Charles Edward Cheney was born in Canandaigua, New York

Canandaigua (city), New York

Canandaigua is a city in Ontario County, New York, USA, of which it is the county seat. The population was 11,264 at the 2000 census...

. He was an American

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

 bishop

Bishop

A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...

 and second bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church

Reformed Episcopal Church

The Reformed Episcopal Church is an Anglican church in the United States and Canada and a founding member of the Anglican Church in North America...

. A graduate of Hobart College

Hobart and William Smith Colleges

Hobart and William Smith Colleges, located in Geneva, New York, are together a liberal arts college offering Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Science and Master of Arts in Teaching degrees. In athletics, however, the two schools compete with separate teams, known as the Hobart Statesmen and the...

 in Geneva, New York

Geneva, New York

Geneva is a city in Ontario and Seneca counties in the U.S. state of New York. The population was 13,617 at the 2000 census. Some claim it is named after the city and canton of Geneva in Switzerland. Others believe the name came from confusion over the letters in the word "Seneca" written in cursive...

, he studied at Virginia Theological Seminary

Virginia Theological Seminary

Virginia Theological Seminary , formally called the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia, is the largest accredited Episcopal seminary in the United States. Founded in 1818, VTS is situated on an campus in Alexandria, Virginia, just a few miles from downtown Washington, DC. VTS...

 before ordination to the diaconate and priesthood by William Heathcote DeLancey

William Heathcote DeLancey

The Right Reverend William Heathcote DeLancey was a bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America and the sixth Provost of the University of Pennsylvania...

 in 1858 and 1859 respectively. Soon after his ordination he became rector of Christ Church, Chicago

Chicago

Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...

, where he served from 1860 until his death.

Cheney's opposition to the baptismal regeneration

Baptismal regeneration

Baptismal regeneration, the literal meaning of which is "being born again" "through baptism" , is the doctrine within some Christian denominations that holds that salvation is dependent upon the act of baptism; in other words, baptismal regenerationists believe that it is essential for one to be...

 of infants resulted in ecclesiastical censure by Bishop Henry J. Whitehouse of Chicago. Cheney was consecrated bishop by George David Cummins

George David Cummins

George David Cummins was an American bishop and founder of the Reformed Episcopal Church.-Life and career:George David Cummins was born in Delaware on 11 December 1822. He graduated from Dickinson College in 1841, and entered the Methodist ministry.In 1845 Cummins took orders in the Protestant...

at Christ Church, Chicago, Illinois, on December 14, 1873. He succeeded Cummins as Presiding Bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church, serving in this capacity from 1876-1877 and 1887-1889.

External links

• The Reformed Episcopal Church 1874 sermon by Cheney
• The Evangelical Ideal of a Visible Church 1875 sermon by Cheney
• Primitive Episcopacy sermon by Cummins at Cheney's consecration
• Biographical article