Stacy Fred Sauls (born December 9, 1955) was the sixth Bishop of Lexington, serving from 2000 to 2011. He then served as chief operating officer of the Episcopal Church from September 1, 2011, to 2016.

Early life and education

Sauls was born on December 9, 1955, in

Atlanta, Georgia Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

, the son of Kenneth Sauls and Joyce Ballard. He was raised in the

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was ...

. He was educated at Headland High School and graduated in 1973. He then attended

Furman University Furman University is a private university in Greenville, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1826 and named after Baptist pastor Richard Furman, the Liberal arts college, liberal arts university is the oldest private institution of higher l ...

and 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 political science in 1977. On August 11, 1979, he married Ginger Malone and together had two sons. He also studied at the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a Public university#United States, public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States. It was founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson and contains his The Lawn, Academical Village, a World H ...

School of Law, and graduated in 1980. He then became a member of the

Order of the Coif The Order of the Coif () is an American honor society for law school graduates. The Order was founded in 1902 at the University of Illinois College of Law. The name is a reference to the ancient English order of trial lawyers, the serjeants-at-la ...

. After graduation, he accepted a federal court clerkship and practiced in the corporate law department of

Delta Air Lines Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a Major airlines of the United States, major airline in the United States headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, operating nine hubs, with Hartsfield–Jackson Atlanta International Airport being its ...

. In 1985, he entered 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 ...

and earned his

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 1988.

Ordained ministry

Sauls was ordained deacon on June 11, 1988, at St. Philip's Cathedral in

, and priest on April 6, 1989, at St. George's Church in

Griffin, Georgia Griffin is a city in and the county seat of Spalding County, Georgia, Spalding County, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia, United States. It is part of the Atlanta metropolitan area. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a po ...

, on both occasions by Bishop

Frank Allan Francis Erskine Allan (2 December 1849 – 9 February 1917) was an Australian cricketer who represented Victoria cricket team, Victoria in first-class cricket, first-class intercolonial cricket in Australia, intercolonial matches and made one T ...

of Atlanta. He served as assistant at St. George's Church, before becoming rector of St. Thomas' Church in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Brita ...

, in 1990. After four year, in 1994, he became rector of St. Bartholomew's Church in

Bishop

On June 3, 2000, Sauls was elected on the second ballot as Bishop of Lexington, during the 104th diocesan convention. He was consecrated on September 30, 2000, in the Roman Catholic Cathedral of Christ the King,

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

, due to its large capacity. He was consecrated by the Bishop of Western North Carolina, Robert Hodges Johnson. In 2011, Sauls resigned his post in Lexington and became Chief Operating Officer for the Episcopal Church. He was placed on administrative leave during a financial misconduct investigation that took place in December 2015. In April 2016, he was exonerated of the allegations; however, he was forced to resign his post.

Honors

Sauls was appointed Officer to the

Order of St John The Order of Knights of the Hospital of Saint John of Jerusalem, commonly known as the Knights Hospitaller (), is a Catholic military order. It was founded in the crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem in the 12th century and had headquarters there u ...

in 2013 and promoted Commander in 2017.

References

External links

Diocese of Lexington news stories
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sauls, Stacy F. 1955 births Living people Clergy from Atlanta Furman University alumni University of Virginia School of Law alumni General Theological Seminary alumni Converts to Anglicanism from Methodism Episcopal bishops of Lexington