(The following history of the Diocese of Mississippi is based on information contained in the Official Diocesan History entitled The Episcopal Church in Mississippi, 1763-1992. This work should be considered the source for all that is written herein.)
The Diocese of Mississippi is the heir to an Anglican heritage in Mississippi which dates back to 1763, the year that Great Britian obtained the territory which now comprises the southern third of the State of Mississippi. This vast wilderness territory, which the British called West Florida, became part of the British empire at the end of the French and Indian War, when it was transferred from the French according to the terms of the Treaty of Paris. Ecclesiastical custom in the Church of England placed episcopal jurisdiction of colonies overseas in the hands of the bishop of London, who was, at that time, Rt. Rev. Richard Osbaldeston. As such, Bishop Osbaldeston was the first Anglican to have ecclesiastical jurisdiction of the Anglican Church in Mississippi. He was followed by Rt. Rev. Richard Terrick (1764-1777), and Rt. Rev. Robert Lowth (1777-1779). Though the seat of English colonial government in West Florida rested in Pensacola, the Natchez District - which comprised most of what is now southwestern Mississippi - was steadily being settled by English immigrants. Anglican clergy surely travelled back and forth between Pensacola, Mobile, and Natchez. Prayerbooks are known to have been included on the ship manifests of vessels bound for Natchez. Because of this, it is an established fact that Anglican worship followed the English settlers into the territory.
In 1779, during the American Revolution, the Spanish - American allies during the war - captured and occupied the Province of West Florida. The British would never return. The English settlers remained, however, and though loyal to Britain during the Revolution, they were allowed to continue their existence in the territory, especially around Natchez. With the establishment of Spanish control, Roman Catholicism became the established, legal religion. Officially, this meant that no other religion, especially the Protestant religion as expressed in Anglicanism, was tolerated within Spanish territory. The Spanish authorities in Natchez, however, were unusually tolerant of the Protestant beliefs of the English inhabitants, and allowed them to practice their faith unmolested, as long as they were quiet and private.
Such was the religious climate in the Natchez District upon the arrival of the first Anglican missionary, the Rev. Adam Cloud. Rev. Cloud and his wife, Mary, arrived in Natchez sometime in late 1789 or early 1790. He had been born (1759) to a Methodist family in Delaware, when the Methodist movement was still a part of the Anglican Church. When it became apparent that the movement intended, inspite of warnings from its founder, Charles Wesley, to leave the Anglican Church, Cloud left the movement, and was ordained a priest. After moving to New Jersey, where he met and married his wife, Cloud left for West Florida, where he had obtained a land grant from the Spanish. When he arrived in Natchez, he settled the land given to him. He was, like most clergy of his time, a part time farmer and part time preacher. The Spanish authorities at first were tolerant of his preaching for the first five years of his ministry. Even the Spanish commandant of Natchez, Gayos de Lemos, attended a few of his services. The Roman Catholic clergy of Natchez, however, were not so tolerant. In 1795, they complained to the ecclesiastical officials in New Orleans, (Spanish West Florida was associated with the province of Louisiana), and in the middle of a dark night, he was siezed by soldiers acting on authority from New Orleans. He and his family were exiled from the province and warned never to return. He did return however, in 1815, long after the Spanish had relinquished control of the territory to the Americans. Cloud returned and settled in Jefferson County, where he established the first Episcopal church in Mississippi at Church Hill. His church was called Christ Church. Later, when the Diocese of Mississippi was being established, Cloud would be present and influencial in the proceedings.
The second Anglican missionary to visit the territory of the future diocese was Rev. Adam Boyd. Rev. Boyd had been born in Pennsylvania to a Presyterian family. During the American Revolution, he served as an officer and chaplain in the North Carolina regiments of the Continental Army. In 1788, he was ordained a priest by Bishop Samuel Seabury of Connecticut, the first Episcopal bishop of the United States. He served parishes in Wilmington, North Carolina and Augusta, Georgia before moving to Natchez in 1800. He held Anglican services in the courthouse at Natchez and elsewhere for three years, until his death on March 7, 1803.
In 1822, the Rev. James Pilmore was invited by Angicans in Natchez to come and establish a church there. He arrived from Maryland, and established Trinity Church, serving as its first rector. In addition, he helped to formally establish Christ Church, Church Hill, which had been built by Adam Cloud. In 1819, Rev. James Angel Fox arrived in Natchez. He settled and held services near Pinkneyville and Woodville, in Wilkinson County. His missionary efforst led to the establishment of St. Paul's, Woodville in 1823. Rev Albert A. Muller and Rev. John Wurts Cloud (son of Adam Cloud), established St. John's (now St. James' parish) in Port Gibson in 1826. John Cloud remained in Mississippi until 1829. He eventually made his way to Texas, where he was influencial in the establishment of the Republic of Texas. In Mississippi, the churches founded by these early missionaries - Christ Church, Trinity, St. Paul's and St. James - became the organizing parishes of the Diocese of Mississippi.
In May, 1826, Episcopalians from these parishes met in Natchez to organize the diocese. As no bishop had been given jurisdiction over the territory, the Rev. Albert Muller was elected president pro tempore of the convention, and the Rev. James Pilmore was elected its secretary. Revs. Muller and Fox were elected clerical deputies to General Convention (with Joseph Dunbar and Ayres P. Merrill as lay delegates). These men were charged with presenting the churches' application for recognition as a diocese of the Protestant Episcopal Church. This application was approved by the General Convention of the Episcopal Church in November 1826 at St. Peter's Church, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
During the first few years of the Diocese of Mississippi's existence, it had no bishop of its own. The diocese was in the care of the standing committee of the diocesan convention. The clergy of the diocese were of a strong missionary zeal, devoted not only to the needs of the four original parishes, but to the spread of the Church to other communities. Their labors eventually led to the establishment of churches in Vicksburg as well as in other communities, and among the black slaves. Much of this work was supported by the Domestic and Foreign Missionay Society in New York City.
In 1827, The Society For The Advancement of Christianity in Mississippi was founded in Natchez, with Gov. David Holmes as its president. Its purpose was to aid the spread of the Church throughout the state of Mississippi. The society requested the diocese's first visit by a bishop in August 1829. This visit was made by Bishop Thomas Brownell of Connecticut, who arrived by ship in Natchez on December 23. He celebrated Holy Communion and consecrated Trinity Church, Natchez, on Christmas Day. He later consecrated Christ Church in Church Hill and St. Paul's in Woodville, and ordained the Rev. John C. Porter a priest. Rev. Porter's ordination was the first celebrated in the diocese.
Bishop Brownell's episcopal visit last for just a month. He left the diocese for Louisiana late in January of 1830. He continued, however, to stay in touch with the diocese, and provided episcopal leadership. When, in 1830, a proposal was made to combine the dioceses of Mississippi, Alabama, and Louisiana, Bishop Brownell counselled the Mississippi delegates to the convention to form the Diocese of the Southwest in New Orleans, which met in 1835. That convention elected Rev. Francis L. Hawks, of St. Thomas' Church, New York, as its bishop. Rev. Hawks declined the election, however, and no other measures were taken to establish the Diocese of the Southwest.
After Bishop Brownell, the diocese was visited by four other missionary Bishops. The first, Bishop Otey, was the first bishop of Tennessee. He was invited to visit Mississippi at the beginning of his episcopacy in Tennessee, which he accepted. Though he facilitated the establishment of Christ Church, Vicksburg, Bishop Otey was less than enthusiastic about the future of the diocese. He left Mississippi to assume his duties in Tennessee. He intended to come back, but due to illness, was unable. He asked Bishop Jackson Kemper, the bishop of the Northwestern Diocese to make a visit on his behalf.
Bishop Kemper arrived in 1838. His visit was much happier than Bishop Otey's. He consecrated St. Paul's, Columbus, the first parish outside of the Natchez district, and ordained the Rev. John F. Fish to the priesthood. A second visit by Bishop Kemper to the Tombigbee valley saw the confirmation of several communicants, and a glowing report of the state of the diocese in this region.
Bishop Leonidas K. Polk of Arkansas visited the diocese in 1839, providing the most extentive episcopal visit to the diocese since Bishop Otey's visit. He consecrated many churches, confirmed over a hundred, and was present at the diocesan convention of that year. Because he was not able to continue supervision in Mississippi, Bishop Otey reassumed this supervision in 1840. On his behalf, Bishop George W. Freeman, former rector of St. Paul's, Columbus and now bishop of Arkansas, made a tour through the diocese in 1845. Bishop Otey remained in association with the Diocese of Mississippi until 1848, when he regretfully retired his duties here. At his retirement, Mississippi Episcopalians were resolved to obtain a bishop of their own.
The Rev. William Mercer Green of North Carolina was elected the first bishop of Mississippi by the 23rd Annual Convention of the Diocese of Mississippi, meeting at Trinity Church, Natchez in May, 1849. He was at the time chaplain of the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, and lecturer of Belles Letters. He was a high churchmen, influenced by two bishops of North Carolina: John S. Ravenscroft and Levi Silliman Ives, son-in-law of Bishop Hobart who was the epitome of highchurchmanship in the mid 19th century.
Bishop Green was consecrated at St. Andrew's Church, Jackson, on St. Matthias' Day, February 24, 1850. In his address to Annual Convention that year, he advised his new flock that "Upon the safe and happy middle ground of Catholic truth may we ever be found, battling for God and His Church." During the antebellum period of his episcopacy, he was influencial in establishing educational foundations throughout the diocese, most notably Rose Gates College in Okalona, St. Andrew's College in Jackson, Trinity School in Pass Christian, and the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee (in conjunction with the other southern dioceses). His missionary work was conducted under the auspices of the Society of the Protestant Episcopal Church for Diffusing Christian Knowledge in the Diocese of Mississippi, the heir to the S.A.C.M. of the early diocese. Bishop Green was particularly interested in the mission to the slaves. He baptized and confirmed slaves regularly, provided a full time priest for the slaves of Laurel Hill plantation, and consecrated St. Cyprian's Chapel and cemetary in Okalona for the slave population of the area.
During the Civil War, the Diocese of Mississippi was associated with the Protestant Episcopal Church of the Confederate States of America. Throughout the war, only the annual council of 1864 was cancelled due to war casualties and danger. Yet, by 1865, it was more than apparent what the effects of war would be for the Church. The number of clergy was reduced by battle mortality, every single church in the diocese had been burned or desecrated, the people were impoverished and demoralized, and not one parochial school remained open. In essence, the Diocese became a casualty of the war. Like the state in which it worked, the Episcopal Church in Mississippi would have to be rebuilt from the scorched earth up.
Bishop Green led his diocese through reconstruction just as he had led it during war and before. One of his main concerns was the lack of clergy to assist him throughout the diocese. In 1870, he founded the Bishop Green Training School in Dry Grove to be a training school for what he hoped to be the establishment of a native-born presbytery. From the school, Bishop Green ordained the first black deacon of Mississippi, the Rev. George Jackson.
In 1880, Bishop Green asked for an assistant. The delegates of the Annual Council chose the Rev. Hugh Miller Thompson, who was rector of Trinity Church in New Orleans. Rev. Thompson was elected at a special meeting of the diocesan council in November 1882. He was consecrated at Trinity Church in New Orleans on St. Matthias' Day, February 24, 1883. A year later, feeble with old age and illness, Bishop Green turned over Ordinary duties to Bishop Thompson. Bishop Green retired to his beloved Sewanee where he died February 13, 1887. He is buried at Greenwood cemetary in Jackson.
Bishop Thompson was born in Londonderry, Ireland in 1830. He arrived in the United States at a very early age. He received his theological studies at Nashotah House, Wisconsin. Though not quite as "high" as Bishop Green, Bishop Thompson had strong feelings for the catholic and apostolic heritage of the Church. He was quick to point out the shortcomings of the diocese and what he called "slack churchmanship." To this extent, he was anxious to use his ministry to bring the diocese of Mississippi into the modern age as it prepared for the turn of the 20th century. In order to facilitate this, he established the diocese's first cathedral. When he moved to Mississippi, he settled in Oxford. He therefore established St. Peter's as the diocese's first cathedral, and appointed its rector to be the new cathedral's dean. He also moved into the new bishop's home which had been built to replace Bishop Green's home that had been destroyed in the war. This home was built on Battle Hill in Jackson in 1877. Once situated at Battle Hill following Bishop Green's death, Bishop Thompson resolved to build a cathedral there in memory of his predecessor. As the church was built, the bishop considered it to be only the chancel of an even larger future church. He consecrated it to St. Columba in 1894. St. Columb's remained the cathedral from that date until Bishop Thompson's own death. It did not survive its patron's death, however, and the congregation was disbanded in 1905.
In the ministry of education, Bishop Thompson was instrumental in the establishment of St. Mary's Institute for black girls in Vicksburg, and of Trinity School in Pass Christian, which was closed during the war. In addition, St. Thomas' Hall in Holly Springs and Waveland Academy was begun during his reign as bishop. Financially, Thompson oversaw the overhaul of the diocesan fund after it had been discovered that diocesan monies had been illegally and unwisely used. Thompson also helped organize the first diocesan-wide Women's Auxillary. Bishop Thompson guided the diocese for twenty-two years until his unexpected death in November 1902. He was originally buried in St. Columb's chapel, but his remains were translated to the cemetary of the Chapel of the Cross in Annandale after St. Columb's Chapel burned.
Bishop Theodore Dubose Bratton was elected by a special Council called by Bishop Thompson for that purpose before he died. The Council met after Thompson's death, in January 1903. Bishop Bratton was originally from Winnsboro, South Carolina, and was at the time of his elevation to the episcopacy headmaster of St. Mary's Junior College in Raleigh, North Carolina. His formal education, including seminary, was obtained from the University of the South in Sewanee. He was ordained a deacon by Bishop William B. W. Howe of South Carolina. He served in several positions in South Carolina before going to Raliegh. He was consecrated as bishop of Mississippi in St. Andrew's Church, Jackson on the Feast of St. Michael and All Angels, September 29, 1903.
At his first address to annual council of 1904, Bishop Bratton spoke of his desire for the establishment of parochial schools throughout his diocese. In 1907, All Saint's Junior College in Vicksburg was chartered, and opened in 1909. In addition, Bishop Bratton paid close attention to the Church's ministry to the black population as it struggled through some of the darkest years of racial inequality since the days of slavery. Under his close supervision, St. Mark's in Jackson was established with the Rev. Richard Temple Middleton, the first priest ordained by the new bishop, as its missioner. Rev. Middleton also became the first archdeacon of the Colored Convocation which was organized at Bishop Bratton's request in 1912. His concern for the Church's mission to the black population is indicative of his overall concern for social justice in general. He insisted upon a social policy on the diocesan level which was before its time, and which paved the way for the active roll Mississippi Episcopalians would take in the near future in the civil rights movement. Following the end of World War I, Bishop Bratton became a missionary bishop to Europe on behalf of the Y.M.C.A.
Due to his continued absence in Europe after World War, Bishop Bratton asked that a coadjutor be elected to maintain the diocese while he was away, and to prepare for his succession. A Special Council met at St. Andrew's, Jackson in June 1918. This council elected the Rev. William Mercer Green II, who was the rector of St. Andrew's. Bishop Green, the grandson of Mississippi's first bishop, was born and raised in Greenville, Mississippi, and was thus Mississippi's first native bishop. His father, Duncan, died in the yellow fever epidemic that hit that city in 1878. Orphaned, he was raised in Bishop Thompson's household at Battle Hill. He received his education in Sewanee and was ordained by Bishop Thompson in St. Columb's Cathedral in 1899, and priest a year later. He was consecrated as bishop on May 29, 1919 in St. Andrew's Church by Bishop Daniel S. Tuttle of Missouri, who was also presiding bishop of the national Church. As bishop, Green most contributed to the diocese by reorganizing the diocesan infrastructure and Organization. He reduced the number convocations to three: Northern, Southern, and Coloured. Later, a Coast Convocation and a Rural Convocation were added, but dissolved. He established the Executive Committee in 1921, in order to strengthen and unify the several committees and departments of the diocese. Bishop Green also restructured the organization of lay ministries under the Episcopal Laymen of Mississippi in 1927. The E.L.M. was established to train lay readers, interest laymen in evangelism, diffuse diocesan information through The Church News, and to recruit new communicants of the Church.
Bishop Bratton eventually returned from Europe, and resumed the administration of his see, with Bishop Green as his coadjutor. He finally retired in 1938, relinquishing all authority to Bishop Green. Following his assumption of Ordinary duties, Bishop Green had the duty of presiding over the diocese's first ecclesiastical trial, that of the Rev. Camille Estornelle, who was the rector of Holy Trinity, Vicksburg. The conflict with the Rev. Estornelle was due to his divorced status at the time of his call to Holy Trinity. Though the bishop refused to accept his letter Dismissory from the Diocese of New Jersey, Estornelle continued in his capacity as rector. Continuing to object to Estornelle's presence in his diocese, Green sued to have him removed. Estornelle was accused of violating diocesan authority by performing ministerial duties after his license had been revoked and for encouraging Holy Trinity to withdraw from the diocese (which the parish's vestry had voted to do in January 1938. On the firt account, the court found Estornelle not guilty, but found him guilty on the second count. He was ordered to sever his relationship with the parish of Holy Trinity and to leave the diocese. The Provincial Court of Review upheld these findings. After divorcing his second wife in Mississippi courts, he left for New Jersey, and the diocese was able to carry on in happily ordinary conditions. Bishop Green oversaw the continued growth of the diocese until his death on November 12, 1942. He is buried in Greenwood Cemetery in Jackson.
Upon Bishop Green's death, the council of the diocese convened on January 19, 1943 to elect a new bishop. They chose the Rev. Duncan Montgomery Gray, Sr., who was the rector of the Church of the Nativity, Greenwood. The Rev. Gray had been born in Meridian in 1898, was ordained deacon in Grace Church, Rosedale in 1925 by Bishop Bratton, and a priest one year later in St. Paul's Church, Corinth. During his priesthood, he served the churches of Canton, Lexington, Columbus, Macon, and Greenwood. He was consecrated bishop in May, 1943 in St. Andrew's Church, Jackson. Beginning his episcopacy during World War II, Bishop Gray oversaw the transformation of his diocese which resulted from the impact of military bases established throughout the state. It has been demonstrated that World War II was the watershed for change in 20th century Mississippi. The state and its people would never be the same following this global conflict, and the diocese naturally changed with its state. Gray saw to it that the military personnel of these bases, who were preparing to go to war, received the ministry of the Church. Mississippi Episcopalians were active in the post-war reconstruction efforts in both Europe and Japan. Miss Dorothy Stout, of Christ Church, Vicksburg, offered herself to the ministry of war orphans. In this capacity, she became missioner to St. Margaret's School in Tokyo, Japan. To this day, the Episcopal Church Women maintain a close relationship with that school.
During his episcopacy, Bishop Gray saw the growth and development of the children's summer camp, called Camp Bratton, which was first held on the gulf coast in 1924. As this programme continued to grow, and as the bishop began the practice of holding an annual clergy conference, it became apparent that a permanant conference-camp facility was needed. This goal was achieved with the purchase of Rose Hill in Madison County in 1946, a 210 acre facilty with a forty acre lake and two houses. After Bishop Gray died in 1966, the camp's name was changed to Duncan M. Gray Center in his memory. In addition to this facility, the diocese built the annex to St. Andrew's Church , to house diocesan offices, and purchased a new home for the bishop.
In the field of education, Bishop Gray saw the establishment of several parochial schools, including institutions in Jackson, Bay St. Louis, Laurel, Clarksdale, Natchez, and Pass Christian. In response to the U.S. Supreme Court's ruling in Brown v. Board of Education in 1954, St. Andrew's School, in 1959, became the first school in Mississippi to voluntarily comply with the ruling. There have been black students at St. Andrew's ever since. At All Saint's Junior College in Vicksburg, the institution was changed from a junior college to a girl's boarding school. In 1954, St. Michael's Farm for Boys was established in Picayune by the Rev. Victor A. Menard. This school was founded to minister to boys from throughout the country who had been in trouble with the law. Though this school has never been an official agency of the diocese, it has maintained a close relationship with the diocese, being named a missionary station of the diocese in 1972. Only the black school in Okalona suffered during this period. Finding it increasingly difficult to support this institution, the diocese, in divesting itself of the property, made sure that its grounds and facilities would continue to be used for the education of black children. Most of it was donated to the Okalona Municipal School District for use as a vocational and technical school. Other facilities of the old school were used to house the Okalona Headstart programme.
Bishop Gray called for the election of a coadjutor by 1960, being in poor health. His coadjutor, Rev. John Maury Allin, was elected at St. Andrew's on September 7, 1961. Rev. Allin was, at the time of his elevation, rector of All Saint's Junior College, Vicksburg. He was a native of Helena, Arkansas. His theological studies wre taken at Sewannee. He was ordained deacon by Bishop Mitchell of Arkansas in 1944 and priest a year later. He served as rector of St. Peter's Church, Conway, Arkansas, curate of St. Andrew's Church, New Orleans, Grace Church, Monroe, Louisiana, and rector of All Saint's Junior College, Vicksburg. He was consecrated Bishop on October 28, 1961 by Presiding Bishop Arthur C. Lichtenburger, Bishop Gray, and Bishop Girault Jones of Louisiana. His consecration was televised live in Mississippi and Louisiana. He remained coadjutor until 1966, when Bishop Gray retired, only one month before his death.
Bishop Allin guided his diocese through the most difficult period of Mississippi history since the civil war. From the Supreme Court ruling in Brown v. Board in 1954, tensions between old and new values came to a head. Throughout the 1950s, Mississippi segregationists managed to put off the inevitable. But, in 1962, integration came to Mississippi. The Diocese of Mississippi took an unpopular stand in the conflict. Though most white Mississippians opposed integration, Bishop Gray and Bishop Allin took positions of conciliation toward the inevitable. Another young priest, Bishop Gray's son, Duncan M. Gray, Jr. took an active role in the peace process during the Ole Miss riots in September, 1962. As rector of St. Peter's, Oxford, "young Duncan" (as Mississippi Episcopalians call him)was so desperate to avoid violence, that he was hauled off the Confederate Memorial in front of the Lyceum, the focal point of the riot, by a mob of students, as he appealled for peace. The mob was prepared to stone him to death at the instigation of an Arkansas known as "General" Edwin A. Walker, who had travelled to Mississippi to protest the attempted admission of James Merideth to the university. Young Duncan was saved only after he was carried off to jail by the sheriff. As he was being arrested, General Edwin A. Walker exclaimed that Gray made him embarrassed to be an Episcopalian. Young Duncan, upon Bishop Allin's election as Presiding Bishop, was elected Bishop of Mississippi in 1974. Bishop Allin died in Jackson in April, 1998.
Bishop Gray was consecrated in St. Andrew's Cathedral (which had been elevated to cathedral status at Bishop Allin's installation as diocesan bishop in 1966) on June 1, 1974. During his episcopacy, Bishop Gray saw many changes to the Church, and helped to guide his flock through some turbulent times as a result of these changes. These changes concerned the ordination of women, and the publishing and institution of the new prayer book.
The issue of the ordination of women was first debated in Mississippi at the 148th annual council. Bishop Gray was immediately concerned about providing information by which his flock could intelligently and reasonably discuss the issue. In November 1975, a conference on the issue was held at the cathedral. Such conferences were also sponsored by the diocese on the issue of the revision of the prayer book. In this respect, Bishop Gray was able to promote responsible and enlightened debate, and was successful in guiding the diocese through the rough waters that resulted from these changes.
The first female priest of Mississippi was received from the Diocese of Central New York in November 1980. Her name was Mary Macsherry McBride. She became an assistant at St. Andrew's Cathedral. The first female postulant from Mississippi was Annwn Leigh Hawkins, of St. Andrew's Cathedral. She was ordained by Bishop Gray in May 1985. Women were allowed to serve as lay ministers beginning in 1975.
Following closely on the heels of the controversy of women's ordination came the controversy over the Church's new prayerbook, which was published in 1979. Bishop Gray instituted a plan by which every parish and mission had three years to gradually become familiar with and begin using the 1979 Book of Common Prayer. This transition time helped to calm the waters of controversy. Over these issues, only four priests and monastics left the diocese. Regardless, Bishop Gray considered that four too many. He expressed regret at their departure, wished them well, and left the door open to them should they ever decide to return.
In 1991, Bishop Gray's successor, Rev. Alfred Clark Marble, Jr., was elected. He was consecrated bishop on June 15, 1991 in Jackson's municipal auditorium. He became diocesan bishop upon Bishop Gray's retirement in 1994. Bishop Marble, at his consecration, invited his flock to join him in a ministry to the hungry, naked, and those in need. The diocese is actively involved in the mission to AIDS/HIV sufferers, as well as to charitable organizations to the poor. An extensive medical mission to Honduras is also supported by the diocese. A special emphasis has been made to further define the ministry of laymen and women in the world and in their workplace. Later in his ministry, Bishop Marble led the diocese in a concerted ministry of racial reconciliation. Realizing that many issues surrounding the turbulent civil rights movement still needed to be addressed, the diocese has led the effort to bring the vision of the movement to its ultimate reality. In this respect, the diocese is preparing for the Third Millenium of Christ's faith. In 2000, the diocese elected a coadjutor to eventually replace Bishop Marble upon his retirement. The third Bishop Duncan Montgomery Gray (grandson of the first Bishop Gray, and son of the second) was consecrated in August 2000 in Jackson.
In 1998 the Anglican primates throughout the world gathered at Canterbury for the decennial Lambeth Conference. Though flush with the fraternal affections that usually dictate the mood of such occasions, this particular Conference turned out to be anything but fraternal. At issue were the many changes in thought and practice brought about by changing attitudes toward sexuality. A schism of thought had begun in the Anglican world beginning in the 1970s that separated Anglicans from the Industrialized north (the U.S., U.K., Europe, etc.) and Anglicans from the Africa and Asia where traditional values about sexuality still held sway. At Lambeth '98, the two cultural differences clashed. In the end, the Africans and Asians won the day as several resolutions were passed that seemed to indicate that the concensus of thought in the Anglican Communion was opposed to liberal attitudes concerning sexuality, particularly homosexuality.
In the United States, the Lambeth Resolutions sent shockwaves throughout the Episcopal Church. For many years, the American Church had taken a somewhat liberal approach in regards to sexuality and the inclusion of homosexuals in the life of the Church. In many dioceses, priests had already begun to bless same-sex unions. Gay men and women, even those in monogomous relationships, were ordained almost without a second thought. After Lambeth '98, such practices could no longer be conducted without controversy.
At General Convention in Denver in the summer of 2000, the controversy "came home to roost" as the issue was again debated. Though the Convention held back from formally adopting canons that would legalize same-sex unions or that would sanction the ordination of gay men and women, conservatives within the Church were angered that the Convention did not specifically renounce such actions as sinful and contrary to the Word of God. Following General Convention, a handful of Episcopalian priests formed the Anglican Mission in America (AMiA), the main purpose of which was to establish an alternative Anglican jurisdiction in the United States. AMiA priests and congregations removed themselves from the jurisdiction of the Episcopal Church and accepted episcopal oversight of foreign bishops, namely the Archbishop of Rwanda (Africa) and the Archbishop of Southeast Asia (Singapore). This move has caused several legal disputes between Episcopal bishops and congregations over property ownership and ministry.
The Diocese of Mississippi has largely escaped the schisms that have occured over the last few decades (beginning with the schism that occurred over the ordination of women and continuing to the AMiA schism). A few parishes (in Jackson and Starkville) are aligned with two of the so-called "Continuing Anglican Churches", but the controversy caused by the AMiA has not come to the borders of this diocese.
The nature of the clergy in Mississippi took a unique turn during the episcopacy of Bishop Marble. Reclaiming the ancient ministry of the Order of the Diaconate, the Diocese began to ordain a significant number of people to the diaconate who had no intentions to be ordained to the priesthood. The "permanant diaconate" is charged with reaching out to the needs of rural communities where the ministry of priests may be vacant. Specifically, permanant deacons concentrate on areas of specific needs, such a the AIDS ministry, ministries to Mississippi's growing Hispanic community, etc. To help educate them for their ministries, the Diocese has established a "Deacon's School" in Jackson. Many believe that the influence of permanant deacons will grow, not only in Mississippi but throughout the Church.
When Bishop Grey was consecrated as the 9th Bishop of Mississippi in 2000, he became the third generation of his family to rise to the episcopacy. He was installed as the diocesan bishop in Biloxi, Mississippi on 9 February 2003, making him the first bishop in the American Church to succeed both his father and his grandfather to the same office. During his service as the diocese's coadjutor, Bishop Grey made it clear that one of the primary goals of his episcopacy would be new "church plants." Several areas of the diocese have been identified as ripe for the planting of new church missions, including the suburbs south of Memphis and the "vast Southern wilderness" of the Piney woods. In fact, 28 of the state's 82 counties are void of any Anglican presence. By all indications, before Bishop Grey's episcopacy ends, this number will fall.
