Ernest Arthur Copleston (1855 – 24 August 1933) was an

Anglican Anglicanism is a Western Christian tradition that has developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the context of the Protestant Reformation in Europe. It is one of th ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ca ...

in the first half of the 20th century. He was born in

Barnes, Surrey Barnes () is a district in south London, part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, England. It takes up the extreme north-east of the borough, and as such is the closest part of the borough to central London. It is centred west south ...

, the fourth son of Rev. Reginald Edward, vicar of Barnes, fellow of Exeter College, Oxford,"Ecclesiastical Intelligence", ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British daily national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its current name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its sister paper ''The Sunday Times'' (fou ...

'' (London), Thursday, 30 January 1902; pg. 6; Issue 36678; col B and Anne Elizabeth née Sharpe, educated at

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its founder, Sir Thomas White, intended to pro ...

and

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 ...

in 1878. His career began with

curacies A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy ...

at St Luke's Church,

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England, on the southwestern bank of the River Thames. It had an estimated population of 70,374 and forms part of the border with southern Bu ...

and

St. Paul's Church, Kandy St. Paul's Church ( si, ශාන්ත පාවුළු දේවස්ථානය) is an Anglican church in the historical district of Kandy, Sri Lanka on sacred grounds west of the Temple of the Tooth. History In 1825 the Bishop of Cal ...

. On 18 August 1883 he was appointed the incumbent at the Holy Emmanuel Church,

Moratuwa Moratuwa ( si, මොරටුව, ta, மொறட்டுவை) is a large suburb of Colombo, on the southwestern coast of Sri Lanka, near Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia. It is situated on the Galle–Colombo (Galle road) main highway, south o ...

, together with St Peter’s Church, Koralawella, and then Principal of the Diocesan Training College, Kandy until 1903. On 30 August 1903 he was consecrated as the fifth

Anglican Bishop of Colombo The Anglican Bishop of Colombo is the ecclesiastical head of the Anglican Diocese of Colombo, a diocese in the Church of Ceylon which is part of the Anglican Communion. The Anglican Diocese of Colombo was founded in 1845, as the diocese of the C ...

St. Paul's Cathedral, Calcutta St. Paul's Cathedral is a Church of North India (CNI) cathedral of Anglican background in Kolkata, West Bengal, India, noted for its Gothic architecture and dedicated to Paul the Apostle. It is the seat of the Diocese of Calcutta. The c ...

. A position in which he served for 21 years, until he was replaced by

Mark Carpenter-Garnier The Rt Rev Mark Rodolph Carpenter-Garnier (1 January 1881 – 11 October 1969) was an Anglican bishop in the first half of the 20th century. Born in Wickham, Hampshire''1911 England Census'' on New Year's Day, he was the third son of John ...

in 1924. His brother Reginald Stephen Copleston was also an Anglican

, whilst another brother, Frederick Selwyn Copleston, was the first Chief Judge of the Chief Court of Lower Burma. His nephew

Frederick Copleston Frederick Charles Copleston (10 April 1907 – 3 February 1994) was an English Roman Catholic Jesuit priest, philosopher, and historian of philosophy, best known for his influential multi-volume '' A History of Philosophy'' (1946–75). ...

, son of Frederick Selwyn Copleston, was a notable

Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...

priest.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Copleston, Reginald Stephen 1855 births People from Barnes, London Alumni of St John's College, Oxford Anglican bishops of Colombo 20th-century Anglican bishops in Asia 1933 deaths British expatriates in Sri Lanka