1976 he was elected to the

Anglican Consultative Council The Anglican Consultative Council (ACC) is one of the four "Instruments of Communion" of the Anglican Communion. It was created by a resolution of the 1968 Lambeth Conference. The council, which includes Anglican bishops, other clergy, and laity ...

Bishop

In 1990 he was elected bishop coadjutor of the Diocese of Missouri, becoming bishop diocesan in June 1992. In November 2000, he announced his plan to retire in the summer of 2002. He was succeeded by George Wayne Smith.

References

Living people American Episcopalians Brown University alumni 1936 births Episcopal bishops of Missouri {{Anglicanism-stub

Early life and education

Ordained ministry

Bishop

See also

References