Robert Burton Gooden (September 18, 1874 – August 24, 1976) was a suffragan bishop in the

Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles is a community of 48,874 Episcopalians in 147 congregations, 40 schools, and 18 major institutions, spanning all of Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties, and part of Rive ...

Early life and education

Gooden was born in Bolton,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

on September 18, 1874 to James Gooden and Hannah Burton. He came to the

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in 1888 and attended the High School in

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. He studied at

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

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 years ...

in 1902, a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

in 1904, and 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 ...

in 1922. He also studied at

Berkeley Divinity School Berkeley Divinity School, founded in 1854, is a seminary of The Episcopal Church in New Haven, Connecticut. Along with Andover Newton Theological School and the Yale Institute of Sacred Music, Berkeley is one of the three "Partners on the Quad," ...

from where he earned a

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD or BDiv; la, Baccalaureus Divinitatis) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theology ...

in 1904, and awarded a

in 1931. He also earned a

Doctor of Canon Law Doctor of Canon Law ( la, Juris Canonici Doctor, JCD) is the doctoral-level terminal degree in the studies of canon law of the Roman Catholic Church. It can also be an honorary degree awarded by Anglican colleges. It may also be abbreviated ICD ...

in 1966 from

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, ...

. He married Alice Leonard Moore on November 7, 1904 and together had five children.

Ordained Ministry

Gooden was ordained deacon on June 8, 1904 by Bishop

Chauncey B. Brewster The Rt. Rev. Dr. Chauncey Bunce Brewster (September 5, 1848 – April 9, 1941) was the fifth Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut. Early life and education Brewster was born in Windham, Connecticut, to the Rev. Joseph Brewster and S ...

of Connecticut in the Church of the Holy Trinity,

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, and priest on April 18, 1905 by Bishop

Joseph Horsfall Johnson Joseph Horsfall Johnson (7 June 1847- 16 May 1928) was the first Bishop of Los Angeles in The Episcopal Church. He founded The Bishop's School in La Jolla, California and served on the Pomona College board of trustees. The Bishop Johnson College ...

of Los Angeles in Trinity Episcopal Church,

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. He was initially missionary at St Paul's Church in

between 1904 and 1905 and then missionary priest at Trinity Church in

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and St John's Church in Fallbrook, California from 1905 until 1907. He then became rector of St Luke's Church in

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between 1907 and 1912, before accepting the post of Headmaster at Harvard School in Los Angeles, a post he retained until 1930.

Episcopacy and Later Years

On March 11, 1930, during a special convention at St Paul's Cathedral, Los Angeles, Gooden was elected as the first Suffragan Bishop of Los Angeles on the sixth ballot. He was consecrated on May 27, 1930 by Bishop

W. Bertrand Stevens William Bertrand Stevens (November 19, 1884 - August 22, 1947) was second bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles, serving from 1928 to 1947. He had previously served as coadjutor bishop from 1920 to 1928. Early life and education Stevens ...

of Los Angeles in St Paul's Cathedral, Los Angeles. He retired in 1947. He helped found the Gooden Center, a residential facility in

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for recovery from alcohol and drug addiction. He was the oldest bishop in

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 ...

when he died at the age of 101. His son, Reginald Heber Gooden, was also a bishop.

References

1874 births 1976 deaths American centenarians Men centenarians Episcopal bishops of Los Angeles {{US-Anglican-bishop-stub