John Buchanan (bishop)

The Right Reverend

John Clark Buchanan
Bishop of West Missouri
ChurchEpiscopal Church
DioceseWest Missouri
ElectedOctober 22, 1988
In office1989-1999
PredecessorArthur A. Vogel
SuccessorBarry Robert Howe
Other post(s)Assistant Bishop of Texas (2004-2006)
Assistant Bishop of Southern Virginia (2006-2009)
Provisional Bishop of Quincy (2009-2013)
Assisting Bishop of Chicago (2013-2014)
Orders
Ordination1969 (deacon)
January 1, 1970 (priest)
by Gray Temple
ConsecrationFebruary 25, 1989
by Edmond L. Browning
Personal details
Born(1933-05-06)May 6, 1933
DiedApril 20, 2020(2020-04-20) (aged 86)
Charleston, South Carolina, United States
NationalityAmerican
DenominationAnglican
ParentsDock Jones Buchanan & Ella Virginia Clark
Spouse
Peggy Annelle Brown
(m. 1964)
Children2
Previous post(s)Coadjutor Bishop of West Missouri (1989)

John Clark Buchanan (May 6, 1933 – April 15, 2020) was an American bishop. He was the sixth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of West Missouri.

Early life and education[edit]

Buchanan was born on May 6, 1933, in Joanna, South Carolina to Dock Jones Buchanan and Ella Virginia Clark. He served in the U.S. Air Force between 1951 and 1955 before attending the University of South Carolina from where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1958 and a Juris Doctor in 1961. He then practiced law and worked in the insurance industry until 1966 when he enrolled at the General Theological Seminary to study for the priesthood. He graduated with a Master of Divinity in 1969. He also completed a Doctor of Ministry at the McCormick Theological Seminary in Chicago in 1975. He was also awarded an honorary Doctor of Divinity by the General Theological Seminary in 1990.[1]

Ordained ministry[edit]

Buchanan was ordained deacon in 1969 and priest on January 1, 1970, by the Bishop of South Carolina Gray Temple. He served as vicar of St Barnabas' Church in Dillon, South Carolina between 1969 and 1971, before becoming rector of St Matthew's Church in Darlington, South Carolina. In 1975 he then became rector of St Andrew's Church in Mount Pleasant, South Carolina, where he remained until 1989.[2]

Episcopacy[edit]

During a special convention of the Diocese of West Missouri on October 22, 1988, Buchanan was elected Coadjutor Bishop of West Missouri. He was consecrated on February 25, 1989, in Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral and succeeded as diocesan bishop on July 1, 1989.[3] He resigned on December 31, 1999, and then returned to his native state of South Carolina where he served at St Michael's Church in Charleston, South Carolina. After a while he became Bishop-in-Residence of the Diocese of Texas. In 2006 he was appointed Assistant Bishop of Southern Virginia while in 2009, Buchanan became the provisional bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Quincy after a majority of the diocese left for the Anglican Church in North America. He maintained this role until Quincy was merged into the Episcopal Diocese of Chicago. He then served a year as an assisting bishop in Chicago before retiring. He died on April 15, 2020, at his home in Charleston, South Carolina. He married Peggy Annelle Brown in 1964 and together had two daughters.[4][5][6][7]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "John Buchanan Chosen Assistant Bishop of Southern Virginia", The Jamestown Cross, May 2006. Retrieved on August 15, 2022.
  2. ^ "JOHN CLARK BUCHANAN (835)". The Episcopal Church Annual: 323. 1990.
  3. ^ "Coadjutor Consecrated for West Missouri", Episcopal News Service, March 23, 1989. Retrieved on August 15, 2022.
  4. ^ Field, Martin S. (April 16, 2020). "The Rt. Rev. John Clark Buchanan 1933 – 2020". Episcopal Diocese of West Missouri. Retrieved April 16, 2020.
  5. ^ "RIP: The Rt. Rev. John Clark Buchanan, former bishop of West Missouri", Episcopal News Service, April 20, 2020. Retrieved on August 11, 2022.
  6. ^ "The Right Reverend John Clark Buchanan", Charleston Post & Courier, April 18, 2020. Retrieved on August 11, 2022.
  7. ^ "Former West Missouri, Quincy Bishop Dies", The Living Church, April 20, 2020. Retrieved on August 11, 2022.