Katharine Jefferts Schori (born March 26, 1954) is the former
Presiding Bishop and
Primate
Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians ( monkeys and apes, the latter includin ...
of the
Episcopal Church of the
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country Continental United States, primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., ...
. Previously elected as the 9th Bishop of the
Episcopal Diocese of Nevada, she was the first woman elected as a
primate
Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians ( monkeys and apes, the latter includin ...
in the
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
. Jefferts Schori was elected at the 75th General Convention on June 18, 2006, and invested at
Washington National Cathedral on November 4, 2006, and continued until November 1, 2015, when
Michael Bruce Curry was invested in the position. She took part in her first
General Convention of the Episcopal Church The General Convention is the primary governing and legislative body of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. With the exception of the Bible, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Constitution and Canons, it is the ultimate authority ...
as
Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church
This is a list of the Presiding bishop#Episcopal Church in the United States, Presiding Bishops of the Episcopal Church in the United States. Initially the position of Presiding Bishop rotated geographically. After 1795 the Presiding Bishop was th ...
in July 2009.
Early and family life
Of Irish and Swiss ancestry, Jefferts Schori was born in
Pensacola, Florida
Pensacola () is the westernmost city in the Florida Panhandle, and the county seat and only incorporated city of Escambia County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 54,312. Pensacola is the principal c ...
to Keith Jefferts, an
atomic physicist, and Elaine Ryan, a
microbiologist
A microbiologist (from Greek ) is a scientist who studies microscopic life forms and processes. This includes study of the growth, interactions and characteristics of microscopic organisms such as bacteria, algae, fungi, and some types of para ...
.
Jefferts Schori was first raised in the
Catholic Church
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the List of Christian denominations by number of members, largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics Catholic Church by country, worldwide . It is am ...
. In 1963, her parents brought her, at the age of eight, into the Episcopal Church (St. Andrew's Episcopal Church,
New Providence, New Jersey) with their own move out of
Roman Catholicism
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
. Her mother converted to
Eastern Orthodoxy
Eastern Orthodoxy, also known as Eastern Orthodox Christianity, is one of the three main Branches of Christianity, branches of Chalcedonian Christianity, alongside Catholic Church, Catholicism and Protestantism.
Like the Pentarchy of the first m ...
a few years later and died in 1998.
Jefferts Schori attended school in
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, then earned a
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science (BS, BSc, SB, or ScB; from the Latin ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for programs that generally last three to five years.
The first university to admit a student to the degree of Bachelor of Science was the University of ...
degree in
biology
Biology is the scientific study of life. It is a natural science with a broad scope but has several unifying themes that tie it together as a single, coherent field. For instance, all organisms are made up of cells that process hereditary i ...
from
Stanford University
Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
in 1974, a
Master of Science
A Master of Science ( la, Magisterii Scientiae; abbreviated MS, M.S., MSc, M.Sc., SM, S.M., ScM or Sc.M.) is a master's degree in the field of science awarded by universities in many countries or a person holding such a degree. In contrast to ...
degree in
oceanography
Oceanography (), also known as oceanology and ocean science, is the scientific study of the oceans. It is an Earth science, which covers a wide range of topics, including ecosystem dynamics; ocean currents, waves, and geophysical fluid dynamic ...
in 1977, and a
Doctor of Philosophy
A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, Ph.D., or DPhil; Latin: or ') is the most common Academic degree, degree at the highest academic level awarded following a course of study. PhDs are awarded for programs across the whole breadth of academic fields ...
degree in 1983, also in oceanography, from
Oregon State University
Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering co ...
. She is an
instrument-rated pilot, and both her parents were pilots.
She married Richard Schori, an
Oregon State
Oregon State University (OSU) is a public land-grant, research university in Corvallis, Oregon. OSU offers more than 200 undergraduate-degree programs along with a variety of graduate and doctoral degrees. It has the 10th largest engineering col ...
professor of
topology
In mathematics, topology (from the Greek language, Greek words , and ) is concerned with the properties of a mathematical object, geometric object that are preserved under Continuous function, continuous Deformation theory, deformations, such ...
, in 1979; they have a daughter.
Early career
Jefferts Schori earned her
Master of Divinity
For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and divi ...
in 1994 from the
Church Divinity School of the Pacific
Church Divinity School of the Pacific (CDSP) is an Episcopal seminary in Berkeley, California. It one of nine seminaries U.S. Episcopal Church and a member of the Graduate Theological Union. The only Episcopal seminary located in the Far West, ...
and was
ordained
Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform va ...
priest that year. She served as assistant
rector
Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to:
Style or title
*Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations
*Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...
to William R. McCarthy at the Church of the Good Samaritan, in
Corvallis, Oregon, where she had special responsibility for pastoring the
Hispanic
The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad.
The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to Vic ...
community as a fluent
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
communicator, and was in charge of adult education programs.
In 2001, Jefferts Schori was elected and consecrated
Bishop of Nevada.
She was awarded honorary
Doctor of Divinity degrees from the Church Divinity School of the Pacific in 2001,
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 ...
in 2007, and
Sewanee: The University of the South in 2008.
In 2003, Jefferts Schori voted to consent to the election of
Gene Robinson
Vicky Gene Robinson (born May 29, 1947) is a former bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire. Robinson was elected bishop coadjutor in 2003 and succeeded as bishop diocesan in March 2004. Before becoming bishop, he served as Canon to the ...
, an openly
gay
''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'.
While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late 1 ...
and partnered man, to which some
conservative Episcopalians objected.
Election as Presiding Bishop
![Katharine Jefferts Schori 2008-09-22 001](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/6f/Katharine_Jefferts_Schori_2008-09-22_001.jpg)
The Episcopal Church met in General Convention in
Columbus
Columbus is a Latinized version of the Italian surname "''Colombo''". It most commonly refers to:
* Christopher Columbus (1451-1506), the Italian explorer
* Columbus, Ohio, capital of the U.S. state of Ohio
Columbus may also refer to:
Places ...
,
Ohio
Ohio () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. Of the fifty U.S. states, it is the 34th-largest by area, and with a population of nearly 11.8 million, is the seventh-most populous and tenth-most densely populated. The sta ...
, in June 2006. Jefferts Schori was elected to serve a nine-year term as Presiding Bishop by the
House of Bishops
The House of Bishops is the third House in a General Synod of some Anglican churches and the second house in the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. , on June 18, from among seven nominees on the fifth ballot with 95 of the 188 votes cast. The House of Deputies, consisting of
deacons
A deacon is a member of the diaconate, an office in Christian churches that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions. Major Christian churches, such as the Catholic Churc ...
,
priests and
laity
In religious organizations, the laity () consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother.
In both religious and wider secular usage, a layperson ...
, overwhelmingly approved the House of Bishops' election later that day. Jefferts Schori was the first woman
primate
Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians ( monkeys and apes, the latter includin ...
in the worldwide
Anglican Communion
The Anglican Communion is the third largest Christian communion after the Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox churches. Founded in 1867 in London, the communion has more than 85 million members within the Church of England and other ...
and the
26th Presiding Bishop of the
Episcopal Church.
Although Jefferts Schori's election was an indication of widespread support in the Episcopal Church in the United States for
ordaining women to the
historical episcopate
The historic or historical episcopate comprises all episcopates, that is, it is the collective body of all the bishops of a church who are in valid apostolic succession. This succession is transmitted from each bishop to their successors by the r ...
, the
Diocese of Fort Worth, which opposed women in
holy orders, asked the
Archbishop of Canterbury
The archbishop of Canterbury is the senior bishop and a principal leader of the Church of England, the ceremonial head of the worldwide Anglican Communion and the diocesan bishop of the Diocese of Canterbury. The current archbishop is Justi ...
to be placed under the oversight of a different primate.
As not all churches in the Anglican Communion uphold 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 ...
, the
election of a woman as
primate
Primates are a diverse order of mammals. They are divided into the strepsirrhines, which include the lemurs, galagos, and lorisids, and the haplorhines, which include the tarsiers and the simians ( monkeys and apes, the latter includin ...
also proved controversial in some other provinces.
At a news conference on June 18, 2006, the Presiding Bishop-elect articulated a willingness to work with conservatives. She expressed her hope to lead the church in the reign of God, rooted in imagery from
Isaiah
Isaiah ( or ; he, , ''Yəšaʿyāhū'', "God is Salvation"), also known as Isaias, was the 8th-century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is named.
Within the text of the Book of Isaiah, Isaiah himself is referred to as "the ...
and including such
United Nations
The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and international security, security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be ...
Millennium Development Goals
The Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) were eight international development goals for the year 2015 that had been established following the Millennium Summit of the United Nations in 2000, following the adoption of the United Nations Millenniu ...
as eradicating poverty and hunger: "The poor are fed, the
Good News is preached, those who are ostracized and in prison are set free, the blind receive sight."
![Katharine Jefferts Schori 2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bd/Katharine_Jefferts_Schori_2.jpg)
Jefferts Schori became Presiding Bishop on November 1, 2006, and her
investiture
Investiture (from the Latin preposition ''in'' and verb ''vestire'', "dress" from ''vestis'' "robe") is a formal installation or ceremony that a person undergoes, often related to membership in Christian religious institutes as well as Christian k ...
was held on November 4 at
Washington National Cathedral. Her official seating was held the following day, also at the National Cathedral.
Jefferts Schori was the
963rd bishop consecrated in the Episcopal Church. She was consecrated by
Jerry A. Lamb Jerry Alban Lamb (born September 4, 1940) is a retired American bishop. He was the sixth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Northern California.
Background
Lamb was born in Denver, Colorado. He attended the Roman Catholic St. Thomas Seminary in ...
,
Bishop of Northern California;
Robert Louis Ladehoff,
Bishop of Oregon; and
Carolyn Tanner Irish
Carolyn Tanner Irish (April 14, 1940 – June 29, 2021) was an American bishop. She was the 10th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Utah. At the time of her election and consecration in 1996 she became the fourth woman in the Episcopal Church t ...
,
Bishop of Utah
The Episcopal Diocese of Utah is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States, encompassing the state of Utah, less that part of the Four Corners region which is in the Navajoland Area Mission. It includes a small part of northern Ari ...
.
Presiding Bishop
In 2008, groups from four dioceses (
Fort Worth
Fort Worth is the fifth-largest city in the U.S. state of Texas and the 13th-largest city in the United States. It is the county seat of Tarrant County, covering nearly into four other counties: Denton, Johnson, Parker, and Wise. According ...
,
Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Wester ...
,
Quincy, and
San Joaquin) broke off to become part of the
Anglican Church in North America
The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is a Christian denomination in the Anglican tradition in the United States and Canada. It also includes ten congregations in Mexico, two mission churches in Guatemala, and a missionary diocese in Cuba ...
as part of the
Anglican realignment
The Anglican realignment is a movement among some Anglicans to align themselves under new or alternative oversight within or outside the Anglican Communion. This movement is primarily active in parts of the Episcopal Church in the United States ...
.
Jefferts Schori authorized lawsuits against departing dioceses and parishes, with $22 million spent as of 2011.
She also established a policy that church properties were not to be sold to departing congregations.
Jefferts Schori supported same-sex relationships and of the blessing of same-sex unions and civil marriages.
Like her predecessor, she is a supporter of abortion rights, stating that "We say it is a moral tragedy but that it should not be the government's role to deny its availability."
She also supported the US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) mandate on birth control. In 2007, her church's blessing of same-sex marriage led 7 Anglican archbishops to refuse communion with her during a meeting in
Tanzania
Tanzania (; ), officially the United Republic of Tanzania ( sw, Jamhuri ya Muungano wa Tanzania), is a country in East Africa within the African Great Lakes region. It borders Uganda to the north; Kenya to the northeast; Comoro Islands and ...
.
Some within the church questioned the orthodoxy of her theology. For example, her statement that "the great Western heresy – is that we can be saved as individuals, that any of us alone can be in right relationship with God" in her opening address to the 2009
General Convention The General Convention is the primary governing and legislative body of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. With the exception of the Bible, the Book of Common Prayer, and the Constitution and Canons, it is the ultimate authority ...
was criticized and prompted a clarifying statement from her in the following week. In 2013, Jefferts Schori's sermon in
Curaçao
Curaçao ( ; ; pap, Kòrsou, ), officially the Country of Curaçao ( nl, Land Curaçao; pap, Pais Kòrsou), is a Lesser Antilles island country in the southern Caribbean Sea and the Dutch Caribbean region, about north of the Venezuela coast ...
about Paul driving out a demon from a slave girl (), drew criticism from conservative Christian websites for departing from the common literal interpretation.
End of term
Jefferts Schori announced on September 23, 2014, that she would not seek another term as Presiding Bishop. On June 27, 2015, the General Convention elected Bishop
Michael Curry of North Carolina as the 27th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church.
From 2017 to 2019, Jefferts Schori was an assisting bishop in the
Episcopal Diocese of San Diego.
See also
*
*
List of Episcopal bishops of the United States
The following is a list of bishops who currently lead dioceses of the Episcopal Church in the United States and its territories. Also included in the list are suffragan bishops, provisional bishops, coadjutor bishops, and assistant bishops ...
*
Historical list of the Episcopal bishops of the United States
References
Further reading
*''The Episcopal Church Annual''. Morehouse Publishing: New York, NY (2005).
Q & A With Bishop Jefferts Schorifrom
The Living Church
''The Living Church'' is a magazine based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, providing commentary and news on the Episcopal Church and the wider Anglican Communion. In continuous publication since 1878, it has generally been identified with the Anglo-Catho ...
magazine
*Katharine Jefferts Schori,'' A Wing and a Prayer: A Message of Faith and Hope''. New York: Morehouse Publishing (January 2007) and London: SPCK (April 2007)
*Katharine Jefferts Schori, ''The Heartbeat of God: Finding the Sacred in the Middle of Everything''. Woodstock, Vermont: SkyLight Paths Publishing (October 2010).
External links
Episcopal Church elects first woman Presiding Bishopnbsp;—
Episcopal News Service
News article on her taking her leave from the Church of the Good SamaritanIn Their Own Words: Katharine Jefferts Schorinbsp;— Witness Magazine
Interview with the Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori, Bishop of Nevadanbsp;— Witness Magazine
nbsp;— Guardian UK
- New York Times Magazine
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jefferts Schori, Katharine
1954 births
Converts to Anglicanism from Roman Catholicism
American people of Swedish descent
Women Anglican bishops
21st-century Anglican bishops in the United States
Living people
Oregon State University alumni
Stanford University alumni
People from Corvallis, Oregon
People from Pensacola, Florida
Presiding Bishops of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America
American oceanographers
Church Divinity School of the Pacific alumni
Women Anglican primates
Oregon State University faculty
Episcopal bishops of San Diego
Episcopal bishops of Nevada