John Bowen Coburn (September 27, 1914 – August 8, 2009) was bishop of the

Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts The Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts is one of the nine original dioceses of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. History Massachusetts was founded by Puritans who did not accept such aspects of the Church of England as bisho ...

from 1976 to 1986.

Early life and education

Coburn was born on September 27, 1914, in Danbury, Connecticut, the son of the Reverend Aaron Cutler Coburn and Eugenia Bowen Woolfolk. He studied at Wooster School, a school founded by his father and graduated in 1931. Later he studied at

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

from where he graduated 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 year ...

in politics in 1936. Between 1936 and 1939, he taught English and Biology at Robert College in

Istanbul ) , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = 34000 to 34990 , area_code = +90 212 (European side) +90 216 (Asian side) , registration_plate = 34 , blank_name_sec2 = GeoTLD , blank_i ...

Turkey Turkey ( tr, Türkiye ), officially the Republic of Türkiye ( tr, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti, links=no ), is a transcontinental country located mainly on the Anatolian Peninsula in Western Asia, with a small portion on the Balkan Peninsula in ...

. After that he studied at the Union Theological Seminary from where he earned his Bachelor of Divinity in 1942. He was awarded a total of ten Doctor of Divinity from different universities, a

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 Roman Catholic C ...

from

Berkeley College Berkeley College is a private for-profit college with campuses in New York, New Jersey, and online. It was founded in 1931 and offers undergraduate and graduate degrees and certificate programs. Berkeley College is accredited by the Middle ...

in 1958 and a Doctor of Canon Law 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 ...

and

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 ...

in 1968.

Ordained ministry

Coburn was ordained deacon on January 3, 1943, by Bishop Benjamin M. Washburn of Newark in Trinity Cathedral. He was appointed as assistant at Grace Church in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...

and was ordained priest in July of that year. In 1944 he became a Navy chaplain on an attack transport in the Pacific during

WWII World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. Upon his return, he became rector of Grace Church in Amherst, Massachusetts and subsequently served as the chaplain at Amherst College. He was appointed Dean of Trinity Cathedral in

Newark, New Jersey Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.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 Stat ...

. In 1958 he was elected to become Bishop Coadjutor of the

Episcopal Diocese of Washington The Episcopal Diocese of Washington is a diocese of the Episcopal Church covering Washington, D.C. and nearby counties of Maryland in the United States. With a membership of over 38,000, the diocese is led by the Bishop of Washington, Mariann ...

but he turned it down. In 1968 he went to

Harlem, New York Harlem is a neighborhood in Upper Manhattan, New York City. It is bounded roughly by the Hudson River on the west; the Harlem River and 155th Street on the north; Fifth Avenue on the east; and Central Park North on the south. The greater Harl ...

and served as teacher at the Street Academy Urban League. In 1969 he became rector of St James' Church in

. He served as delegate of the General Convention in 1955, 1961, 1964, 1967, 1969, 1970, 1973 and then as president of the house between 1967 and 1976.

Bishop

Coburn was again elected bishop, this time of Massachusetts, an election which he accepted. He was consecrated on October 2, 1976, 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 ...

. In 1980 he was elected as the fifth dean of

Cathedral Church of St. Paul (Boston) The Cathedral Church of St. Paul, Boston is the historic cathedral church of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. Located at 138 Tremont Street near Downtown Crossing, directly across from Boston Common and Park Street Station, the cathedral ...

and served in this role concurrent with being bishop of the diocese. As Bishop of Massachusetts he ordained his son Michael and his daughter-in-law Ann Struthers to the priesthood in 1977. He retired in 1986 and died at his home in

Bedford, Massachusetts Bedford is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. The population of Bedford was 14,383 at the time of the 2020 United States Census. History ''The following compilation comes from Ellen Abrams (1999) based on information ...

on August 8, 2009.

Family

Coburn married Ruth Alvord Barnum on May 26, 1941. They would have five children together.

References

External links

New York Times obituaryDiocese of Massachusetts archival collection
1914 births 2009 deaths Princeton University alumni Robert College alumni Union Theological Seminary (New York City) alumni People from Danbury, Connecticut 20th-century American Episcopalians Episcopal bishops of Massachusetts 20th-century American clergy {{US-Anglican-bishop-stub