John E. Hines

John Elbridge Hines (October 3, 1910 – July 19, 1997) was a bishop in the Episcopal Church in the United States. When he was elected the 22nd Presiding Bishop in 1965, at the age of 54, he was the youngest person to hold that office, which he held until 1974. Desmond Tutu, Archbishop of Cape Town, said Hines' movement to divest church-held assets in that nation played an important role in the demise of apartheid.

Hines was consecrated as bishop coadjutor of the Episcopal Diocese of Texas on October 18, 1945, and in 1955 became diocesan bishop. Hines responded to the riots following the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. by calling for social justice and self-determination, and launched the controversial General Convention Special Program.

In 1966, he expressed "vigorous support" for programs of population control, and noted that the Episcopal Church sponsored 15 birth control clinics in the U.S. and abroad. During his tenure, the church faced budgetary challenges necessitating staff layoffs.

Death and legacy During nearly two decades of retirement in North Carolina, Hines preached most summers at the Church of the Good Shepherd in Cashiers, North Carolina, where he was ultimately buried next to his wife, Helen Orwig, who died a year before he did. They were survived by four sons and a daughter. Hines died at Heartland Medical Center in Austin, Texas.