| Type: | Bishop |
| Honorific-Prefix: | The Most Reverend |
| Theophilus J. Herter | |
| Honorific-Suffix: | D.D. |
| Presiding Bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church | |
| Church: | Reformed Episcopal Church |
| Diocese: | New York and Philadelphia Synod |
| Term: | 1975–1987 |
| Predecessor: | Howard David Higgins |
| Successor: | William H. S. Jerdan Jr. |
| Other Post: | Bishop ordinary of the New York and Philadelphia Synod (1972–1984) |
| Ordination: | November 29, 1944 (priesthood) |
| Ordained By: | Howard David Higgins |
| Consecration: | June 15, 1966 |
| Consecrated By: | Howard David Higgins |
| Birth Date: | June 5, 1913 |
| Birth Place: | Kessab, Ottoman Empire |
| Death Place: | Philadelphia, Pennsylvania |
Theophilus John Herter (June 5, 1913 – June 2, 1987) was an American Anglican bishop. He was bishop of the New York and Philadelphia Synod in the Reformed Episcopal Church (REC) and also served as presiding bishop of the church.
Herter was born to John and Agnes Herter on June 5, 1913, in Kessab in present-day Syria.[1] John Herter was the director of a German-run orphanage in Kessab.[2] He received his B.A. and his M.A. from Haverford College in 1945 and 1947, respectively; his M.A. thesis was on Anglican and Presbyterian clergymen of Philadelphia during the American Revolution.[3] Herter also obtained an M.Div. from Reformed Episcopal Seminary in 1943 and a Th.M. and Th.D. from Westminster Theological Seminary, where his dissertation was entitled "The Abrahamic Covenant in the Gospels." The dissertation was published under the same title in 1972.[4]
Herter was ordained by Bishop Howard David Higgins to the diaconate on February 16, 1943, and to the presbyterate in the Reformed Episcopal Church on November 29, 1944. He began his ordained ministry as rector of St. Matthew's REC in Havertown, where he spent 17 years. He also taught New Testament studies at Reformed Episcopal Seminary starting in 1948, where he spent 36 years, the last 21 as professor of New Testament studies.[5]
In 1965, Herter was elected assistant bishop in the REC's New York and Philadelphia Synod and later bishop coadjutor, succeeding Higgins as bishop ordinary in 1972. He was elected presiding bishop of the REC in 1975 and served for four three-year terms. He retired as bishop ordinary in 1984 and stepped down as presiding bishop in May 1987, shortly before his death on June 2.
Herter married the former Ruth Birbeck (1910–2003) on June 14, 1941, and they were married until his death. They had one son, Philip, and two grandchildren.[6]