Edwin Warren Saphore (September 17, 1854 - May 22, 1944) was bishop of the

Episcopal Diocese of Arkansas The Episcopal Diocese of Arkansas is part of the Episcopal Church in the United States and the worldwide Anglican Communion. The Diocese is organized into 56 congregations, with its diocesan office in Little Rock. The seat of the Bishop of Arkans ...

between 1935 and 1938.

Early life

Saphore was born in

Rahway, New Jersey Rahway () is a city (New Jersey), city in southern Union County, New Jersey, Union County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey. A bedroom community of New York City, it is centrally located in the Rahway River, Rahway Valley region, in the New ...

on September 17, 1854, the son of Daniel A. Saphore and Martha Warren. He received 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 ...

from the

Pennsylvania State University The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a Public university, public Commonwealth System of Higher Education, state-related Land-grant university, land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsyl ...

and then studied theology at

Madison Seminary Madison Seminary is a historic building in Madison, Ohio. Currently in private ownership, it previously functioned as a school, hospital, and as housing for the families of those killed in the American Civil War. It currently has notoriety as o ...

. He received an honorary

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 ...

from 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 ...

. He was ordained deacon on June 11, 1897, and priest on June 2, 1898, by Bishop

Frederic Dan Huntington Frederic (or Frederick) Dan Huntington (May 28, 1819, Hadley, Massachusetts – July 11, 1904, Hadley, Massachusetts) was an American clergyman and the first Protestant Episcopal bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Central New York. Early life, ...

of Central New York. He was married to Frances E. Cumber in 1884, and had a son and a daughter.

Ministry

After ordination, Saphore served as rector of Christ Church in

Jordan, New York Jordan is a village in Onondaga County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 1,192. It is part of the Syracuse Metropolitan Statistical Area. It was named after the Jordan River. Jordan is located in the northwest ...

until 1899, when he became rector of the Church of St John the Divine in

Syracuse, New York Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, United States. With a population of 148,620 and a Syracuse metropolitan area, metropolitan area of 662,057, it is the fifth-most populated city and 13 ...

. between 1901 and 1906, he was rector of St Paul's Church in

Watertown, New York Watertown is a city in and the county seat of Jefferson County, New York, United States. It is approximately south of the Thousand Islands, along the Black River, about east of where it flows into Lake Ontario. The city is bordered by the t ...

, while between 1906 and 1908, he served as rector of All Saints' Church in

. between 1900 and 1903, he also served as professor at St Andrew's Divinity School in Syracuse. He was appointed Archdeacon of Arkansas in 1909, and retained the post until 1917.

Bishop

Saphore was elected Suffragan Bishop of Arkansas in 1917 and was consecrated on August 24, 1917, by Presiding Bishop Daniel S. Tuttle, in St Luke's Church,

Hot Springs, Arkansas Hot Springs is a resort city in the state of Arkansas and the county seat of Garland County, Arkansas, Garland County. The city is located in the Ouachita Mountains among the U.S. Interior Highlands, and is set among several natural hot springs ...

. He oversaw the leadership of the diocese as an authority between 1931 and 1935, in the absence of a diocesan bishop. He was elected diocesan bishop of Arkansas on June 20, 1935, and was installed on April 22, 1936, in Trinity Cathedral. He retired shortly afterward on January 1, 1938, due to ill health. He died on May 22, 1944, in

References

1854 births 1944 deaths University of Pennsylvania alumni Episcopal bishops of Arkansas {{US-Anglican-bishop-stub