Junius Moore Horner (July 7, 1859 – April 5, 1933) was the first

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is c ...

of the Diocese of Western North Carolina in The Episcopal Church.

Early life and education

Horner was born on July 7, 1859, in

Oxford, North Carolina Oxford is a town in Granville County, North Carolina, United States, with a population of 8,628 as of the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Granville County. History The town's history dates to 1761, when local legislator Samuel Benton built ...

, the son of James Hunter Horner and Sophronia Moore. Horner was a classmate of

Woodrow Wilson Thomas Woodrow Wilson (December 28, 1856February 3, 1924) was an American politician and academic who served as the 28th president of the United States from 1913 to 1921. A member of the Democratic Party, Wilson served as the president of ...

at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

. 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 ...

from

Johns Hopkins University Johns Hopkins University (Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Founded in 1876, Johns Hopkins is the oldest research university in the United States and in the western hemisphere. It consi ...

in 1885. He then studied 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 ...

and earned his Bachelor of Divinity in 1890. He was awarded a Doctor of Divinity by the

University of the South The University of the South, familiarly known as Sewanee (), is a private Episcopal liberal arts college in Sewanee, Tennessee. It is owned by 28 southern dioceses of the Episcopal Church, and its School of Theology is an official seminary of ...

in 1899.

Ordained ministry

Horner was ordained deacon on June 1, 1890, and priest on May 24, 1891. He served his priestly ministry as principal of the Oxford School for Boys in

, from 1890 till 1898. Horner married Eva Harker on December 14, 1892, and together had three children.

Bishop

In 1898, the General Convention of The Episcopal Church elected Horner to organize the Missionary District of Asheville. George Vanderbilt personally pledged to pay for the new bishop's position. He was consecrated missionary bishop on December 28, 1898, by the Bishop of North Carolina

Joseph Blount Cheshire Joseph Blount Cheshire Jr. (March 27, 1850 – December 27, 1932) was a bishop of North Carolina in The Episcopal Church. Education Cheshire was born on March 27, 1850, in Tarboro, North Carolina, the son of the Reverend Joseph Blount Cheshire and ...

. When the Missionary District of Ashville was organized into the Diocese of Western North Carolina, Horner became its first diocesan bishop. He remained at the diocese until his death in Asheville on April 5, 1933.

References

1859 births 1933 deaths Episcopal Church in North Carolina People from Oxford, North Carolina Johns Hopkins University alumni General Theological Seminary alumni Episcopal bishops of Western North Carolina {{US-Anglican-bishop-stub