Harold E. Sawyer Explained

Type:Bishop
Honorific Prefix:The Right Reverend
Harold Everett Sawyer
Honorific Suffix:S.T.D.
Bishop of Erie
Church:Episcopal Church
Diocese:Erie
Elected:September 4, 1946
Term:1946–1951
Retired:-->
Predecessor:Edward Pinkney Wroth
Successor:William Crittenden
Ordination:May 15, 1917
Ordained By:Chauncey B. Brewster
Consecration:November 6, 1946
Consecrated By:Henry St. George Tucker
Birth Date:15 December 1890
Nationality:American
Religion:Anglican
Parents:Enoch Augustus Sawyer & Matella Julia Waterhouse
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Harold Everett Sawyer (December 15, 1890 – January 18, 1969) was an American prelate who served as Bishop of Erie, Pennsylvania, from 1946 to 1951.

Early life and education

Sawyer was born on December 15, 1890, in Clinton, Connecticut, the son of Enoch Augustus Sawyer and Matella Julia Waterhouse. He graduated from Trinity College with a Bachelor of Arts in 1913, and from General Theological Seminary in 1916. He also graduated with a Master of Arts from Columbia University in 1919. On May 28, 1947, the General Theological Seminary, conferred a Doctor of Sacred Theology upon Sawyer.[1]

Ordained ministry

Sawyer was ordained deacon in June 1916. He was ordained priest by the Bishop of Connecticut Chauncey B. Brewster on May 15, 1917, in Christ Church, New Haven. He served his diaconate between 1916 and 1917 as curate of the Church of the Redeemer in Morristown, New Jersey. On October 1, 1917, he became rector of St Agnes' Chapel, part of Trinity Parish in New York City. Between 1924 and 1946 he served as rector of Grace Church in Utica, New York.[2]

Bishop

Sawyer was elected Bishop of Erie on September 4, 1946, on the fifth ballot, during a special diocesan convention.[3] He was consecrated on November 6, 1946, in Grace Church, by the Presiding Bishop Henry St. George Tucker.[4] He retired in November 1951 and died on January 18, 1969.

Notes and References

  1. . 22 June 1947 . Degrees Conferred . . 114. 25 . 16.
  2. . 20 October 1946. Fr. Sawyer to be consecrated November 6th in Utica. . 113. 16 . 5.
  3. . 15 September 1946. Fr. Sawyer Elected Bishop of Erie on Fifth Ballot. . 113. 11 . 7.
  4. . 17 November 1946. The Rev. Harold E. Sawyer Consecrated Bishop of Erie . . 113. 20 . 5.