James Parker Dees
Encyclopedia
James Parker Dees was the founder and first bishop
of the Anglican Orthodox Church
and the Orthodox Anglican Communion
. Dees was born in Greenville, North Carolina on December 30, 1915, the son of James Earle Dees and Margaret Burgwin (Parker) Dees. He graduated in 1938 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a B.A. degree in political science and economics, then took a year of graduate study in international relations. From 1939 until 1942, he worked for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in Greenville, North Carolina. For two years after the Second World War, he was a baritone soloist with the New York Opera Company. He then studied at the Protestant Episcopal Church’s Virginia Theological Seminary
for his Bachelor of Divinity degree, graduating in 1949. He was ordained as a deacon in the Episcopal Church on June 29, 1949; and as a priest
by the Rt. Rev. Thomas Henry Wright, the Bishop of East Carolina, at the Church of the Holy Cross, in Aurora, North Carolina, on January 19, 1950. As a member of the Diocese of North Carolina, he served in charges in Aurora, Beaufort, and Statesville. His concerns about advancing liberalism caused him to withdraw from the denomination in 1963. Dees was discouraged from joining the Reformed Episcopal Church
by Carl McIntire
because of their association with groups perceived as being neo-evangelical. The decision to form a new jurisdiction was made. Dees founded the Anglican Orthodox Church on November 17, 1963 - the first religious body to withdraw from the PECUSA in the modern era. On Passion Sunday, March 15, 1964 Dees was consecrated a bishop by Bishop Wasyl Sawyna of the Holy Ukrainian Autocephalic Orthodox Church of North and South America, assisted by Bishop Orlando Jacques Woodward of Old Catholic succession.
Dees received the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity from Bob Jones University
in 1965.
In 1967 Dees founded the Orthodox Anglican Communion
for the purpose of providing coverage to churches abroad, and soon thereafter Bishops Khurshid Alam of Pakistan and Bishop V. J. Stephen of South India affiliated with the Communion, recognizing Dees as Metropolitan. New national churches in Kenya, Madagascar, Great Britain, and Colombia, rapidly followed. Upon this wave of expansion and success, Cranmer Seminary
, the theological college of the jurisdiction and the communion, was founded.
Dees died during heart surgery on December 25, 1990. Dees' successor as Presiding Bishop of the Anglican Orthodox Church was the Most Revd George C. Schneller
.
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...
of the Anglican Orthodox Church
Anglican Orthodox Church
The Anglican Orthodox Church is one of the older conservative Anglican denominations in the United States that is not in communion with the Archbishop of Canterbury of the Church of England due to the perceived abandonment of Reformation doctrine by that church...
and the Orthodox Anglican Communion
Orthodox Anglican Communion
The Orthodox Anglican Communion was established in 1967 as a self-governing worldwide fellowship of national churches in the Anglican tradition. The Orthodox Anglican Communion was one of the first such communions to be formed outside of the See of Canterbury and therefore is not part of the...
. Dees was born in Greenville, North Carolina on December 30, 1915, the son of James Earle Dees and Margaret Burgwin (Parker) Dees. He graduated in 1938 from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a B.A. degree in political science and economics, then took a year of graduate study in international relations. From 1939 until 1942, he worked for the Atlantic Coast Line Railroad in Greenville, North Carolina. For two years after the Second World War, he was a baritone soloist with the New York Opera Company. He then studied at the Protestant Episcopal Church’s 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...
for his Bachelor of Divinity degree, graduating in 1949. He was ordained as a deacon in the Episcopal Church on June 29, 1949; and as a priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
by the Rt. Rev. Thomas Henry Wright, the Bishop of East Carolina, at the Church of the Holy Cross, in Aurora, North Carolina, on January 19, 1950. As a member of the Diocese of North Carolina, he served in charges in Aurora, Beaufort, and Statesville. His concerns about advancing liberalism caused him to withdraw from the denomination in 1963. Dees was discouraged from joining 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...
by Carl McIntire
Carl McIntire
Carl McIntire was a founder of, and minister in, the Bible Presbyterian Church, founder and long president of the and the American Council of Christian Churches, and a popular religious radio broadcaster, who proudly identified himself as a fundamentalist.-Youth and education:Born in Ypsilanti,...
because of their association with groups perceived as being neo-evangelical. The decision to form a new jurisdiction was made. Dees founded the Anglican Orthodox Church on November 17, 1963 - the first religious body to withdraw from the PECUSA in the modern era. On Passion Sunday, March 15, 1964 Dees was consecrated a bishop by Bishop Wasyl Sawyna of the Holy Ukrainian Autocephalic Orthodox Church of North and South America, assisted by Bishop Orlando Jacques Woodward of Old Catholic succession.
Dees received the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity from Bob Jones University
Bob Jones University
Bob Jones University is a private, for-profit, non-denominational Protestant university in Greenville, South Carolina.The university was founded in 1927 by Bob Jones, Sr. , an evangelist and contemporary of Billy Sunday...
in 1965.
In 1967 Dees founded the Orthodox Anglican Communion
Orthodox Anglican Communion
The Orthodox Anglican Communion was established in 1967 as a self-governing worldwide fellowship of national churches in the Anglican tradition. The Orthodox Anglican Communion was one of the first such communions to be formed outside of the See of Canterbury and therefore is not part of the...
for the purpose of providing coverage to churches abroad, and soon thereafter Bishops Khurshid Alam of Pakistan and Bishop V. J. Stephen of South India affiliated with the Communion, recognizing Dees as Metropolitan. New national churches in Kenya, Madagascar, Great Britain, and Colombia, rapidly followed. Upon this wave of expansion and success, Cranmer Seminary
Saint Andrew's Theological College and Seminary
Saint Andrew's Theological College and Seminary is a church-affiliated educational institution of the Orthodox Anglican Church, the United States branch of the Orthodox Anglican Communion. Instruction began in Statesville, North Carolina in 1967 and the school was formally dedicated as Cranmer...
, the theological college of the jurisdiction and the communion, was founded.
Dees died during heart surgery on December 25, 1990. Dees' successor as Presiding Bishop of the Anglican Orthodox Church was the Most Revd George C. Schneller
George C. Schneller
George C. Schneller was the second presiding bishop of the Anglican Orthodox Church and Metropolitan of the Orthodox Anglican Communion. He was consecrated in 1991 by the Rt. Rev'd Laione Q. Vuki of the Anglican Orthodox Church of Polynesia. In 1994 he resigned his position as Presiding Bishop...
.