Theodore Harper McCrea (March 27, 1908 – September 22, 1986) was a suffragan bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Dallas, serving from 1962 to 1975.

The Right Reverend

Theodore Harper McCrea

S.T.D.
Suffragan Bishop of Dallas
ChurchEpiscopal Church
DioceseDallas
ElectedSeptember 14, 1962
In office1962–1975
PredecessorJoseph Harte
SuccessorRobert E. Terwilliger
Orders
OrdinationDecember 1943
by James De Wolf Perry
ConsecrationDecember 4, 1962
by Arthur C. Lichtenberger
Personal details
Born(1908-03-27)March 27, 1908
DiedSeptember 22, 1986(1986-09-22) (aged 78)
Dallas, Texas, United States
BuriedBishop Mason Mausoleum and Columbarium, Flower Mound, Texas
NationalityAmerican
DenominationAnglican
ParentsChristopher Harper McCrea & Elizabeth Amelia Pratt
Alma materUniversity of Minnesota
Harvard University
General Theological Seminary

Early life and education

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McCrea was born on March 27, 1908, in Minneapolis, to the Reverend Christopher Harper McCrea and Elizabeth Amelia Pratt. He was educated at the high school in New Trier, Minnesota, and then at the University of Minnesota from where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1929. he also earned a Masters of Arts in 1930 from Harvard University and a Bachelor of Sacred Theology in 1943 from the General Theological Seminary.[1] In 1964 he was awarded a Doctor of Sacred Theology.

Ordained ministry

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McCrea was ordained a deacon in the Episcopal Church on June 7, 1943, at the Church of the Advent in Boston by the Bishop of Massachusetts Henry Knox Sherrill,[2] and priest in December of the same year by Bishop James De Wolf Perry of Rhode Island. He served as assistant minister at St Martin's Church in Providence, Rhode Island, between 1943 and 1946 and then priest-in-charge of St John's Mission in Dallas. In 1948, St John's became a parish church and hence McCrea became its first rector. Simultaneously he was also principal and chaplain of the adjoining school.[3]

Episcopacy

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McCrea was elected Suffragan Bishop of Dallas on September 14, 1962, on the seventh ballot during a special convention which took place at the Church if St Michael and All Angels in Dallas.[4] He was consecrated on December 4, 1962, in St Matthew's Cathedral by Presiding Bishop Arthur C. Lichtenberger.[5] He remained in office until his retirement in 1975. He died on September 22, 1986, in Dallas due to heart problems.

References

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  1. ^ "McCREA, Theodore Harper". Stowe's Clerical Directory of the American Episcopal Church: 242. 1953.
  2. ^ "Ordinations". The Living Church. 107 (2): 13. July 11, 1943.
  3. ^ "Suffragan Elect McCrea". The Living Church. 145: 4. September 30, 1962.
  4. ^ "New Bishops in Dallas and Massachusetts", Diocesan Press Service, December 10, 1962. Retrieved on October 28, 2021.
  5. ^ "McCrea Consecration". The Living Church. 145: 6. December 16, 1962.
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