James Beattie "Jay" Magness (born October 21, 1946, in

St. Petersburg, Florida St. Petersburg is a city in Pinellas County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population was 258,308, making it the List of municipalities in Florida, fifth-most populous city in Florida and the most populous city in the sta ...

) is an American

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 and former

military chaplain A military chaplain ministers to military personnel and, in most cases, their families and civilians working for the military. In some cases, they will also work with local civilians within a military area of operations. Although the term ''cha ...

. From 2010 to 2017 he served as Bishop Suffragan for the Armed Services and Federal Ministries of the Episcopal Church. As such, he was responsible for the Episcopal

chaplains A chaplain is, traditionally, a cleric (such as a Minister (Christianity), minister, priest, pastor, rabbi, purohit, or imam), or a laity, lay representative of a religious tradition, attached to a secularity, secular institution (such as a ho ...

and their congregations in the

U.S. Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD, or DOD) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government charged with coordinating and supervising the six U.S. armed services: the Army, Navy, Marines, Air Force, Space Force, t ...

, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and the

Federal Bureau of Prisons The Federal Bureau of Prisons (BOP) is a Federal law enforcement in the United States, federal law enforcement agency of the United States Department of Justice that is responsible for all List of United States federal prisons, federal prisons ...

. He previously served as a

in the

United States Navy Chaplain Corps The United States Navy Chaplain Corps is the body of military chaplains of the United States Navy who are Officer (armed forces), commissioned naval officers. Their principal purpose is "to promote the spiritual, religious, moral, and persona ...

, from which he retired in 2004 with the rank of

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader or highest rank officer of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police depa ...

. He resigned from the Armed Forces and Federal ministries and stepped down from his bishopric in 2017, at which time he was succeeded by Carl Wright. He later served as assistant bishop of the

Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia Episcopal Diocese of Southern Virginia is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America located in the southeast area of Virginia. It is in Province III (for the Middle Atlantic region). The diocese includes the Hampton Roa ...

. From January 1, 2019 until February 1, 2020, he served as bishop pro-tempore of the diocese. Magness joined 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 ...

in March 1966 and served in the

Navy Supply Corps The Navy Supply Corps is the United States Navy staff corps concerned with supply, logistics, combat support, readiness, contracting, and fiscal matters. Duties Commissioned officers in the Supply Corps practice a variety of disciplines, incl ...

Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...

. He transitioned to the U.S. Naval Reserve in December 1969. He earned his BA degree from

Western Carolina University Western Carolina University (WCU) is a public university in Cullowhee, North Carolina, United States. It is part of the University of North Carolina system. The fifth oldest institution of the sixteen four-year universities in the UNC system, WCU ...

in 1974 and his

M.Div. 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 di ...

degree from The Episcopal Theological Seminary of the Southwest in 1977. He was ordained by Bishop William G. Weinhauer on May 25, 1978, and commissioned in the Navy Chaplain Corps on July 2, 1979. He later earned a D.Min. degree from the

Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary (GCTS) is an evangelical seminary with its main campus in Hamilton, Massachusetts, and three other campuses in Boston, Massachusetts; Charlotte, North Carolina; and Jacksonville, Florida. According to the Ass ...

in 1999 with a concentration in Christian Leadership. He has four grandchildren.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Magness, Jay 1946 births Living people People from St. Petersburg, Florida United States Navy personnel of the Vietnam War Western Carolina University alumni Seminary of the Southwest alumni United States Navy chaplains Gordon–Conwell Theological Seminary alumni 21st-century Anglican bishops in the United States Episcopal bishops for the Armed Forces (United States)