Arthur Heath Light

Arthur Heath Light (born July 7, 1929) is an American prelate who served as the fourth Episcopal Church Bishop of Southwestern Virginia between 1979 and 1996.

The Right Reverend

Arthur Heath Light

D.D.
Bishop of Southwestern Virginia
ChurchEpiscopal Church
DioceseSouthwestern Virginia
In office1979-1996
PredecessorWilliam H. Marmion
SuccessorFrank Neff Powell
Orders
OrdinationJune 24, 1955
by George P. Gunn
ConsecrationJune 2, 1979
by John Allin
Personal details
Born (1929-07-07) July 7, 1929
Lynchburg, Virginia, United States
NationalityAmerican
DenominationAnglican
ParentsAlexander Heath Light & Mary Watkins Nelson
SpouseSarah Ann Jones (m. June 12, 1954)
Children4

Early life and education

Light was born on July 7, 1929 in Lynchburg, Virginia, son of Alexander Heath Light and Mary Watkins Nelson. He studied at Hampden–Sydney College from where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1951. He also enrolled at the Virginia Theological Seminary from where he earned his Master of Divinity in 1954. He married Sarah Ann Jones on June 12, 1954 and together had four children. In 1979 he was awarded am honorary Doctor of Divinity by the Virginia Theological Seminary.[1]

Ordained ministry

Light was ordained deacon on June 11, 1954 and priest on June 24, 1955 in Christ and St. Luke's Church by Bishop George P. Gunn of Southern Virginia.[2] From 1954 to 1958, he served as priest-in-charge of St James Church and Christ Church in Boydton, Virginia, St John's Church in Chase City, Virginia and St Timothy's Church in Clarksville, Virginia. In 1958 he became rector of Christ Church in Elizabeth City, North Carolina, while in 1964 he became rector of St Mary's Church in Kinston, North Carolina. Between 1967 and 1979, he served as rector of Christ and St. Luke's Church in Norfolk, Virginia. He also served as deputy to the General Conventions of 1969, 1970, and 1973 from the Diocese of Virginia.

Bishop

Light was elected Bishop of Southwestern Virginia in 1979 and was consecrated on June 2, 1979 in the Salem Civic Center in Salem, Virginia. He was consecrated by Presiding Bishop John Allin.[3] Throughout his tenure, Light was a prominent supporter of the ordination of women and appointed numerous women to different positions in the diocese. He retired in 1996.

gollark: If you think people have a 0.02% chance of dying of COVID-19, and I arbitrarily assume you think young people are 1 OOM better off (so 0.002% chance), then that's still better than the maybe 0.0001% (1 in 1 million) chance of dying of vaccines.
gollark: You can do multiple things, actually.
gollark: In which case that's... substantially more than 1 per million.
gollark: I assume you mean 0.02%.
gollark: That would be very worrying.

References
  1. "Degrees". The Living Church. 179: 15. 16 December 1979.
  2. "Priests". The Living Church. 131 (3): 29. 17 July 1955.
  3. "Bishop Light Consecrated in Southern Virginia". The Living Church. 179: 6. 8 July 1979.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.