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Joseph Jon Bruno (November 17, 1946 – April 23, 2021) was the sixth
Episcopal Episcopal may refer to: *Of or relating to a bishop, an overseer in the Christian church *Episcopate, the see of a bishop – a diocese *Episcopal Church (disambiguation), any church with "Episcopal" in its name ** Episcopal Church (United States ...
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 ...
of
Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles The Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles is a community of 48,874 Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopalians in 133 congregations, 36 schools, and six service institutions, spanning all of Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles, Orange Cou ...
. He died on April 23, 2021, of natural causes.


Early life and education

Joseph Jon Bruno was born in
Los Angeles Los Angeles, often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, most populous city in the U.S. state of California, and the commercial, Financial District, Los Angeles, financial, and Culture of Los Angeles, ...
on November 17, 1946, to Dorothy and Joseph J. Bruno. Together with his sister, Bruno was raised as a
Roman Catholic The Catholic Church (), also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.27 to 1.41 billion baptized Catholics worldwide as of 2025. It is among the world's oldest and largest international institut ...
in Los Angeles and attended local city schools. Bruno held a license in criminology from
California State University, Long Beach California State University, Long Beach (CSULB), also known in athletics as Long Beach State University (LBSU), is a public teaching-focused institution in Long Beach, California, United States. The 322-acre campus is the second largest in the ...
(1972) and a bachelor's degree in physical education from the
California State University, Los Angeles California State University, Los Angeles (Cal State LA) is a public research university in Los Angeles, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. Cal State LA offers 142 bachelor's degree programs, 122 m ...
(1974). He held a Master of Divinity degree (1977) from the
Virginia Theological Seminary Virginia Theological Seminary (VTS), formally the Protestant Episcopal Theological Seminary in Virginia, is an Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal seminary in Alexandria, Virginia. It is the largest and second-oldest such accredited se ...
, which also awarded him an honorary Doctor of Divinity degree in 2001. Bruno was a police officer in the city of
Burbank Burbank may refer to: Places Australia * Burbank, Queensland, a suburb in Brisbane United States * Burbank, California, a city in Los Angeles County * Burbank, Santa Clara County, California, a census-designated place * Burbank, Illinois, ...
, California. He was also briefly a professional football player under contract to the
Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...
before an injury sustained early on prevented further activity with the team.


Priesthood

Bruno was ordained to the priesthood in 1978 in the Diocese of Los Angeles by its fourth bishop, the Rt. Rev. Robert Claflin Rusack. From 1977 to 1979, Bruno was a parish associate at St. Patrick's Church in
Thousand Oaks, California Thousand Oaks is the second-largest city in Ventura County, California, located in the northwestern part of Greater Los Angeles. Approximately from the city of Los Angeles and from Downtown Los Angeles, it is named after the many oak trees pr ...
. He was an associate at St. Mary's Church in
Eugene, Oregon Eugene ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lane County, Oregon, United States. It is located at the southern end of the Willamette Valley, near the confluence of the McKenzie River (Oregon), McKenzie and Willamette River, Willamette rivers, ...
from 1979 to 1980, while concurrently vicar of St. Teresa's in
Junction City, Oregon Junction City is a city in Lane County, Oregon, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, it has a population of 6,747. The Junction City area is notable for its Nordic and Scandinavian Americans, Scandinavian heritage, with the city's ...
. He was active both in building church facilities and new congregations. In 1980, he left St. Mary's to help form St. Matthew's Church, also in Eugene, where he served as vicar for several years before returning to California. From 1983 to 1986, he was an associate at St. Paul's Church in
Pomona, California Pomona ( ) is a city in eastern Los Angeles County, California, United States. Pomona is located in the Pomona Valley, between the Inland Empire and the San Gabriel Valley. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city's population was ...
. He was named rector of St. Athanasius' Parish in 1986, and there collaborated with Bishop Borsch in the construction of the Cathedral Center on the parish's lakefront site in the Echo Park district of Los Angeles. As pastor of this congregation, Bruno continued his advocacy for youth and families, for gang diversion, and for immigration equity, and worked in the wider sphere of human rights. He was an advocate for the ordination to the priesthood of his curate, Philip Lance, who was the first male homosexual in the Episcopal Church to be acknowledged as openly gay prior to his ordination in January 1988. He served for eight years as Provost of the Cathedral Center of St. Paul, Los Angeles and as pastor to its multilingual congregation of St. Athanasius, which dates from 1864 as the oldest Episcopal parish in southern California. While provost, Bruno chaired the board of the Episcopal Community Federal Credit Union. He was vice-chair of the Nehemiah West Housing Corporation, which has built 300 single-family dwellings for purchase by low- and moderate-income families. Bruno was elected Bishop Coadjutor of the Diocese of Los Angeles on November 13, 1999. Within Episcopal Church polity, a bishop coadjutor is elected to succeed a diocesan bishop at such time as the latter chooses to retire. From 1990 to 1993, Bruno served the Diocese of Los Angeles as its missioner for stewardship and development. He was an elected deputy to the national church's 2000
General Convention The General Convention is the primary governing and legislative body of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. With the exception of the Bible, the ''Book of Common Prayer'', and the Constitution and Canons, it is the ultimate autho ...
, having assisted in the convention's operations and security services for several years. He is the founder of the Institute for Urban Research and Development, the work of which is now related to Episcopal Housing and Economic Development, an institution of the Diocese of Los Angeles. As bishop, Bruno has launched the "Hands in Healing" initiative for education and action related to eradicating violence in local, regional, national, and international contexts. Bruno was a member of the wider Episcopal Church's Executive Council, as well as the Los Angeles Council of Religious Leaders. He was board chairman and honorary chairman of various diocesan institutions.


Bishop

Bruno was ordained to the episcopate on April 29, 2000, in a liturgy at the Los Angeles Convention Center. He was seated on February 1, 2002, surrounded by more than 1,000 Episcopalians and guests who joined hands around Echo Park Lake. Bruno is the first native Angeleno to be elected as bishop of the Diocese of Los Angeles, which was established in 1895.


Misconduct charges

On May 17, 2015, Bruno announced to parishioners of St. James the Great, Newport Beach, that he had sold the church for $15 million to Legacy Partners Residential Development to be re-developed into 22 luxury townhomes. After dispute and protests from the church's parishioners over their will to remain an active parish and deed restrictions, on June 26, 2015, Bruno sued the original donor of the land of the church, the Griffith Company of Irvine, California, for title slander. On June 29, 2015, representatives of the Diocese of Los Angeles changed the locks of St. James the Great, Newport Beach, so that parishioners could no longer access the church. In response, the congregation, which continued to worship outdoors near the vacant church, filed a misconduct complaint against Bruno with the national church. On June 29, 2017, the Most Reverend Michael Curry, Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church, placed a "Partial Restriction on the Ministry of a Bishop" on the Rt. Rev. Jon Bruno of the Diocese of Los Angeles. During the period of the restriction, the Bishop, acting individually, or as Bishop Diocesan, or as Corporate Sole, or in any other capacity, is forbidden from closing on the sale of the St. James property, or otherwise selling or conveying the property or contracting to sell the property, or, in any way assisting in the sale or conveyance of the property. On August 3, 2017, the Hearing Panel issued a final order, finding that Bishop Bruno had violated the Episcopal Canons, by selling the St. James property without standing committee approval, by misrepresentations about St. James and its congregation, and by conduct unbecoming of a member of the clergy. The Hearing Panel recommended that Bishop Bruno be suspended from his position and from all ministry for a period of three years.


Church and philosophy

The Episcopal Church in the Diocese of Los Angeles serves 70,000 Episcopalians in 148 congregations located in Los Angeles, Orange, San Bernardino, Santa Barbara, and Ventura counties, and part of Riverside County. Served by some 400 clergy, the diocese also includes over 40 Episcopal schools and some 20 social-service and chaplaincy institutions. The diocese promotes affordable housing and entrepreneurship in Southern California through the Episcopal Housing Alliance and Economic Development. A major project is Chefs Center of California, a small-business incubator in Pasadena, California, that enables culinary entrepreneurs to start and accelerate the successful growth of their enterprises. Primary financial support for the Chefs Center is provided by the Henry T. Nicholas III Foundation, which has contributed $1,350,000 to the incubator. Bruno, in collaboration with the Reverend Bryan Jones of Long Beach, published a full-page advertisement in the ''
Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' is an American Newspaper#Daily, daily newspaper that began publishing in Los Angeles, California, in 1881. Based in the Greater Los Angeles city of El Segundo, California, El Segundo since 2018, it is the List of new ...
's'' "California" section, on July 23, 2006. Titled ''Open Hearted, Open Minded Christianity'', the tract called for an inclusive Christianity based on loving God and loving one's neighbor as oneself. With
Malcolm Boyd Malcolm Boyd (June 8, 1923 – February 27, 2015) was an American Episcopal priest and author. He was active in the Civil Rights Movement as one of the Freedom Riders in 1961 and as a minister. Boyd was also active in the anti-Vietnam War move ...
, Bruno is co-author of the book ''In Times Like These: How We Pray'' (New York: Church Publishing, 2005).


Death

Bruno died suddenly of natural causes at his home in
La Quinta, California La Quinta (a Spanish language, Spanish idiom meaning "the wikt:Quinta#Spanish, country villa") is a desert resort town, resort city in Riverside County, California, United States. Located between Indian Wells, California, Indian Wells and Indi ...
on April 23, 2021."RIP: Former Los Angeles Bishop Joseph Jon Bruno dies at 74"
''Episcopal New Service'', April 27, 2021. Retrieved on June 20, 2023.


See also

*
List of Episcopal bishops of the United States The following is a list of bishops who currently lead dioceses of the Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal Church in the United States and its territories. Also included in the list are suffragan bishops, provisional bishops, coadjutor b ...
* Historical list of the Episcopal bishops of the United States


References


External links


Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles websiteChurch (United States) official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bruno, J. Jon California State University, Long Beach alumni 1946 births 2021 deaths Clergy from Los Angeles Players of American football from Los Angeles Denver Broncos (AFL) players American municipal police officers Episcopal bishops of Los Angeles Converts to Anglicanism from Roman Catholicism Law enforcement officials from California