Bishop Edmond Lee Browning, the 24th presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, died on July 11, 2016. He was 87 years old and was living in Oregon.
Browning served as presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church from 1986-1997 – the last presiding bishop to serve a 12-year term. His election was seen as a reflection of the church’s broadening diversity due to his extensive international and multicultural experience. He was well-known for his quote, “no outcasts in the church.”
Browning’s theologically liberal stance was admired by some and criticized by others both in the Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion, particularly his views about the full inclusion of LGBT people in the life of the church.
During Browning’s tenure, the Episcopal Church experienced a trend toward seeing baptism as a vocation. He was most known for active and faithful leadership in combating institutional racism and all forms of injustice in the Episcopal Church.
As presiding bishop, he was the first to observe a World AIDS day of prayer on Nov. 9, 1986, and established what is now Episcopal Migration Ministries, the Episcopal Church’s refugee resettlement agency, in 1988.
In February 1989, Browning again made history by consecrating the Rev. Barbara Harris of the Diocese of Massachusetts as the first female bishop in the Episcopal Church and in the Anglican Communion.
It was also during Browning’s tenure that ten bishops brought a presentment against Bishop Walter C. Righter for ordaining Barry Stopfel, an openly gay man living with his partner, to the transitional diaconate in the Diocese of Newark while Bishop Righter was serving here as assistant bishop. In a 7–1 decision on May 15, 1996 a court of nine bishops dismissed the charges, stating that the Episcopal Church "has no doctrine prohibiting the ordination of homosexuals," and that Bishop Righter did not contradict the "core doctrine" of the church.
Browning is survived by his wife, the former Patricia Alline Sparks; four sons, R. Mark Browning, Dr. Philip Browning, the Rev. Peter Browning and John Browning; a daughter, Paige Browning; 13 grandchildren; and a brother, Robert.
His funeral services will be held at St. Mark's Episcopal Church in Hood River, Oregon, and Tuesday, July 19 at 2 PM Pacific at Trinity Cathedral in Portland, Oregon. A service is also planned at St. Andrew’s Cathedral, Honolulu, Hawaii, at a later time.
See also:
Rest in Peace: The Rt. Rev. Edmond Lee Browning. 24th Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church
Funeral arrangements for Bishop Edmond Lee Browning announced
