Hines, John Elbridge | South Carolina Public Radio

“H” is for Hines, John Elbridge [1910-1997]. Clergyman. Civil Rights advocate. A native of Seneca, Hines graduated from Sewanee and Virginia Theological Seminary. After being ordained an Episcopal priest, he served churches in St. Louis, Augusta, and Houston. In 1945, he was consecrated bishop coadjutor of the diocese of Texas and in 1955 became that diocese' fourth bishop. He was elected Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in 1964. Hines was committed to racial and social justice and led the Episcopal Church into an era of social activism in the 1960s. He was also a leader of the ecumenical movement and supported the National Council of Churches of Christ in the United States and the Consultation on Church Union. John Elbridge Hines is the only native South Carolinian to serve as presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church.