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0 The Episcopal Church
of Virginia commenced with the first settlement of the first colony; but she
had to labor under great disadvantages during nearly the whole period of her
existence in connection with the Government and the Church of England. The
1600s growth of the Church in the colonies was severely hindered by a lack of
qualified ministers out of England. The Bishop of London was in charge of the
Church in Virginia, but his supervision was of necessity only nominal. The Church in Virginia resolved on an effort to obtain consecration for a Bishop who might complete her imperfect organization. The Rev. Dr. Griffith was selected, but the parishes failed to provide funds to defray his expenses to England and the plan failed. At last, in 1790 Bishop Madison was consecrated. But Bishop Madison was President of William and Mary College and had little time to devote to the nurture of his Diocese.
In the meantime the original Diocese of Virginia had been divided by setting apart West Virginia as a new Diocese, for which Bishop George Peterkin was consecrated in 1878. Since that time, the Diocese of West Virginia has had a total of seven bishops, the most recent being Bishop W. Michie Klusmeyer, who was consecrated October 13, 2001.
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And so for two hundred years the Episcopal Church here was really without an
official head as Bishop. As the Revolution approached, dissatisfaction with
the mother country grew, and with it, naturally dissatisfaction with the
Mother Church.
In 1812 Bishop Madison died and was succeeded in 1814 by Bishop Richard
Channing Moore. In 1829 Bishop William Meade was consecrated as
Assistant Bishop. These were the years that marked the revival of the Church
in Virginia. During Bishop Moore's episcopate of twenty-seven years,
1814-1841, the number of clergy increased from ten to ninety-five, and the
communicants from three or four hundred to nearly four thousand. Bishop Moore
died in 1841, and Bishop Meade succeeded to all the responsibilities
connected with the administration of the Diocese. In 1842, Bishop Johns was
chosen the Assistant Bishop of the Diocese. He then succeeded upon the death
of Bishop Meade in 1878. In 1883, Bishop Randall was named as his assistant.
