C053 (Withdrawl Of The Name Th Rev. William Porcher Dubose From The Lesser Feats And Fasts Calendar )

House of Bishops Message #72

The House of Bishops informs the House of Deputies that on Jul 8, 2022 it considered resolution C053 (Withdrawl Of The Name Th Rev. William Porcher Dubose From The Lesser Feats And Fasts Calendar ). The house acted to:

Take No Further Action

Resolved, the House of Deputies concurring,

That the Rev. William Porcher Dubose observed on every occurrence of August 18th in the liturgical year, be withdrawn from the Lesser Feasts and Fasts Calendar of the Church, and be it further

Resolved, that

  1. It is stated in the citation for The Rev. William Porcher Dubose, August 18th, that he was “possibly the greatest theologian the Episcopal Church has ever produced.”
  2. It also states, “He preached the faith as it is in Christ Jesus.”
  3. The truth is Rev. Dubose served as an officer in the Confederate Army, and
  4. The Rev. Dubose’s family owned 204 slaves.
  5. In all of his scholarly writings and teaching, there is never a mention that Rev. Dubose renounced slavery or his participation as a traitor against the United States by serving in the Confederate Army.
  6. The Episcopal Church should not be honoring a man who saw no conflict in teaching Jesus, but believing that Jesus would somehow condone the enslaving, killing, torturing and destroying families of a people, slaves or free.