John Chanler White (May 21, 1867 – February 11, 1956) was the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Springfield in The Episcopal Church from 1924 to 1947, having previously served as archdeacon and missionary.

Early life and education

White was born on May 21, 1867, in

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, the son of Thomas Grimke White and Martha Phoebe Edings. He studied at St Stephen's College, 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 1888, and being honored with 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 ...

years later. This was followed by a period of studies at 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 ...

, graduating in 1891. General also awarded him 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 Catholic Church, ...

Ordained ministry

White was ordained deacon on May 24, 1891, and priest on June 11, 1892. He served as rector of St Paul's Church in

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and St Thomas' Church in

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between 1891 and 1893. He then became chaplain and private Secretary to Bishop of Springfield, whilst serving as priest-in-charge of Christ Church in

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between 1893 and 1897. In 1897, he was appointed rector of Holy Trinity Church in Hartwell, Cincinnati, while in 1900, he became rector of St Paul's Church in

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. In 1909, he became the General Missionary in East St. Louis until 1916, when he became rector of Trinity Church in

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, and subsequently Archdeacon of Springfield.

Bishop

On February 19, 1924, White was elected Bishop of Springfield, and was consecrated on May 14, 1924, by Presiding Bishop

Ethelbert Talbot Ethelbert Talbot (October 9, 1848 – February 27, 1928) was the fifteenth presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church. He is credited with inspiring Pierre de Coubertin to coin the phrase, "The important thing in the Olympic Games is not so much th ...

. He worked to create a self-autonomous diocese with no need of reliance on the nation Church for financial aid, and worked to establish and prolong the missionary spirit of the diocese. He retired in May 1947, and died on February 11, 1956, in a hospital in

Springfield, Illinois Springfield is the capital of the U.S. state of Illinois and the county seat and largest city of Sangamon County. The city's population was 114,394 at the 2020 census, which makes it the state's seventh most-populous city, the second largest o ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:White, John Chanler 1867 births 1956 deaths Episcopal bishops of Springfield