Elected Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States at the 1973 General Convention, he served from 1974 to 1985. He led the church through a highly transformative era marked by the introduction of the 1979 Book of Common Prayer and the initial ordination of women to the priesthood.

• Correspondence of the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church and the President of the NCCB on the Canonization of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton
  John M. Allin; Joseph Bernardin ~ 22 Aug. 1975