James Ridout Winchester (March 15, 1852 – October 27, 1941) was bishop of the

Episcopal Diocese of Arkansas The Episcopal Diocese of Arkansas is part of the Episcopal Church in the United States and the worldwide Anglican Communion. The Diocese is organized into 56 congregations, with its diocesan office in Little Rock. The seat of the Bishop of Arkansa ...

, serving from 1912 to 1931, succeeding

William Montgomery Brown William Montgomery Brown (September 4, 1855 – October 31, 1937), sometimes called "Bad Bishop" Brown, was an Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal clergyman and author. Brown, of Galion, Ohio, was consecrated a bishop of the Episcopal Chur ...

Early life and education

Winchester was born on March 15, 1852, in

Annapolis, Maryland Annapolis ( ) is the capital city of the U.S. state of Maryland and the county seat of, and only incorporated city in, Anne Arundel County. Situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east o ...

, the son of Jacob Winchester and Mary Ogle Ridout. He studied at Washington and Lee University and graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1874. He also graduated from the Virginia Theological Seminary in 1877 with a

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD or BDiv; la, Baccalaureus Divinitatis) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology ...

. He was 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 ...

from the Washington and Lee University in 1895, and another from the University of the South in 1894. He married Elizabeth Atkinson Lee in Clarke, Virginia, on April 17, 1878.

Ordained ministry

Winchester was ordained deacon on June 29, 1877, and priest on June 28, 1878, by Bishop Francis McNeece Whittle of Virginia. He served as assistant of St James' Church in

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 ...

between 1877 and 78, and then rector of Holy Cross Church in Uniontown, Alabama between 1878 and 1880. In 1880, he became rector of St John's Church in Wytheville, Virginia, while in 1882, he transferred to Christ Church in

Macon, Georgia Macon ( ), officially Macon–Bibb County, is a consolidated city-county in the U.S. state of Georgia. Situated near the fall line of the Ocmulgee River, it is located southeast of Atlanta and lies near the geographic center of the state of Geo ...

. Between 1890 and 1898, he served as rector of Christ Church in Nashville, Tennessee, and then as rector of the Church of the Ascension in St. Louis between 1898 and 1905. He then became rector of Calvary Church in Memphis, Tennessee in 1905, and served until 1911.

Bishop

Winchester was elected Coadjutor Bishop of Arkansas in May 1911, and was consecrated on September 29, 1911, by Presiding Bishop Daniel S. Tuttle. He succeeded as diocesan bishop on April 24, 1912. He remained in office until his retirement in 1931. He died on October 27, 1941, in Chicago.

References

1852 births 1941 deaths Episcopal bishops of Arkansas Washington and Lee University alumni Virginia Theological Seminary alumni People from Annapolis, Maryland {{US-Anglican-bishop-stub