| Charles Chapman Grafton | |
|---|---|
| 2nd Bishop of Fond du Lac | |
| Province | The Episcopal Church |
| Diocese | Fond du Lac |
| Enthroned | 1888 |
| Reign ended | 1912 |
| Predecessor | John Henry Hobart Brown |
| Successor | Reginald Heber Weller |
| Orders | |
| Consecration | April 25, 1888 |
| Personal details | |
| Born | April 12, 1830 Boston, Massachusetts |
| Died | August 30, 1912 (age 82) Fond du Lac, Wisconsin |
| Buried | St. Paul's Cathedral |
The Right Reverend Charles Chapman Grafton (April 12, 1830 – August 30, 1912) was the second Bishop of the Diocese of Fond du Lac in The Episcopal Church.
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Born in Boston, Massachusetts, he was an ardent supporter of the Oxford Movement, an affiliation of High Church Anglicans that led to Anglo-Catholicism in The Episcopal Church. In 1853 he graduated from Harvard with a degree in law but found himself drawn toward the ordained ministry. Grafton studied theology under Bishop William Whittingham of Maryland and was ordained deacon on Dec. 23, 1855.
Grafton began his ordained ministry as assistant at Reisterstown, Maryland and on May 30, 1858, he was ordained priest and served as curate at St. Paul's Episcopal Church, Baltimore, and chaplain of the deaconesses of the Diocese of Maryland. At the close of the Civil War he went to England and with Richard Meux Benson and Simeon Wilberforce O'Neill he co-founded the Society of St. John the Evangelist, also known as the Cowley Fathers. Grafton returned to the United States, and in 1872 became fourth Rector of Church of the Advent, Boston. A jurisdictional dispute concerning Grafton's overseas religious superior led to his withdrawal from SSJE. Bishop Grafton also helped establish the American Congregation of Saint Benedict (now known as The Benedictine Order of St John the Beloved) and in 1888 he was a founder of the Sisterhood of the Holy Nativity, along with Mother Ruth Margaret.
Grafton was consecrated on December 15, 1888 at the Cathedral Church of St. Paul the Apostle, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin by William E. McLaren of Chicago, Alexander Burgess of Quincy, and George F. Seymour of Springfield. During his tenure as Bishop, Grafton spearheaded a great expansion the Diocese of Fond du Lac, much of it driven by contributing much of his own personal wealth and soliciting contributions from many of his wealthy friends back east. He also left behind a legacy of printed works, sermons and essays.
In 1900 Grafton was chief consecrator of Reginald Heber Weller as bishop coadjutor of Fond Du Lac. The liturgy of the consecration was controversial. The Russian Orthodox bishop of Alaska, Saint Tikhon was present as well as Rt. Rev. Anthony Kozlowski of the Polish National Catholic Church. Bishop Grafton was photographed with these other bishops wearing copes and miters (which was not widely accepted in the Episcopal Church at that time). The photo became known as the "Fond du Lac Circus".
Grafton is honored with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (USA) on August 30.
| Episcopal Church (USA) titles | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by John Henry Hobart Brown |
2nd Bishop of Fond du Lac 1888–1912 |
Succeeded by Reginald Heber Weller |