The Right Reverend

Jane Holmes Dixon
Suffragan Bishop of Washington
ChurchEpiscopal Church
DioceseWashington
In office1992–2002
PredecessorRonald H. Haines
SuccessorJohn Bryson Chane
Orders
Ordination1982
by John T. Walker
ConsecrationNovember 19, 1992
by Edmond L. Browning
Personal details
Born
Jane Hart Holmes

July 24, 1937
Winona, Mississippi, United States
DiedDecember 25, 2012(2012-12-25) (aged 75)
Washington, DC, United States
NationalityAmerican
DenominationAnglican
SpouseDavid "Dixie" Dixon, Sr.
ChildrenDavid Dixon, Jr., Edward Dixon, and Mary Dixon Raibman
Alma materVanderbilt University
Virginia Theological Seminary

Jane Holmes Dixon (born Jane Hart Holmes; July 24, 1937 – December 25, 2012) was an American bishop of the Episcopal Church. She was a suffragan bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Washington and served as Bishop of Washington pro tempore from 2001 to June 2002.[1] She was the second woman consecrated as a bishop in the Episcopal Church.[2] She died unexpectedly in her sleep in her home in the Cathedral Heights section of Washington, DC on Christmas Day morning in 2012.[3]

Personal life

Dixon was born in Winona, Mississippi in 1937 and, after graduating from Vanderbilt University, spent her early life as a teacher and mother, raising three children.

Theological education

Dixon enrolled at Virginia Theological Seminary at the age of 40, receiving her Master of Divinity degree in 1982. She later received the degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1993.

As Suffragan Bishop of Washington

During her tenure as the assisting or suffragan bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Washington, Dixon insisted on making official visits to all parishes in the diocese, though it had been previously understood that she would not visit those which objected to the ordination of women as priests, and thus the rector of one such parish, Arthur E Woolley, wrote to her: "As long as I am rector of St. Luke's, Bladensburg, no woman bishop or priest will be permitted to minister in this cure," a congregation described as "very diverse, drawing members from the Caribbean, India and Africa, where they worshiped in the conservative Anglican tradition."[4] The senior warden of the parish said in an interview, "they're certainly not going to change our view, and we're not going to change theirs, so why not leave us alone and let us worship in peace? Don't be arrogant or mean-spirited..."[5] Bishop Dixon made her official visit bringing 45 supporters with her, joined by nine of St. Luke's parishioners, while the rector absented himself.[6] Much later, the parish left the Episcopal Church for the Roman Catholic church which did not ordain women as priests.[7]

As Bishop of Washington pro tempore

During her tenure as bishop pro tempore, Dixon sued in federal court to remove a priest, Samuel Edwards, from his position as a parish rector of Christ Church in Accokeek, Maryland.[8] She had refused to approve Edwards's appointment early in 2001, since Edwards opposed the Episcopal Church's beliefs about female and homosexual clergy. Following several months of acrimony, Dixon filed suit to have Edwards removed. The court ruled in her favor in October 2001. After several appeals, the initial decision stood. She retired following the election of the Right Rev. John B. Chane.

Notes

  1. ↑ Broadway C8.
  2. ↑ Hein 143.
  3. ↑ "Death of Bishop Jane Holmes Dixon". Edow.org. Archived from the original on 2013-05-28. Retrieved 2012-12-27.
  4. ↑ Broadway, Bill (13 Jan 1996). "Pariah in the Pulpit". The Washington Post. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  5. ↑ Broadway, Bill (13 Jan 1996). "Pariah in the Pulpit". The Washington Post. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  6. ↑ "Parishioners shun visit by female Episcopal bishop". National Religion Report. 18 Jan 1996. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  7. ↑ "Episcopal parish in Bladensburg converts to Roman Catholic Church". The Washington Post. 9 Oct 2011. Retrieved 20 July 2023.
  8. ↑ Fahrenthold B4.

Bibliography

  • Broadway, Bill (2002). "Ancient Rite Consecrates New Bishop". Washington Post. June 2.
  • Caldwell, Deborah (2003). "Family Feud; For Episcopalians, the Price of Divorce May Be Too High". The New York Times. August 10.
  • Fahrenthold, David (2001). "Ousted Md. Priest Faces Charge in His Church". Washington Post. December 19.
  • Hein, David, and Shattuck, Gardiner H. (2004). The Episcopalians. Westport: Praeger.
  • Maraniss, David and Ellen Nakashima (2000). The Prince of Tennessee: The Rise of Al Gore. New York: Simon and Schuster.


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