John Clark Buchanan (May 6, 1933 – April 15, 2020) was an American bishop. He was the sixth bishop of the

Episcopal Diocese of West Missouri The Diocese of West Missouri is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America and a member of Province VII. It has jurisdiction over sixty counties in western Missouri running from the cities Fairfax in the north to Branson ...

Early life and education

Buchanan was born on May 6, 1933, in

Joanna, South Carolina Joanna is an unincorporated community and census-designated place (CDP) in Laurens County, South Carolina, United States. The population was 1,539 at the 2010 census, down from 1,609 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Greenville– Mauldi ...

to Dock Jones Buchanan and Ella Virginia Clark. He served in the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is one of the six United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Tracing its origins to 1 ...

between 1951 and 1955 before attending the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

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 1958 and a

Juris Doctor A Juris Doctor, Doctor of Jurisprudence, or Doctor of Law (JD) is a graduate-entry professional degree that primarily prepares individuals to practice law. In the United States and the Philippines, it is the only qualifying law degree. Other j ...

in 1961. He then practiced law and worked in the insurance industry until 1966 when he enrolled at the

General Theological Seminary The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church (GTS) is an Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal seminary in New York City. Founded in 1817, GTS is the oldest seminary of the Episcopal Church and the longest continuously operating ...

to study for the priesthood. He graduated with a

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 1969. He also completed 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 ...

at the

McCormick Theological Seminary McCormick Theological Seminary is a private Presbyterian seminary in Chicago, Illinois. As of 2023, it shares a campus with the Lutheran School of Theology at Chicago and Catholic Theological Union, in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago. A l ...

Chicago Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...

in 1975. He was also awarded 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 ...

by the General Theological Seminary in 1990.

Ordained ministry

Buchanan was ordained deacon in 1969 and priest on January 1, 1970, by the Bishop of South Carolina Gray Temple. He served as vicar of St Barnabas' Church in

Dillon, South Carolina Dillon is a city in Dillon County in eastern South Carolina, United States. It is the county seat and largest city of Dillon County. It was established on December 22, 1888. Both the name of the city and county comes from James W. Dillon, an ear ...

between 1969 and 1971, before becoming rector of St Matthew's Church in

Darlington, South Carolina Darlington is a city located in Darlington County, South Carolina, United States. In 2010, its population was 6,289. It is the county seat of Darlington County. It is part of the Florence, South Carolina metropolitan area. Darlington is known f ...

. In 1975 he then became rector of St Andrew's Church in

Mount Pleasant, South Carolina Mount Pleasant is a large suburban town in Charleston County, South Carolina, United States. In the Lowcountry, it is the fourth-most populous municipality in South Carolina, and for several years was one of the state's fastest-growing areas, d ...

, where he remained until 1989.

Episcopacy

During a special convention of the Diocese of West Missouri on October 22, 1988, Buchanan was elected

Coadjutor Bishop A coadjutor bishop (or bishop coadjutor) ("co-assister" in Latin) is a bishop in the Latin Catholic, Anglican and (historically) Eastern Orthodox churches whose main role is to assist the diocesan bishop in administering the diocese. The coa ...

of West Missouri. He was consecrated on February 25, 1989, in Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral and succeeded as diocesan bishop on July 1, 1989. He resigned on December 31, 1999, and then returned to his native state of

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

where he served at St Michael's Church in

Charleston, South Carolina Charleston is the List of municipalities in South Carolina, most populous city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. The city lies just south of the geographical midpoint of South Carolina's coastline on Charleston Harbor, an inlet of the Atla ...

. After a while he became Bishop-in-Residence of the Diocese of Texas. In 2006 he was appointed Assistant Bishop of Southern Virginia while in 2009, Buchanan became the provisional bishop of the

Episcopal Diocese of Quincy The Diocese of Quincy was a diocese of the Episcopal Church in western Illinois from 1877 to 2013. The cathedral seat (home of the diocese) was originally in Quincy, Illinois but was moved to St. Paul's Cathedral in Peoria in 1963. In order to ...

after a majority of the diocese left for the

Anglican Church in North America The Anglican Church in North America (ACNA) is a Christian denomination in the Anglican tradition in the United States and Canada. It also includes ten congregations in Mexico, two mission churches in Guatemala, and a missionary diocese in Cuba. ...

. He maintained this role until Quincy was merged into the

Episcopal Diocese of Chicago The Episcopal Diocese of Chicago is the official organization of the Episcopal Church in Chicago and Northern Illinois, USA. The diocese is served by The Right Reverend Paula Clark, who serves as Bishop of the diocese. The cathedral of the dioce ...

. He then served a year as an assisting bishop in Chicago before retiring. He died on April 15, 2020, at his home in

. He married Peggy Annelle Brown in 1964 and together had two daughters."Former West Missouri, Quincy Bishop Dies"
''

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 ...

'', April 20, 2020. Retrieved on August 11, 2022.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Buchanan, John 1933 births 2020 deaths 20th-century Anglican bishops in the United States 21st-century Anglican bishops in the United States Episcopal bishops of West Missouri General Theological Seminary alumni University of South Carolina alumni University of South Carolina School of Law alumni