James Russell Moodey (December 9, 1932 – September 5, 2005) was bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio from 1983 to 1994.

Early life and education

Moodey was born on December 9, 1932, in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of the Reverend John Reginald Moodey and Matil Cochran. He was educated in the Long Island public schools, before enrolling at Hamilton College, from where graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1954. He also studied at the Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and graduated in 1957. Whilst there, he served one summer in

Haiti Haiti (; ht, Ayiti ; French: ), officially the Republic of Haiti (); ) and formerly known as Hayti, is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean Sea, east of Cuba and Jamaica, and ...

. He received 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, where he served as a trustee from 1984 to 1994, and another from Hamilton College in 1988.

Ordained ministry

Moodey was ordained deacon on June 22, 1957, by Bishop Anson Phelps Stokes of Massachusetts. He was ordained priest on January 5, 1958, by Bishop

Henry Hobson Henry Wise Hobson II (May 16, 1891 - February 10, 1983), was the bishop for the Episcopal Diocese of Southern Ohio. When he was consecrated at the age of 38 in 1930, he was the youngest Episcopal bishop in the United States, and at his death, he ...

of Southern Ohio. He then became assistant at Christ Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. During that time, he met and married Penelope Wallace Hall in 1959. In 1960 he became rector of the Church of the Nativity in New Castle, Delaware, while in 1965, he moved to Scranton, Pennsylvania to serve as rector of St Luke's Church. Between 1976 and 1983, he served as rector of St Paul's Church in Chestnut Hill, Philadelphia.

Episcopacy

On December 11, 1982, during a special diocesan convention, Moodey was elected Coadjutor Bishop of Ohio. He was consecrated on June 18, 1983, by Presiding Bishop

John 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 Un ...

, and succeeded as diocesan bishop. He founded the Episcopal Community Services Foundation, to provide funds for community ministry. He retired in 1993. In 1996, he became Assistant Bishop of Maine, and served in the diocese till 1997. Moodey died at his home in Damariscotta, Maine on September 5, 2005, after years suffering from metastatic kidney cancer.Goodman, Rebecc
"Bishop James Moodey led Episcopal Diocese"
'' The Cincinnati Enquirer'', 8 September 2005, Cincinnati, Ohio. Retrieved on 21 November 2020.

References

1932 births 2005 deaths Religious leaders from Brooklyn Hamilton College (New York) alumni 20th-century American Episcopalians Episcopal bishops of Ohio 20th-century American clergy {{US-Anglican-bishop-stub