Clarence Nicholas Coleridge (November 27, 1930 – August 10, 2023) was a Guyanese-born American Episcopalian clergyman who was the first black bishop of the Diocese of Connecticut, from 1993 to 1999. Prior to that he was the

Suffragan Bishop A suffragan bishop is a type of bishop in some Christian denominations. In the Catholic Church, a suffragan bishop leads a diocese within an ecclesiastical province other than the principal diocese, the metropolitan archdiocese; the diocese led b ...

of Connecticut from 1981 to 1993.

Biography

Originally from

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

, Coleridge obtained a Master of Social Work from the

University of Connecticut The University of Connecticut (UConn) is a public land-grant research university system with its main campus in Storrs, Connecticut, United States. It was founded in 1881 as the Storrs Agricultural School, named after two benefactors. In 1893, ...

and a Doctor of Ministry from the Andover Newton Theological School. He was ordained to the diaconate on January 27, 1961, and to the priesthood on January 1, 1962. He was ordained and consecrated to the episcopate on October 23, 1981. He has three honorary degrees, including one from

Yale Divinity School Yale Divinity School (YDS) is one of the twelve graduate and professional schools of Yale University in New Haven, Connecticut. Congregationalist theological education was the motivation at the founding of Yale, and the professional school has ...

Habitat for Humanity Habitat for Humanity International (HFHI), generally referred to as Habitat for Humanity or Habitat, is a U.S. non-governmental, and tax-exempt 501(C)(3) Christian nonprofit organization which seeks to build affordable housing. The international ...

built five houses in his name, the Coleridge Commons in

Bridgeport, Connecticut Bridgeport is the List of municipalities in Connecticut, most populous city in the U.S. state of Connecticut and the List of cities in New England by population, fifth-most populous city in New England, with a population of 148,654 in 2020. Loc ...

. In 1994, Coleridge started the Bishops Fund for Children, which enhances awareness of the plight of children at risk throughout Connecticut. The fund supported

social service Social services are a range of public services intended to provide support and assistance towards particular groups, which commonly include the disadvantaged. Also available amachine-converted HTML They may be provided by individuals, private and i ...

programs that aid these children in urban, suburban, and rural neighborhoods. In its first two decades, the fund provided more than $1 million to more than 150 non-profits in the state. As of 2016, the Bishops Fund for Children now supports at-risk children to attend Camp Washington, the diocesan camp and retreat center. Bishop Coleridge was married for over 50 years to Euna J. Coleridge, a high school science teacher who was awarded the Olmstead Award for Teacher of the Year from

Williams College Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts, United States. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim ...

. They had two children, Cheryl and Carolyn. Clarence Coleridge died on August 10, 2023, at the age of 92.

References

1930 births 2023 deaths Episcopal Church in Connecticut African-American Episcopalians American Episcopalians Yale Divinity School alumni Episcopal bishops of Pennsylvania Episcopal bishops of Connecticut {{US-Anglican-bishop-stub

Biography

See also

References