Robert V. Taylor (born in

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) is a

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particu ...

in the Episcopal Church USA and an activist for social justice. He was installed in 1999 as

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of St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral in

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, making him the first 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 ...

Episcopal dean in the

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and, at the time, the highest-ranking openly gay priest in the Episcopal Church. As a young man in South Africa, Taylor was an anti-

apartheid Apartheid (, especially South African English: , ; , "aparthood") was a system of institutionalised racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. Apartheid was ...

activist. His apartment was raided by government forces in 1980, and he was threatened with compulsory military service. Unwilling to support the apartheid regime, he sought counsel from Archbishop

Desmond Tutu Desmond Mpilo Tutu (7 October 193126 December 2021) was a South African Anglican bishop and theologian, known for his work as an anti-apartheid and human rights activist. He was Bishop of Johannesburg from 1985 to 1986 and then Archbishop ...

, who advised him to flee the country and pursue his priestly studies in America. Tutu assisted him and remained his friend and mentor thereafter. He received his

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 ...

degree from Union Theological Seminary in

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in 1984, having previously earned a

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Rhodes University Rhodes University is a public university, public research university located in Makhanda, Eastern Cape, Makhanda (Grahamstown) in the Eastern Cape Province of South Africa. It is one of four universities in the province. Established in 1904, ...

. Taylor served as

parish A parish is a territorial entity in many Christian denominations, constituting a division within a diocese. A parish is under the pastoral care and clerical jurisdiction of a priest, often termed a parish priest, who might be assisted by one or m ...

priest at St. Peter's Episcopal Church in

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, from 1989 to 1999, where he introduced significant outreach ministries including child care, services for the elderly, and HIV/AIDS ministers, and was credited with strengthening membership. In 1999 he was elected Dean of the Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle making him the highest ranking openly gay clergy priest at the time. In Seattle, he co-founded "Faith Forward", an interfaith initiative on public policy, politics, and spirituality. He was an organizer of "Seeds of Compassion", which drew over 150,000 attendees to an interfaith series of events on compassion during which he hosted a dialog between the

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and

. He initiated a countywide response to homelessness, becoming the founding chair of the Committee to End Homelessness in King County, which has united 35 jurisdictions, foundations, social service agencies, corporate leaders, interfaith leaders, and others in a unified effort to end homelessness. In 1999, shortly after his installation at St. Mark's, Taylor was asked by Archbishop Tutu to serve as the first president of the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation USA. In 2001, Taylor was named chair of the Committee to End Homelessness in King County, whose ten-year plan to end homelessness was adopted by the county in 2005. In June 2005, U.S. Representative Jim McDermott nominated Taylor for ''

Seattle Magazine Seattle ( ) is a seaport city on the West Coast of the United States. It is the seat of King County, Washington. With a 2020 population of 737,015, it is the largest city in both the state of Washington and the Pacific Northwest region of N ...

s annual "Power 25", stating that Taylor "has inspired Faith Forward, a new way to address old ideas found in the Scriptures, like ending poverty, hunger, and war. At a time of intense division in our nation, Robert Taylor is preaching the gospel of unity, of accepting each another and vowing to heal, not hurt, one another." In May 2006, Taylor was one of seven candidates for election as eighth bishop of the

Episcopal Diocese of California The Episcopal Diocese of California is an ecclesiastical territory or diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (ECUSA) in Northern California. The founding Episcopal diocese in the state, once encompassing all of Californ ...

. The nomination of Taylor and two other openly gay candidates led to speculation that the diocese, located in the

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, might choose to consecrate a second openly gay bishop in response to the controversy over the 2003 election of the Rt. Rev. V. Gene Robinson in

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. Instead, the diocese elected the Rt. Rev.

Marc Handley Andrus Marc Handley Andrus (born October 20, 1956) is an American bishop of the Episcopal Church (Anglican Communion). He is the current and eighth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of California. Prior to his election as Bishop of California, Andrus serv ...

. In celebration of his installation as dean of the cathedral in Seattle, Dorothy Papadakos was commissioned to compose an anthem titled "Live in Love", published by Oxford University Press. Taylor has published articles on the subject of interfaith dialogue and reconciliation, and in support of same-sex marriage, among many other issues. On 27 March 2008, Taylor announced his resignation as

of St. Mark's Episcopal Cathedral. Taylor's book, ''A New Way to be Human: 7 Spiritual Pathways to Becoming Fully Alive'', offers a path to an integrated life of purpose. It gives expression to the viewpoint that God, or the holy, existed before religion. It provides a spirituality of purpose for those who are spiritual but not religious, and celebrates a generous spirituality of love and compassion. The book was launched in Seattle, 17 April 2012. Taylor is featured as a character in the play ''The Thin Place'' by Sonya Schneider and directed by Andrew Russell for its premiere at the Intiman Theater, May 2010.

Photos

File:Robert-V-Taylor-6a.jpg File:Robert V Taylor 7a.jpg File:Dalai Lama w RVT.jpg File:Seeds of compassion - RVT - 4.jpg File:RVT with Desmond Tutu at table.jpg File:RV Taylor youth Image-2.jpg File:LACMA May 16 2012.JPG

References

External links

* Seattle Weekly
Guess who's coming to supper? A conversation with the country's first gay Episcopal dean.
(1 March 2000) * CNN

(6 May 2006) * Seattle Times

(21 February 2006) * BBC
Bishop vote avoids gay clergy row
(6 May 2006) * Seattle P-I

(8 May 2006) * Saint Mark's Cathedral

(28 March 2008) * Seattle Times
Taylor resigns as dean of troubled St. Mark's
(29 March 2008)

* Wake Up for Life! (Robert V. Taylor's blog): http://www.wakeupforlife.com * Robert V. Taylor website
http://www.robertvtaylor.com

Writing

Co-Author, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 21 October 2007 * Seattle Times

in support of the election of Presiding Bishop

Katharine Jefferts Schori Katharine Jefferts Schori (born March 26, 1954) is the former Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church of the United States. Previously elected as the 9th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Nevada, she was the first woman elected ...

(23 June 2006) * Let us pay our faith forward, Co-Author, Seattle Post-Intelligencer, 19 January 2005 * No class system among Christians, The Witness Magazine, July/August 2003 * Embracing alternatives to our fear and anger, The Seattle Times, 20 September 2001 * Urban churches can help rebuild our nation's cities, Gannett Suburban Newspapers, 26 July 1992 * Divest to blacks in South Africa, Westchester Business Journal, 19 October 1987 * How Divesting U.S. Firms Can Fight Apartheid, Newsday, 17 August 1987 * Nelson Mandela, the U.S. and a new South Africa, The Chicago Tribune, 20 July 1987 * South Africa 'policy of hope' deserves support, National Christian Reporter, 9 January 1987 * Unless the U.S. acts, South Africa could become as ungovernable as Lebanon, Gannett Westchester Newspapers, 1 December 1986 * Assembling the Parts to Combat Apartheid, Newsday, 5 November 1986 * The U.S. needs a bold new South Africa policy, The Chicago Tribune, 21 October 1986 * Soweto, Where Hope for Peaceful Change Died, Newsday, 16 June 1986 * S. African whites, not blacks, fear sanctions, Gannett Westchester Newspapers, 4 October 1985 * Desperate regime will destroy South Africa, Gannett Westchester Newspapers, 25 July 1985 * Apartheid and Christianity have nothing in common, Gannett Westchester Newspapers, 16 January 1985 * Anti-apartheid protests gain impetus, Gannett Westchester Newspapers, 9 December 1984 {{DEFAULTSORT:Taylor, Robert V. 1958 births LGBT Anglican clergy American Episcopalians South African gay men American gay men Living people Rhodes University alumni People from Cape Town South African emigrants to the United States