Bishop Frank Griswold at St. Mary's Abbey, Morristown, New Jersey ~ 10 Dec. 2007

25th Presiding Bishop and Primate of the Episcopal Church (1998-2006).

Adapted from Episcopal News Service, March 6, 2023:

Frank Griswold was born on September 18, 1937, in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania, and educated at St. Paul’s School in Concord, New Hampshire. He earned a bachelor’s degree in English literature at Harvard College in 1959. He attended the General Theological Seminary and earned a master’s degree in theology at Oriel College, Oxford University (1962, 1966).

Ordained priest in 1963, Griswold served three parishes in the Diocese of Pennsylvania before being elected bishop coadjutor of the Diocese of Chicago in 1985. He became the diocesan bishop in October 1987. He was elected at the 72nd General Convention in Philadelphia in July 1997 to succeed Presiding Bishop Edmund Browning. He officially took office on January 10, 1998, as he was invested in the role at Washington National Cathedral. He served until November 1, 2006, when he was succeeded by the Rt. Rev. Katharine Jefferts Schori.

Known for his ecumenical and interreligious work, Griswold helped to shepherd the Episcopal Church’s full-communion relationship with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America. The relationship grew out of an agreement passed at the 1997 General Convention during which Griswold was elected. The actual terms of what became known as “Called to Common Mission,” were contentious in the intervening years as both denominations struggled with the other’s view of bishops’ authority. Eventually, the agreement was formalized during a liturgy on Epiphany 2001 at Washington National Cathedral.

Griswold also served as co-chair of the Anglican-Roman Catholic International Commission from 1999 to 2004. He co-chaired the Anglican-Roman Catholic Theological Consultation in the United States from 1992 to 1997.

Bishop Frank Griswold died March 5, 2023 in Philadelphia.

See also documents authored by Frank Griswold