Thomas Augustus Fraser Jr. (April 17, 1915 – October 20, 1989) was eighth bishop of the

Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina The Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina is a diocese of the Episcopal Church within Province IV that encompasses central North Carolina. Founded in 1817, the modern boundaries of the diocese roughly corresponds to the portion of North Carolina ...

from 1965 to 1983.

Early life and education

Fraser was born on April 17, 1915, in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Georgia. It is the seat of Fulton County, the most populous county in Georgia, but its territory falls in both Fulton and DeKalb counties. With a population of 498,715 ...

, son of Thomas Augustus Fraser Sr and Lena Lee Connell. He grew up in New York City. He graduated from Hobart College with a B.A in 1931. Later he enrolled in the

Virginia Theological Seminary Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), formally called the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia, located at 3737 Seminary Road in Alexandria, Virginia is the largest and second oldest accredited Episcopal seminary in the Unit ...

and graduated with 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 1941. He earned the

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 ...

from Virginia Theological Seminary in 1960 and another from Sewanee: The University of the South in 1961 and from

Wake Forest University Wake Forest University is a private research university in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Founded in 1834, the university received its name from its original location in Wake Forest, north of Raleigh, North Carolina. The Reynolda Campus, the un ...

in 1965. He also earned 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, ...

from Hobart College in 1965 and a

Doctor of Humane Letters The degree of Doctor of Humane Letters (; DHumLitt; DHL; or LHD) is an honorary degree awarded to those who have distinguished themselves through humanitarian and philanthropic contributions to society. The criteria for awarding the degree differ ...

from

St. Augustine's University (Raleigh, North Carolina) Saint Augustine's University is a private historically black Christian college in Raleigh, North Carolina. It was founded by Episcopal clergy in 1867 for the education of freed slaves. History Founded in 1867 as Saint Augustine's Normal ...

in 1974.

Ordination

Fraser was ordained deacon by Bishop

Ernest M. Stires Ernest Milmore Stires (May 20, 1866 - February 12, 1951) was the third Episcopal Diocese of Long Island, Bishop of Long Island in the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church from 1925 to 1942. Early life and education Stires was born ...

of Long Island in June 1941. He was ordained priest the following February by the same bishop. He served as a missionary in Long Island from 1942 to 1943 and was also secretary and chaplain of the Bishop. In 1942 he became assistant priest of St George's Church in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

. From 1944 till 1951 he served as rector of St Paul's Church in

Alexandria, Virginia Alexandria is an independent city (United States), independent city in the northern region of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Virginia, United States. It lies on the western bank of the Potomac River approximately south of Downto ...

. In 1951 he moved to

Winston-Salem, North Carolina Winston-Salem is a city and the county seat of Forsyth County, North Carolina, United States. In the 2020 census, the population was 249,545, making it the second-largest municipality in the Piedmont Triad region, the 5th most populous city in N ...

to serve as rector of St Paul's Church.

Bishop

Fraser was elected coadjutor bishop of North Carolina on February 21, 1960, during a special convention which took place in

Raleigh, North Carolina Raleigh (; ) is the capital city of the state of North Carolina and the List of North Carolina county seats, seat of Wake County, North Carolina, Wake County in the United States. It is the List of municipalities in North Carolina, second-most ...

. He was consecrated on May 13, 1960, by Presiding Bishop

Arthur C. Lichtenberger Arthur Carl Lichtenberger (January 8, 1900 – September 3, 1968) was a bishop of the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church in the United States. He served as Episcopal Diocese of Missouri, Bishop of Missouri from 1952 to 1959, and as ...

in St Paul's Church in

. In 1965 he succeeded as diocesan bishop. His episcopacy was marked with various changes in the Episcopal Church, notably revisions in the Book of Common Prayer published in 1979 and his stern upheavals for it to be used throughout the diocese. He was also in favor of women ordination however he viewed it as honoring a call to ministry rather than equal rights. Fraser retired in 1983 and served as assisting bishop of Southern Virginia from 1984 till 1986. He also was Bishop in residence of St Michael's Church in

Personal life

Fraser married Marjorie Louise Rimbach on May 29, 1943, and together had 2 children, the Reverend Thomas Augustus Fraser III and Constance Louise Fraser.

References

External links

Thomas Augustus Fraser Papers, 1945-1990
1915 births 1989 deaths Episcopal Church in North Carolina 20th-century American Episcopalians Episcopal bishops of North Carolina 20th-century American clergy Wake Forest University alumni {{anglican-bishop-stub