Don Edward Johnson (born 1949) is an American bishop of the Episcopal Church who served as the third Bishop of West Tennessee from 2001 until 2019. Johnson was born in 1949 and was raised as a

Southern Baptist The Southern Baptist Convention (SBC), alternatively the Great Commission Baptists (GCB), is a Christian denomination based in the United States. It is the world's largest Baptist organization, the largest Protestantism in the United States, Pr ...

. He served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the naval warfare, maritime military branch, service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is the world's most powerful navy with the largest Displacement (ship), displacement, at 4.5 millio ...

as an enlisted man, before studying at

Vanderbilt University Vanderbilt University (informally Vandy or VU) is a private university, private research university in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. Founded in 1873, it was named in honor of shipping and railroad magnate Cornelius Vanderbilt, who provide ...

, from where he graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts A Bachelor of Arts (abbreviated B.A., BA, A.B. or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is the holder of a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the liberal arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts deg ...

in 1972. He then studied at the

Seabury-Western Theological Seminary Seabury-Western Theological Seminary (SWTS) was a seminary of the Episcopal Church, located in Evanston, Illinois. It ceased offering the Master of Divinity degree in May 2010, and in January 2012 it moved from Evanston to the Evangelical Luth ...

and earned his

Master of Divinity For graduate-level theological institutions, the Master of Divinity (MDiv, ''magister divinitatis'' in Latin) is the first professional degree of the pastoral profession in North America. It is the most common academic degree in seminaries and ...

in 1976. He was awarded a

Doctor of Ministry The Doctor of Ministry (DMin) is a doctorate in religious ministry. It often includes an original research component, and may be earned by a minister of religion while concurrently engaged in ministry. It is categorized as an advanced doctoral de ...

from the

Graduate Theological Foundation The Graduate Theological Foundation (GTF) is an American nonprofit interreligious institution of higher learning, originally founded in Indiana but now centered in Sarasota, Florida. Unlike traditional residential theological schools, the founda ...

in 1988. The

University of the South The University of the South, familiarly known as Sewanee (), is a private Episcopal liberal arts college in Sewanee, Tennessee, United States. It is owned by 28 southern dioceses of the Episcopal Church, and its School of Theology is an off ...

and

both awarded Johnson a

Doctor of Divinity A Doctor of Divinity (DD or DDiv; ) is the holder of an advanced academic degree in divinity (academic discipline), divinity (i.e., Christian theology and Christian ministry, ministry or other theologies. The term is more common in the Englis ...

in 2002. Johnson was ordained deacon in 1976 and priest in 1977 in the Episcopal Church. Between 1976 and 1977, he served at Calvary Church in

Memphis, Tennessee Memphis is a city in Shelby County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. Situated along the Mississippi River, it had a population of 633,104 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, making it the List of municipalities in Tenne ...

, before becoming chaplain at the

University of Tennessee at Chattanooga The University of Tennessee at Chattanooga (UT Chattanooga, UTC, or Chattanooga) is a public university in Chattanooga, Tennessee, United States. It was founded in 1886 and is part of the University of Tennessee System. History UTC was founde ...

and rector of Christ Church in

Chattanooga, Tennessee Chattanooga ( ) is a city in Hamilton County, Tennessee, United States, and its county seat. It is located along the Tennessee River and borders Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the south. With a population of 181,099 in 2020, it is Tennessee ...

, in 1978. In 1986, he became rector of St. John's Church in

Johnson City, Tennessee Johnson City is a city in Washington, Carter, and Sullivan counties in the U.S. state of Tennessee, mostly in Washington County. As of the 2020 United States census, the population was 71,046, making it Tennessee's eighth-most populous cit ...

. In 1996, he moved to

Franklin, Tennessee Franklin is a city in and the county seat of Williamson County, Tennessee, United States. About south of Nashville, Tennessee, Nashville, it is one of the principal cities of the Nashville metropolitan area and Middle Tennessee. As of 2020 Uni ...

, to become rector of the Church of the Resurrection. On March 30, 2001, after a process that took seven hours, Johnson was elected on the 15th ballot as the third Bishop of West Tennessee. He was consecrated and installed on June 30, 2001, by Presiding Bishop

Frank Griswold Frank Tracy Griswold III (September 18, 1937 – March 5, 2023) was an American clergyman who served as the 25th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church. Early life and education Griswold was born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, and educated at ...

, at the Mississippi Boulevard Christian Church in

, used because of its large facilities, something no Memphis-area Episcopal parish had. In 2017, Johnson announced plans to resign his post, which took effect in 2019."W. Tenn. Bishop to Retire in '19"
''

The Living Church ''The Living Church'' is a magazine based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, providing commentary and news on the Episcopal Church and the wider Anglican Communion. It is the flagship publication of The Living Church Foundation. In continuous publication ...

'', 19 June 2017. Retrieved on 14 July 2020.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Don Edward Living people 1949 births Religious leaders from Nashville, Tennessee Vanderbilt University alumni Converts to Anglicanism from Baptist denominations Episcopal bishops of West Tennessee