Newspaper article: 'Dr. Allison Named Bishop Coadjutor' by Peter M. Gentile

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Episcopal Diocese

Dr. Allison Named Bishop Coadjutor

By PETER M. GENTILE Staff Reporter

The Rev. Dr. C. FitzSimons Allison, rector of Grace Church in New York, was elected bishop coadjutor of the Episcopal Diocese of South Carolina at a special diocesan convention Saturday at the Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul.

Dr. Allison, if elected to accept the post, will become bishop of the diocese upon the retirement or death of the current bishop, the Rt. Rev. Gray Temple, who has held the position since 1961.

The Rev. Melvin R. Hyman of Prince George, Winyah, Episcopal Church in Georgetown, which nominated Dr. Allison, said the coadjutor-elect will visit Charleston, possibly this week, before making a final decision on accepting the post.

Dr. Allison, 53 and a native of Columbia, is the author of numerous books and has preached on national radio programs. His books include “The Rise of Moralism,” “Guilt, Anger and God” and “Fear, Love and Worship.”

He was elected on the seventh ballot of the convention, which was attended by clergy and lay representatives of churches throughout the diocese, which includes the lower part of the state.

Clergymen and laymen voted separately, and a majority of each order on a given ballot was necessary to win. Dr. Allison had a majority of the lay votes as early as the fourth ballot, but not until the seventh did he also get a majority of the clergy’s votes.

His closest competitor through the balloting was the Rev. Urban T. Holmes III, 49, dean of the school of theology at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tenn.

Father Hyman said many convention delegates expected the balloting to go longer before a decision was made. “There’s no question that his election by 3:30 was a call from the Holy Spirit,” Father Hyman said.

There were 18 men nominated for the position. Among the local nominees were: the Rev. George I. Chassey, canon to the ordinary of the Diocese of South Carolina; the Rev. John C. Buchanan, rector of St. Andrew’s Episcopal Church in Mount Pleasant; the Rev. Floyd W. Finch Jr., rector of St. Paul’s Episcopal Church in Summerville; the Rev. John E. Gilchrest, rector of St. Andrew Episcopal Church; and the Rev. Lynwood C. Magee, dean of the Cathedral of St. Luke and St. Paul.

Dr. Allison attended the University of the South as an undergraduate and received his master’s degree in divinity from Virginia Theological Seminary. He holds a Ph.D. from Oxford University, England.

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