Charles P. Anderson


Charles Palmerston Anderson was the seventeenth Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church.

Early life and education

He was born in Kemptville, Ontario in Canada on September 8, 1865, the son of Henry Anderson and Maria Rose Sexton. He attended Trinity College School in Port Hope, Ontario. He was awarded a Doctor of Divinity by Trinity College, Toronto in 1900 and another by Western Theological Seminary in 1905.

Ordained ministry

Anderson was ordained deacon on December 11, 1887, and priest on December 16, 1888 by Bishop John Lewis of Ontario. After his ordination to the diaconate he served at the Church of St Augustine in Beachburg, Ontario. In 1891 he became rector of Grace Church in Oak Park, Illinois.

Bishop

In 1900, Anderson was unanimously elected Coadjutor Bishop of Chicago during the first ballot of the special convention. He was consecrated on February 24, 1900 by the Bishop of Chicago William Edward McLaren. He succeeded as diocesan bishop on February 19, 1905 on the death of William Edward McLaren. On November 13, 1929 Anderson was elected to the highest post in the Episcopal church, to serve as Presiding Bishop and Primate. He also retain the bishopric of Chicago simultaneously. Anderson died only a few months after his election as primate.

Family

Anderson married Janet Glass in 1889 and together had four daughters and one son, the latter died in WWII.