Stephen Elliott (bishop)

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Stephen Elliott (born August 31, 1806 in Beaufort, South Carolina, died December 21, 1866 in Savannah, Georgia) was the 37th bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America (ECUSA). He was the first Bishop of Georgia and Provisional Bishop of Florida.

[edit] Background

Elliott graduated from Harvard in 1824, studied law, and practiced in Charleston and Beaufort, South Carolina from 1827 until 1833, when he became a candidate for holy orders in the Episcopal Church. He was ordained a deacon in 1835 and took priest's orders the following year. In 1840 he was chosen first bishop of the Diocese of Georgia, and after his consecration, February 28, 1841, became rector of St. John's Church, Savannah.

At the time of the American Civil War, he was opposed to secession, hoping that the Church would be able to overcome the issue of slavery. When secession occurred and the war arrived, many of the Protestant denominations in the U.S. split into Northern and Southern branches, a division that persists in many denominations today. The Episcopal Church was no different, giving rise to the Episcopal Church in the Confederate States of America. Stephen Elliott became the Presiding Bishop of the Confederate States.

After the War, largely through the efforts of Bishop Elliott and his friend Bishop John Hopkins of Vermont, the Northern and Southern branches of the Church re-joined. Both men considered this crucial to the survival of the Church and the nation.