William Forman Creighton (July 23, 1909 – May 20, 1987) was an American Episcopal bishop. He was the fifth bishop of the Diocese of Washington in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America.

Early life

Creighton was born the son of Bishop

Frank W. Creighton Frank Whittington Creighton (December 3, 1879 – December 23, 1948) was an American Episcopal bishop. He was the second missionary bishop of the Anglican Church of Mexico, Diocese of Mexico, sixth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Michigan, Dio ...

and Maud R. (Hawk) Creighton. He graduated from the University of Pennsylvania where he was a member of

Sigma Pi Sigma Pi () is a collegiate fraternity with 233 chapters at American universities. As of 2021, the fraternity had more than 5,000 undergraduate members and over 110,000 alumni. Sigma Pi headquarters are in Nashville, Tennessee. The fraternity ...

fraternity in 1931. He graduated from Philadelphia Divinity School in 1934.

Early ministry

He was ordained deacon by his father

in April 1934 and priest by Bishop Frederick B. Bartlett in November 1934. After being ordained his first assignment was at St. Mark's church in Oakes, North Dakota After three years there he moved to St. Clement's church in

St. Paul, Minnesota Saint Paul (abbreviated St. Paul) is the capital of the U.S. state of Minnesota and the county seat of Ramsey County. Situated on high bluffs overlooking a bend in the Mississippi River, Saint Paul is a regional business hub and the center o ...

. He was then a Navy chaplain during World War II. After the war he was assigned to St. John's church in Bethesda, Maryland.

Bishop

In 1958, Bishop Angus Dun knew that he would be retiring in several years and called for the election of a

Bishop Coadjutor A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) is a bishop in the Catholic, Anglican, and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in the administration of the diocese. The coadjutor (literally, "co- ...

John Bowen Coburn John Bowen Coburn (September 27, 1914 – August 8, 2009) was bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts from 1976 to 1986. Early life and education Coburn was born on September 27, 1914, in Danbury, Connecticut, the son of the Reveren ...

was selected during the first election but he turned down the position. On the second election Creighton was selected over

William G. Pollard William Grosvenor Pollard (1911–1989) was an American physicist and an Episcopal priest. He started his career as a professor of physics in 1936 at the University of Tennessee. In 1946 he championed the organization of the Oak Ridge Institut ...

. Creighton would serve as Bishop Coadjutor until 1962. Creighton was respected for his theological and intellectual acumen. In the 1962 heresy hearing of Bishop James Pike he wrote the minority opinion while his superior, Bishop Dun, wrote the majority opinion. He would become bishop of the diocese later that year. On November 25, 1963 he represented presiding bishop, the Rt. Rev. Arthur C. Lichtenberger, in the funeral procession President John F. Kennedy. Throughout the 1960s he worked with other religious leaders to overcome racial tensions. He was criticized by some for being a member of several institutions that excluded blacks. He would eventually resign from them. Creighton was an early supporter of the ordination of women into the priesthood. In 1975, he attempted to put pressure on the 1976 General Convention to approve women for the priesthood by declaring that he would not ordain anyone until it did so. There were some supporters who would not wait for the convention and ordained five women in 1975. After female priest were twice involved in celebrating the Eucharist against his wishes he put Rev. William A. Wendt on church trial for disobedience. Wendt was found guilty and censured. Creighton vowed to ordain women after the 1976 convention no matter what it decided.

Family

His father,

, was the second missionary bishop of the Diocese of Mexico, sixth bishop of the Diocese of Michigan, and a

suffragan bishop A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Anglican Communion, a suffragan bishop is a bishop who is subordinate to a metropolitan bishop or diocesan bishop (bishop ordinary) and so is not normally jurisdiction ...

of the Diocese of Long Island. His son,

Michael W. Creighton Michael Whittington Creighton was ninth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania from 1996 till 2006. Biography Creighton is the former rector of St Stephen's Church in Seattle, Washington. He was elected Coadjutor Bishop of Centr ...

, was the ninth bishop of

Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania The Episcopal Diocese of Central Pennsylvania is one of the dioceses of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. It was founded in 1905 as the Diocese of Harrisburg, separating from the original Diocese of Central Pennsylvania now ...

Retirement

After retiring in 1977 he continued to serve as a parish priest at St. John's church in Washington D.C. until right before his death in 1987. His remains are interred in the Washington National Cathedral where he served.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Creighton, William Forman 1909 births 1987 deaths Episcopal bishops of Washington United States Navy personnel of World War II 20th-century Anglican bishops in the United States World War II chaplains University of Pennsylvania alumni Episcopal Divinity School alumni Clergy from Philadelphia Burials at Washington National Cathedral