Richard F. Grein
The Right Reverend Richard Frank Grein D.D. | |
|---|---|
| 14th Bishop of New York | |
| Church | Episcopal Church |
| Diocese | New York |
| Elected | September 28, 1988 |
| In office | 1989–2001 |
| Predecessor | Paul Moore Jr. |
| Successor | Mark Sisk |
| Previous post(s) | Bishop of Kansas (1981–1988) Coadjutor Bishop of New York (1988–1989) |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | December 21, 1959 by Hamilton Hyde Kellogg |
| Consecration | May 22, 1981 by John Allin |
| Personal details | |
| Born | November 29, 1932 Bemidji, Minnesota, U.S. |
| Died | October 8, 2024 (aged 91) |
| Nationality | American |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Parents | Lester Edward Grein & La Vina Minnie Frost |
| Spouse | (1) Joan D. Atkinson (m. 1961); (2) Anne Richards (m. 2004) |
| Children | 4 |
Richard Frank Grein (November 29, 1932 – October 8, 2024) was an American Episcopal clergyman who served as Bishop of Kansas from 1981 to 1989 and Bishop of New York from 1989 to 2001.[1]
Education and ordination
[edit]Born in Bemidji, Minnesota, to Lester Edward Grein and La Vina Minnie Frost, Grein studied at Carleton College in Minnesota and Nashotah House in Wisconsin. He was ordained as a deacon on June 20, 1959 and as a priest on December 21, 1959.[1]
Career
[edit]Grein began his career working in communities in Minnesota and was a professor of pastoral theology at Nashotah House in 1973 and 1974.[1] In 1974 he became rector of Saint Michael and All Angels Church in Mission, Kansas. On February 14, 1981, he was elected Bishop of Kansas at a special diocesan convention at Grace Episcopal Cathedral in Topoeka. He was consecrated bishop on May 22, 1981, by Presiding Bishop John Allin. In 1989 he was elected Bishop of New York[2] and was installed as bishop at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine on October 14 of the same year.
Grein devoted much of his time and energy as Bishop of New York to financial and administrative endeavors such as Episcopal Charities, the Congregational Support Plan, the Trustees of the Diocese, renewal of the diaconate, and renewal of the priesthood. He also created and expanded the diocesan endowment fund, and launched a program to give financial help to congregations with insufficient funds to pay their own bills. He believed that "strong parishes mean a strong diocese".
Grein fostered relationships with an Anglican diocese in South Africa and the Eastern Orthodox Church.[1] He was named Honorary Metropolitan of the International Throne by Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of Constantinople, a singular honor bestowed on no other bishop. One of his last major public ceremonies was as part of the Episcopal delegation invited to Moscow in 2000, where he and the Rt. Rev. George Packard were the only Western Christian leaders to attend the consecration of the newly rebuilt Cathedral of Christ the Saviour on August 19 of that year.
Retirement and later life
[edit]Grein retired on June 30, 2001. In 2002 he was sued for wrongfully dismissing the Rev. Janet Broderick Kraft (a priest at Grace Church, Manhattan, whose brother is the actor Matthew Broderick) and replacing her with the Rev. Anne Richards.[3][4] The case was settled out of court.[1]
Personal life
[edit]In 1961 Grein married Joan Atkinson, whom he divorced in the early 2000s. In 2004 he married his former aide, the Rev. Anne Richards (1951−2018), who worked as a priest in both the New York and Connecticut dioceses.[4][5]
He died on October 8, 2024, at the age of 91.[1]
References
[edit]- ^ a b c d e f The Living Church, Bishop Richard F. Grein (1932−2024), October 16, 2024. Retrieved October 16, 2024.
- ^ New York Times, "Man in the News; Diocese Calls On a Kansan: Richard Frank Grein", September 28, 1989. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
- ^ New York Times, "Challenging the Bishop, in Court; Suit Over a Priest's Firing Raises Church-State Issues", January 14, 2002. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
- ^ a b New York Times, "Priest Vindicated in Fight Over Dismissal", September 25, 2004. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
- ^ New Canaan Advertiser, "Obituary: Reverend Anne F. Richards, 67", January 14, 2018. Retrieved October 17, 2024.
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