Biography of bishop michael curry

Biography

The Most Reverend Michael Bruce Curry was installed as the 27th Presiding Bishop and Primate of The Episcopal Church on November 1, 2015.

He was elected and confirmed at the 78th General Convention of The Episcopal Church in Salt Lake City, UT, on June 27, 2015. He is the Chief Pastor and serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of the Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society and chair of the Executive Council of The Episcopal Church.

Born in Chicago, IL, on March 13, 1953, Presiding Bishop Curry attended public schools in Buffalo, NY, and was graduated with high honors from Hobart College in Geneva, NY, in 1975. He received a Master of Divinity degree in 1978 from Yale University Divinity School in New Haven, CT. He has furthered his education with continued study at The College of Preachers, Princeton Theological Seminary, Wake Forest University, the Ecumenical Institute at St. Mary's Seminary, and the Institute of Christian Jewish Studies.

Presiding Bishop Curry was ordained to the diaconate in June 1978, at St. Paul's Cathedral, Buffalo, NY, by the Rt. Rev. Harold B. Robinson and to the priesthood in December 1978, at St. Stephen's, Winston-Salem, NC, by the Rt. Rev. John M. Burgess. He began his ministry as deacon-in-charge at St. Stephen's, Winston-Salem, in 1978 and was rector from 1979-1982. He next accepted a call as rector at St. Simon of Cyrene, Lincoln Heights, OH, serving from 1982-1988. In 1988 he was called to became rector of St. James', Baltimore, MD, where he served until his election as the 11th Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of North Carolina in February 2000.

Throughout his ministry, Presiding Bishop Curry has been active in issues of social justice, speaking out on immigration policy and marriage equality. In his three parish ministries in North Carolina, Ohio, and Maryland, Presiding Bishop Curry had extensive involvement in Crisis Control Ministry, the founding of ecumenical summer day camps for children, preaching mi

Bishop Curry spoke at length in the last part of his speech about fire, quoting the late French philosopher and Jesuit priest Pierre Teilhard de Chardin.

The Frenchman, he said, had "suggested that the discovery and harnessing of fire was one of the great technological discoveries of human history".

He then listed the many uses of fire, from cooking food, to aviation, to "broadcasting this wedding around the world".

The preacher later returned to de Chardin, who he said had argued that "if humanity ever captured the energy of love, it would be the second time in history that we have discovered fire".

When we discover the "redemptive power of love", he said, "we will make of this old world, a new world".

Talking to the bride and groom, he finished his speech by saying: "My brother, my sister, God love you, God bless you, and may God hold us all in those almighty hands of love."

This article is about the American presiding bishop. For other people named Michael Curry, see Michael Curry.

Michael Bruce Curry (born March 13, 1953) is an American retired bishop who was the 27th presiding bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church. Elected in 2015, he was the first African American elected to the role, having previously served as Bishop of North Carolina from 2000 to 2015. His tenure as presiding bishop ended on November 1, 2024, and he was succeeded by Sean Rowe.

Early life and education

Curry noted in his autobiography that both sides of his family were descended from slaves and sharecroppers in North Carolina and Alabama. He was born in Maywood, Illinois, a suburb just west of Chicago. His grandfather and great-grandfather were Baptist ministers. His parents were Dorothy and the Rev. Kenneth Curry, who had been Baptists but became Episcopalians when they were allowed to drink from the same chalice as whites in racially segregatedOhio. His mother died when he was young; his father and grandmother raised him.

Curry attended public schools in Buffalo, New York. He graduated with high honors from Hobart College in Geneva, New York, in 1975. He then earned a Master of Divinity degree, in 1978, from the Yale Divinity School, in association with Berkel

Presiding Bishop of The Episcopal Church from 2015 to 2024

This article is about the American presiding bishop. For other people named Michael Curry, see Michael Curry.

Michael Bruce Curry (born March 13, 1953) is an American retired bishop who was the 27th presiding bishop and primate of the Episcopal Church. Elected in 2015, he was the first African American elected to the role, having previously served as Bishop of North Carolina from 2000 to 2015. His tenure as presiding bishop ended on November 1, 2024, and he was succeeded by Sean Rowe.

Early life and education

Curry noted in his autobiography that both sides of his family were descended from slaves and sharecroppers in North Carolina and Alabama. He was born in Maywood, Illinois, a suburb just west of Chicago. His grandfather and great-grandfather were Baptist ministers. His parents were Dorothy and the Rev. Kenneth Curry, who had been Baptists but became Episcopalians when they were allowed to drink from the same chalice as whites in racially segregatedOhio. His mother died when he was young; his father and grandmother raised him.

Curry attended public schools in Buffalo, New York. He graduated with high honors from Hobart College in Geneva, New York, in 1975. He then earned a Master of Divinity degree, in 1978, from the Yale Divinity School, in association with Berkeley Divinity School. Curry has also studied at The College of Preachers, Princeton Theological Seminary, Wake Forest University, the Ecumenical Institute at St. Mary's Seminary in Baltimore, and the Institute of Islamic, Christian, and Jewish Studies.

Ministry as priest

Curry was ordained deacon at St. Paul's Cathedral, Buffalo, New York by the Rt. Rev. Harold B. Robinson in June 1978 and priest at St. Stephen's, Winston-Salem, North Carolina by the Rt. Rev. John M. Burgess in December 1978. He served