Church Episcopal Church Nationality American Successor George F. Bates Ordination 1951 | Predecessor Richard S. Watson Consecration 1971 In office 1971-1986 Name E. Charles | |
Born April 24, 1926
Norristown, Pennsylvania, USA ( 1926-04-24 ) Spouse Elvira Latta (1951-1993)
Felipe Sanchez-Paris (2008-2013) Died December 26, 2013, San Francisco, California, United States | ||
Diocese Episcopal Diocese of Utah | ||
Edgar Otis Charles (called Otis; April 24, 1926 – December 26, 2013) was the eighth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Utah.
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Career
Charles was born in Norristown, Pennsylvania, and first served as a priest in Connecticut. From 1968 until 1982 he was a member of the Standing Liturgical Commission, which developed the 1979 edition of the Book of Common Prayer. In 1971, he was elected Bishop of Utah. He was active in the peace movement, and opposed Nevada and Utah being launching sites for the MX missile. In the House of Bishops, Charles was chair of the Prayer Book Committee and a member of the Bishops' Committee on Racism. Charles became Dean of the Episcopal Divinity School in 1985. Charles also has significant academic achievements, including a Doctorate of Divinity, and a Doctorate of Sacred Theology.
Personal life
Charles was married for 42 years and had five children. After his retirement in 1993, Charles publicly came out as gay, the first Christian bishop ever to take such a step. Soon after this he and his wife divorced. He relocated to San Francisco, where he helped to found the California branch of the Oasis Commission. He married Dr. Felipe Sanchez-Paris (1941 - July 31, 2013) on September 29, 2008. The two appear in the documentary film Love Free or Die, testifying about a resolution directing the Episcopal Church to create a provisional rite for the blessing of same-gender relationships at its 2009 General Convention in Anaheim, California. Sanchez-Paris died on July 30, 2013. Bishop Charles died on December 26, 2013, in San Francisco, California. They are buried alongside each other at St. Mark's Cathedral (Salt Lake City), Utah.