Henry Pryor Almon Abbott (July 11, 1881 – April 4, 1945) was a prelate of the Episcopal Church, who served as Bishop of Lexington from 1929 to 1945.

Early life and education

Abbott was born July 11, 1881, in

Halifax, Nova Scotia Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348 ...

, the son of the Reverend John Abbott and Ella Almon. He was educated at

Rothesay Collegiate School Rothesay Netherwood School is an Atlantic Canadian, independent day and boarding university-preparatory school for grades 6-12 located in Rothesay, New Brunswick, a suburb of Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. It has been an International Bac ...

Rothesay, New Brunswick Rothesay () is a town located in Kings County, New Brunswick, Canada. It is adjacent to the City of Saint John along the Kennebecasis River. Geography Located along the lower Kennebecasis River valley, Rothesay borders the city of Saint John ...

. He attended the

University of King's College The University of King's College, established in 1789, is in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada.Roper, Henry. "Aspects of the History of a Loyalist College: King's College, Windsor, and Nova Scotian Higher Education in the Nineteenth Century." Anglic ...

Windsor, Nova Scotia Windsor is a community located in Hants County, Nova Scotia, Canada. It is a service centre for the western part of the county and is situated on Highway 101. The community has a history dating back to its use by the Mi'kmaq Nation for seve ...

from where he graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four yea ...

in 1902 and a

Master of Arts A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. ...

in 1904. He was awarded a

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (D.D. or DDiv; la, Doctor Divinitatis) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity. In the United Kingdom, it is considered an advanced doctoral degree. At the University of Oxford, doctors of divinity are ra ...

in 1911 by the same university. He also studied at

St Stephen's House, Oxford St Stephen's House is an Anglican theological college and one of five permanent private halls of the University of Oxford, England. It will cease to be a permanent private hall in 2023. The college has a very small proportion of undergraduate ...

. On July 11, 1907, he married Rachel Caroline Gwyn, and together had five children. He was also awarded another

, this time from the University of the South in 1929. The

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state's ...

awarded him a

Doctor of Laws A Doctor of Law is a degree in law. The application of the term varies from country to country and includes degrees such as the Doctor of Juridical Science (J.S.D. or S.J.D), Juris Doctor (J.D.), Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.), and Legum Doctor ( ...

in 1942.

Ordained ministry

He was

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the denominational hierarchy composed of other clergy) to perform var ...

deacon in 1904 by Bishop

Tully Kingdon Hollingworth Tully Kingdon (known as Tully; 183513 October 1907)''Obituary. The Bishop Of Fredericton.'' The Times ''Monday, Oct 14, 1907; pg. 6; Issue 38463; col F'' was an Anglican bishop, the second Bishop of Fredericton until his death. He was ...

Fredericton Fredericton (; ) is the capital city of the Canadian province of New Brunswick. The city is situated in the west-central portion of the province along the Saint John River, which flows west to east as it bisects the city. The river is the do ...

, and priest in 1905 by Bishop

Clarendon Worrell Clarendon Lamb Worrell (July 20, 1854 – 10 August 1934) was the 5th Primate of the Anglican Church of Canada. Early life Clarendon Lamb Worrell was born on July 20, 1854, at Smith's Falls, Ontario, to the Reverend Canon John Worrell and Eliz ...

of Nova Scotia. He was

Curate A curate () is a person who is invested with the ''care'' or ''cure'' (''cura'') ''of souls'' of a parish. In this sense, "curate" means a parish priest; but in English-speaking countries the term ''curate'' is commonly used to describe clergy w ...

at St Luke's Cathedral in

Halifax, NS Halifax is the capital and largest municipality of the Canadian province of Nova Scotia, and the largest municipality in Atlantic Canada. As of the 2021 Census, the municipal population was 439,819, with 348,634 people in its urban area. The re ...

from 1904 to 1906, and briefly served as assistant rector of the Church of St James the Apostle in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple- ...

in 1906. That same year, he became rector of Christ Church Cathedral in

Hamilton, Ontario Hamilton is a port city in the Canadian province of Ontario. Hamilton has a population of 569,353, and its census metropolitan area, which includes Burlington and Grimsby, has a population of 785,184. The city is approximately southwest of ...

, where he remained till 1914. Subsequently, from 1910 till 1911, he served as

Dean of Niagara The Dean of Niagara is an Anglican dean in the Anglican Diocese of Niagara of the Ecclesiastical Province of Ontario, based at Christ's Church Cathedral in Hamilton, Ontario. The incumbent is also Rector of Christ Church. The incumbents have bee ...

After arriving in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

, Abbott became Dean of Trinity Cathedral, Cleveland, Ohio in 1914, while in 1919, he became

rector Rector (Latin for the member of a vessel's crew who steers) may refer to: Style or title *Rector (ecclesiastical), a cleric who functions as an administrative leader in some Christian denominations *Rector (academia), a senior official in an edu ...

of Grace and St Peter's Church in

Baltimore Baltimore ( , locally: or ) is the List of municipalities in Maryland, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland, fourth most populous city in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, and List of United States cities by popula ...

. Between 1928 and 1929, he was rector of St Chrysostom's Church in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = List of sovereign states, Count ...

Episcopacy

On January 30, 1929, Abbott was elected Bishop of Lexington and was consecrated on May 15, 1929, by Presiding Bishop

John Gardner Murray John Gardner Murray (August 31, 1857 – October 3, 1929) was the sixteenth presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church. He was the first person elected to the position rather than succeeding to it automatically as the oldest bishop when his p ...

. He retained the post until his death in 1945. His episcopate is noted for his work in freeing the diocese from debt during the Depression years and worked to promote missionary work in the mountain regions of the diocese. He died on April 4, 1945, of a heart attack.

Books

*''The Man Outside the Church'', 1918. *''Sparks from a Parson’s Anvil'', 1918. *''The Supreme Sacrifice'', 1918. *
The Religion of the Tommy: War Essays and Addresses
'

References

External links

Portrait
{{DEFAULTSORT:Abbott, Henry Pryor Almon 1881 births 1945 deaths University of King's College alumni Alumni of St Stephen's House, Oxford 20th-century American Episcopalians Episcopal bishops of Lexington