Daniel Cox (bishop)
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Daniel Gilbert Cox (November 15, 1931 – October 16, 2021) was an American bishop of the
Reformed Episcopal Church The Reformed Episcopal Church (REC) is an Anglican Church. It was founded in 1873 in New York City by George David Cummins, a former bishop of the Episcopal Church (United States), Protestant Episcopal Church. The REC is a founding member of the ...
. He also served for 36 years as rector of
Bishop Cummins Reformed Episcopal Church Bishop Cummins Reformed Episcopal Church is a Reformed Episcopal Church congregation in Catonsville, Maryland. Founded in 1874, the building it occupied in Baltimore from 1879 to 1961 is listed on the National Register of Historic Places under t ...
, overseeing its move from its historic building in
Baltimore Baltimore is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Maryland. With a population of 585,708 at the 2020 census and estimated at 568,271 in 2024, it is the 30th-most populous U.S. city. The Baltimore metropolitan area is the 20th-large ...
to
Catonsville, Maryland Catonsville () is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, Baltimore County, Maryland. The population was 44,701 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 US Census. The community is a streetcar suburb of Baltimore along the cit ...
.


Early life, education and early ministry

Cox was born to Newton and Irene Cox in Abington Township, Pennsylvania, in 1931, as the third of four children. He graduated from Abington Township School and matriculated directly at
Reformed Episcopal Seminary The Reformed Episcopal Seminary is a Private university, private seminary in Oreland, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1887 as the first seminary of the Reformed Episcopal Church. History The Reformed Episcopal Seminary was founded in 1887 in W ...
, graduating with a B.D. in 1952. That year, Cox was ordained to the diaconate and began work as a minister at Koontz Memorial Chapel (now Faith REC) in East Baltimore. In 1954, Cox was ordained as a presbyter and married the former Patricia Stiemly. They had one son, Stephen. During his early years in ministry, Cox completed a B.S. in social sciences from
Johns Hopkins University The Johns Hopkins University (often abbreviated as Johns Hopkins, Hopkins, or JHU) is a private university, private research university in Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1876 based on the European research institution model, J ...
.


Bishop Cummins REC

In 1960, Cox was called as rector of Bishop Cummins Memorial Church, which was in the process of relocating its longtime West Baltimore location—which would later be listed in the
National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...
—to Catonsville. He worked alongside then Baltimore City Councilman
William Donald Schaefer William Donald Schaefer (November 2, 1921 – April 18, 2011) was an American politician who served in public office for 50 years at both the state and local level in Maryland. As a Democrat, he was the 45th mayor of Baltimore from December 197 ...
, who was a longtime member, vestryman and treasurer at Cummins Memorial Church,C. Fraser Smith (1999). ''Donald Schaefer: A Political Biography'' Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 12, 32. . to facilitate the move. In July 1974, Cox officiated at the wedding of Michael Ford, son of then-Vice President
Gerald Ford Gerald Rudolph Ford Jr. (born Leslie Lynch King Jr.; July 14, 1913December 26, 2006) was the 38th president of the United States, serving from 1974 to 1977. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, Ford assumed the p ...
, who would assume the presidency the following month. The younger Ford married Gayle Brumbaugh, daughter of Bishop Cummins parishioners. The wedding took place at a different church since Bishop Cummins REC was being renovated. He also had a lifelong association and friendship with disability advocate
Joni Eareckson Tada Joni Eareckson Tada (born October 15, 1949) is an American evangelical Christian author, radio host, artist, and founder of Joni and Friends, an organization "accelerating Christian ministry in the disability community". Early life Joni Eareck ...
, who grew up at Bishop Cummins REC. During the 1980s, Bishop Cummins REC began assisting with the relocation of Ethiopian and Eritrean refugees in the Baltimore area. Cox supported the formation of the Tewahedo Mekane Selam Eyesus Ethiopian Orthodox Church, which held its services at Bishop Cummins before moving into its own church building.


Episcopacy and later life

On November 3, 1983, Cox and Royal U. Grote were elected assistant bishops in the New York and Philadelphia Synod, the predecessor institution to the
Diocese of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic The Diocese of the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic, with the Convocation of Eastern Canada, formerly known as the New York and Philadelphia Synod, is a founding jurisdiction of the Reformed Episcopal Church in 1873 and, more recently, a founding dioce ...
. Cox was consecrated at Bishop Cummins REC by Presiding Bishop Theophilus Herter on June 6, 1984. He retired as assistant bishop in 1994 but continued to serve as rector of Bishop Cummins until 1996. Cox was also chairman of the board of trustees of Reformed Episcopal Seminary. In retirement, Cox continued to serve part-time in ministry and was interim rector of St. Stephen’s Reformed Episcopal Church in Eldersburg, Maryland, in the late 1990s. He died in Maryland in 2021 at the age of 89, survived by his wife, son and grandchildren.


Awards

*Maryland Governor’s Citation, 1990


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Daniel 1931 births 2021 deaths Bishops of the Reformed Episcopal Church 20th-century American Episcopal priests People from Abington Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania