Edmond Browning - Presiding Bishop

Presiding Bishop

On September 19, 1985, Browning was elected to succeed the Most Reverend John Maury Allin as Presiding Bishop at the General Convention held in Anaheim, California. His election to the 12 year term came on the fourth ballot of the House of Bishops and was ratified overwhelmingly by a voice vote of the House of Deputies.

Shortly after his election, Browning said of his vision for the Episcopal Church, "There are tremendous global issues that face us all. My hope is that the Church can continue to hold these issues before the full membership, as well as society, to bring about some well-being for all. I think the Church has a role in being both prophetic in holding up issues, and using all its influences to try to bring about better conditions for the poor, the hungry, both in this country as well as in the global village." He later added, "there will be no outcasts in the Church."

On January 16, 1986, Browning was installed in Washington National Cathedral as the 24th Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church. During his sermon, he began to address the deepening rift within the church over issues such as the ordination of women and homosexuality, by saying, "(do not ask me) to honor one set of views and disregard the other. I may agree with one, but I will respect both...the unity of this church will be maintained not because we agree on everything but because -- hopefully -- we will leave judgment to God."

Browning's theologically liberal views earned him both admiration from progressives and intense criticism by the conservative wing of the church, and the rift, primarily over whether openly homosexual clergy may be ordained and whether gay and lesbian couples' unions may be blessed by the church, grew during his tenure. The tensions broke into a personal public exchange at the 1991 General Convention in Phoenix, Arizona, during a session of the House of Bishops, between the conservative Bishop John MacNaughton of the Diocese of West Texas and Bishop John Spong of the Diocese of Newark, prompting Browning to call for an unusual closed session of the bishops.

Browning retired on December 31, 1997, and was succeeded by the Most Reverend Frank Griswold.