Benjamin Henry Paddock (February 29, 1828 – March 9, 1891) was the fifth

Bishop A bishop is an ordained clergy member who is entrusted with a position of authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance of dioceses. The role or office of bishop is ...

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

in the Episcopal Church.

Biography

Paddock was born on February 29, 1828, in

Norwich, Connecticut Norwich ( ) (also called "The Rose of New England") is a city in New London County, Connecticut New London County is in the southeastern corner of Connecticut and comprises the Norwich-New London, Connecticut Metropolitan Statistical Area, ...

, the son of the Reverend Seth Birdsey Paddock who was rector of Trinity Church in Norwich, and Emily Flagg. He studied at

Trinity College Trinity College may refer to: Australia * Trinity Anglican College, an Anglican coeducational primary and secondary school in , New South Wales * Trinity Catholic College, Auburn, a coeducational school in the inner-western suburbs of Sydney, New ...

and graduated in 1848. After graduation, he served as a teacher at the Episcopal Academy of Connecticut for one year. He then enrolled at the

General Theological Seminary The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church (GTS) is an Episcopal seminary in New York City. Founded in 1817, GTS is the oldest seminary of the Episcopal Church and the longest continuously operating Seminary in the Anglican Commu ...

and graduated with a

Bachelor of Divinity In Western universities, a Bachelor of Divinity or Baccalaureate in Divinity (BD or BDiv; la, Baccalaureus Divinitatis) is a postgraduate academic degree awarded for a course taken in the study of divinity or related disciplines, such as theol ...

in 1852. Paddock was ordained deacon on June 29, 1852 by Bishop

Thomas Church Brownell Thomas Church Brownell (October 19, 1779 – January 13, 1865) was founder of Trinity College in Hartford, Connecticut, and Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church from 1852 to 1865. Biography Brownell was born in Westport, Massachuset ...

of Connecticut in Christ Church,

Stamford, Connecticut Stamford () is a city in the U.S. state of Connecticut, outside of Manhattan. It is Connecticut's second-most populous city, behind Bridgeport. With a population of 135,470, Stamford passed Hartford and New Haven in population as of the 2 ...

, and priest on September 27, 1853 by

John Williams John Towner Williams (born February 8, 1932)Nylund, Rob (15 November 2022)Classic Connection review '' WBOI'' ("For the second time this year, the Fort Wayne Philharmonic honored American composer, conductor, and arranger John Williams, who w ...

in Trinity Church,

. Initially he served as assistant minister at the Church of the Epiphany in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the U ...

. In 1853 he became rector of St Luke’s Church in

Portland, Maine Portland is the largest city in the U.S. state of Maine and the seat of Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 in April 2020. The Greater Portland metropolitan area is home to over half a million people, the 104th-largest metro ...

, however after three months resigned and returned to

, to serve as rector of Trinity Church. In 1860 he became rector of

Christ Church Detroit Christ Church Detroit is an Episcopal church located at 960 East Jefferson Avenue in Detroit, Michigan. It is also known as Old Christ Church, Detroit. It is the oldest Protestant church in Michigan still located on its original site.

, and in 1869 became rector of Grace Church in

Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Kings County is the most populous Administrative divisions of New York (state)#County, county in the State of New York, ...

. In 1873, Paddock was elected Bishop of Massachusetts and was consecrated on September 17, 1873 by Presiding Bishop

Benjamin B. Smith Benjamin Bosworth Smith (June 13, 1794 – May 31, 1884) was an American Protestant Episcopal bishop, and the Presiding Bishop of his Church beginning in 1868. Early life Smith was born at Bristol, R. I., and lost his father when he was 5 years ...

. He retained the post till his death in 1891.

References

1828 births 1891 deaths Religious leaders from Norwich, Connecticut General Theological Seminary alumni 19th-century American Episcopalians Episcopal bishops of Massachusetts 19th-century American clergy {{US-Anglican-bishop-stub

Biography

See also

References