- Stephen Elliott (bishop)
Stephen Elliott (born
August 31 ,1806 inBeaufort, South Carolina , diedDecember 21 ,1866 inSavannah, Georgia ) was the 37thbishop of theEpiscopal Church in the United States of America (ECUSA). He was the first Bishop of Georgia and Provisional Bishop ofFlorida . He was also the first and onlyPresiding Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in theConfederate States of America .Life
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When secession occurred and the war arrived, many of the Christian 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. Largely through the efforts of Bishop Elliott and his friend Bishop
John Henry Hopkins ofVermont , who was the Presiding Bishop of the U.S. Episcopal Church, the Northern and Southern branches of the Church were reunited after the Civil War. Both men considered this crucial to the survival of the Church and the nation.References
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