James Winchester Montgomery (May 29, 1921 – October 23, 2019) was an American bishop of

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 ...

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

from 1971 to 1987. He served in the US Navy during World War II, before entering Seminary and serving the church in the Chicago area from 1949 to his retirement in 1987.

Early life and education

Montgomery was born on May 29, 1921, in Chicago,

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, the son of James Edward Montgomery and Evelyn Lee Winchester. His maternal grandfather, James Rideout Winchester, was

Bishop 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 ...

. Raised in the

Rogers Park Rogers Park is the first of Chicago's 77 community areas. Located from the Loop, it is on the city's far north side on the shore of Lake Michigan. The neighborhood is commonly known for its cultural diversity, lush green public spaces, early ...

neighborhood, he graduated from

Sullivan High School Sullivan High School is a public high school located in Sullivan, Indiana. SHS is one of three high schools in Sullivan County (the other two being North Central High School in Farmersburg and Union High School in Dugger). Sullivan High S ...

, then attended

Northwestern University Northwestern University is a private research university in Evanston, Illinois. Founded in 1851, Northwestern is the oldest chartered university in Illinois and is ranked among the most prestigious academic institutions in the world. Charte ...

, 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 1943. During World War II, Montgomery served as a lieutenant in the

US Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage of ...

. In 1946, he entered 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 ...

, and earned a

Bachelor of Sacred Theology The Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology ( la, Sacrae Theologiae Baccalaureus; abbreviated STB), not to be confused with a Bachelor of Arts in Theology, is the first of three ecclesiastical degrees in theology (the second being the Licentiate in Sacred ...

in 1949. He received degrees of

Doctor of Sacred Theology The Doctor of Sacred Theology ( la, Sacrae Theologiae Doctor, abbreviated STD), also sometimes known as Professor of Sacred Theology (, abbreviated STP), is the final theological degree in the pontifical university system of the Catholic Church, ...

from his alma mater and

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

Nashotah House Nashotah House is an Anglicanism, Anglican seminary in Nashotah, Wisconsin. The seminary opened in 1842 and received its official charter in 1847. The institution is independent and generally regarded as one of the more theologically Conservatism, ...

in 1963. In 1969, he received an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree from

Seabury-Western Theological Seminary Seabury-Western Theological Seminary (SWTS) was a seminary of the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church, located in Evanston, Illinois. It ceased operations as a residential seminary granting the Master of Divinity degree in May 201 ...

, and an honorary Doctor of Laws from

Shimer College Shimer Great Books School (pronounced ) is a Classic_book#University_programs, Great Books college that is part of North Central College in Naperville, Illinois. Prior to 2017, Shimer was an independent, accredited college on the south side of ...

Ordination

Montgomery was ordained deacon on June 18, 1949, by Bishop Wallace E. Conkling of Chicago at the Church of St. Paul by the Lake in Chicago, near his parents' Rogers Park home. He was ordained a priest a few months later. Appointed as curate of St. Luke's Church in nearby

Evanston, Illinois Evanston ( ) is a city, suburb of Chicago. Located in Cook County, Illinois, United States, it is situated on the North Shore along Lake Michigan. Evanston is north of Downtown Chicago, bordered by Chicago to the south, Skokie to the west, Wil ...

, Rev. Montgomery served two years, then accepted a position as rector of St. John the Evangelist Church in

Flossmoor, Illinois Flossmoor () is a village in Cook County, Illinois, United States. The population was 9,704 at the 2020 census. Flossmoor is approximately 25 miles south of the Chicago Loop. Geography Flossmoor is located at (41.541684, -87.684970). According ...

, where he remained eleven years.

Bishop

The Chicago diocesan convention of 1962 elected Montgomery, who served his entire career in Chicago, as Suffragan Bishop. Presiding Bishop

Arthur C. Lichtenberger Arthur Carl Lichtenberger (January 8, 1900 – September 3, 1968) was a bishop of the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church in the United States. He served as Episcopal Diocese of Missouri, Bishop of Missouri from 1952 to 1959, and as ...

led the

consecration Consecration is the solemn dedication to a special purpose or service. The word ''consecration'' literally means "association with the sacred". Persons, places, or things can be consecrated, and the term is used in various ways by different grou ...

service on September 29, 1962, at St James' Cathedral. On February 24, 1965, a special diocesan convention elected Montgomery Coadjutor Bishop of Chicago, and on October 2, 1971, he succeeded Frank Burrill as diocesan bishop. Montgomery did not support the

ordination of women The ordination of women to ministerial or priestly office is an increasingly common practice among some contemporary major religious groups. It remains a controversial issue in certain Christian traditions and most denominations in which "ordina ...

, which began in the Episcopal church during his tenure, but did allow for women to be ordained in the Chicago diocese by the bishop suffragan, Quintin E. Primo Jr. Bishop Montgomery served as a deputy to two General Conventions, as well as a trustee of the Church Pension Fund and navigated his diocese through significant liturgical revisions. He retired on October 1, 1987, and was succeeded by Rt.Rev.

Frank Griswold Frank Tracy Griswold III (born September 18, 1937) is a retired American bishop. He was the 25th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church. Early life and education Griswold was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania. He was educated at St. Paul's Sc ...

. During the period of the affiliation of

(now part of

North Central College North Central College is a private college in Naperville, Illinois. It is affiliated with the United Methodist Church and has nearly 70 areas of study in undergraduate majors, minors, and programs through 19 academic departments organized in thre ...

) with the Episcopal Church, Montgomery served as a

trustee Trustee (or the holding of a trusteeship) is a legal term which, in its broadest sense, is a synonym for anyone in a position of trust and so can refer to any individual who holds property, authority, or a position of trust or responsibility to t ...

of the college. He also served as a trustee of Rush Presbyterian St. Luke's Hospital, and his alma maters (Nashotah House and General Theological Seminary), among other institutions.

Death and legacy

Bishop Montgomery, age 98, died after a short illness at his Chicago home on October 23, 2019, with a funeral Eucharist at the cathedral on November 4, 2019. The community room of the historic

Episcopal Church of the Atonement and Parish House The Episcopal Church of the Atonement and Parish House is a historic church building at 5751 North Kenmore Avenue in Chicago, Illinois. The Gothic Revival building was constructed in 1889 and added to the National Register of Historic Places in ...

, of which he was a longtime parishioner, is named in his honor.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Montgomery, James W. 1921 births 2019 deaths Military personnel from Chicago Nashotah House alumni Northwestern University alumni 20th-century American Episcopalians Episcopal bishops of Chicago