David Emrys Richards (January 23, 1921 – August 21, 2018) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the " United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, ...

prelate of the Episcopal Church who served as the Suffragan Bishop of Albany and then as bishop to multiple missionary districts in Central America.

Early life and education

Richards was born on January 23, 1921, in

Scranton, Pennsylvania Scranton is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Lackawanna County. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 U.S. census, Scranton is the largest city in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the Wyoming V ...

, son of Emrys Richards and Ida May Williams. He was educated at

Lehigh University Lehigh University (LU) is a private research university in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania in the Lehigh Valley region of eastern Pennsylvania. The university was established in 1865 by businessman Asa Packer and was originally affiliated with the Ep ...

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 1942. He then studied 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 Sacred Theology The Baccalaureate in Sacred Theology ( la, Sacrae Theologiae Baccalaureus; abbreviated STB), not to be confused with a Bachelor of Arts, Bachelor of Arts in Theology, is the first of three ecclesiastical degrees in theology (the second being the Lic ...

in 1945. In 1952, he was awarded a

Doctor of Sacred Theology The Doctor of Sacred Theology ( la, Sacrae Theologiae Doctor, abbreviated STD), also sometimes known as Professor of Sacred Theology (, abbreviated STP), is the final theological degree in the pontifical university system of the Roman Catholic ...

from General.

Ordained ministry

Richards was ordained deacon on April 7, 1945, at St Luke's Church in

, by Bishop Frank W. Sterrett of Bethlehem. On July 6, 1945, he was transferred to the Missionary District of Canal Zone and was ordained priest there in October of the same year by Bishop

Reginald Heber Gooden Reginald Heber Gooden (March 22, 1910February 11, 2003) was a missionary bishop of The Episcopal Church, serving in Panama and the Canal Zone and later in Louisiana. His father, Robert Burton Gooden Robert Burton Gooden (September 18, 1874 – Au ...

of Central America and Panama. During this time he served as priest-in-charge of the Church of St Mary the Virgin in

Cristóbal, Colón Cristóbal is a port town and corregimiento in Colón District, Colón Province, Panama. The corregimiento has a population of 49,422 as of 2010. The town is located on the western edge of Manzanillo Island, on the Atlantic side of the Panama ...

, in present-day

Panama Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Co ...

. In 1948, he returned to 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 ...

and became assistant at St George's Church in

Schenectady, New York Schenectady () is a city in Schenectady County, New York, United States, of which it is the county seat. As of the 2020 census, the city's population of 67,047 made it the state's ninth-largest city by population. The city is in eastern New Yo ...

Bishop

In 1951, Richards was elected Suffragan Bishop of Albany and was consecrated on July 19, 1951, by Presiding Bishop

Henry Knox Sherrill Henry Knox Sherrill (November 6, 1890 – May 11, 1980) was an Episcopal bishop. He was the 20th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church from 1947 to 1958, having previously served as Bishop of Massachusetts (1930-1947). Biography Henry Knox ...

. He remained in Albany until 1957, when that September he was elected as Bishop of the Missionary District of Central America. In 1967 he was elected Bishop of Costa Rica, and Bishop in Charge of Nicaragua and Honduras, posts he retained till 1968. From 1968 till 1988 he served as director of the Office of Pastoral Development."IN MEMORIAM: David Richards ‘45"
''

'', 24 August 2018. Retrieved on 15 May 2020.

Family

Richards was married to Helen Rice and together had three sons and one daughter.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Richards, David E 1921 births 2018 deaths 20th-century Anglican bishops in the United States People from Scranton, Pennsylvania Lehigh University alumni General Theological Seminary alumni Episcopal bishops of Albany Anglican bishops of Costa Rica Anglican bishops of Nicaragua Episcopal bishops of Honduras