Ernest Arthur Copleston (1855 – 24 August 1933) was an

Anglican Anglicanism, also known as Episcopalianism in some countries, is a Western Christianity, Western Christian tradition which developed from the practices, liturgy, and identity of the Church of England following the English Reformation, in the ...

bishop A bishop is an ordained member of the clergy who is entrusted with a position of Episcopal polity, authority and oversight in a religious institution. In Christianity, bishops are normally responsible for the governance and administration of di ...

in the first half of the 20th century. He was born in

Barnes, Surrey Barnes () is a district in south London, South West London, England, part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It takes up the extreme north-east of the borough, and as such is the closest part of the borough to central London. It is ...

, the fourth son of Rev. Reginald Edward, vicar of Barnes, fellow of Exeter College, Oxford,"Ecclesiastical Intelligence", ''

The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...

'' (London), Thursday, 30 January 1902; pg. 6; Issue 36678; col B and Anne Elizabeth née Sharpe, educated at

St John's College, Oxford St John's College is a Colleges of the University of Oxford, constituent college of the University of Oxford. Founded as a men's college in 1555, it has been coeducational since 1979.Communication from Michael Riordan, college archivist Its foun ...

and

ordained Ordination is the process by which individuals are Consecration in Christianity, consecrated, that is, set apart and elevated from the laity class to the clergy, who are thus then authorized (usually by the religious denomination, denominationa ...

in 1878. His career began with curacies at St Luke's Church,

Maidenhead Maidenhead is a market town in the Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead in the county of Berkshire, England. It lies on the southwestern bank of the River Thames, which at this point forms the border with Buckinghamshire. In the 2021 Census, ...

and St. Paul's Church, Kandy. On 18 August 1883 he was appointed the incumbent at the Holy Emmanuel Church,

Moratuwa Moratuwa () is a large municipality on the southwestern coast of Sri Lanka, near Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia. It is situated on the Galle–Colombo (Galle road) main highway, south of the centre of Colombo. Moratuwa is surrounded on three sides ...

, together with St Peter’s Church, Koralawella, and then Principal of the Diocesan Training College, Kandy until 1903. On 30 August 1903 he was consecrated as the fifth

Anglican Bishop of Colombo The Anglican Bishop of Colombo is the ecclesiastical head of the Anglican Diocese of Colombo, a diocese in the Church of Ceylon which is part of the Anglican Communion. The Anglican Diocese of Colombo was founded in 1845, as the diocese of the ...

at St. Paul's Cathedral, Calcutta. A position in which he served for 21 years, until he was replaced by

Mark Carpenter-Garnier The Rt Rev Mark Rodolph Carpenter-Garnier (1 January 1881 – 11 October 1969) was an Anglican bishop in the first half of the 20th century. Life and career Born in Wickham, Hampshire''1911 England Census'' on New Year's Day, he was the thi ...

in 1924. His brother Reginald Stephen Copleston was also an Anglican

, whilst another brother, Frederick Selwyn Copleston, was the first Chief Judge of the Chief Court of Lower Burma. His nephew

Frederick Copleston Frederick Charles Copleston (10 April 1907 – 3 February 1994) was a British Catholic priest, philosopher, and historian of philosophy, best known for his influential multi-volume '' A History of Philosophy'' (1946–75). Copleston achieved ...

, son of Frederick Selwyn Copleston, was a notable

Jesuit The Society of Jesus (; abbreviation: S.J. or SJ), also known as the Jesuit Order or the Jesuits ( ; ), is a religious order (Catholic), religious order of clerics regular of pontifical right for men in the Catholic Church headquartered in Rom ...

priest.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Copleston, Reginald Stephen 1855 births People from Barnes, London Alumni of St John's College, Oxford Anglican bishops of Colombo 20th-century Anglican bishops in Asia 1933 deaths British expatriates in Sri Lanka