John Williams

John Williams (August 30, 1817 – February 7, 1899) was the fourth bishop of the Diocese of Connecticut and eleventh presiding bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America.

Early life Williams was born at Deerfield, Massachusetts, the son of Ephraim Williams and Emily (Trowbridge) Williams. He was educated at Deerfield Academy, Harvard and at Trinity College, Hartford, where he graduated in 1835. Although his parents were Unitarian, Williams's time at Harvard convinced him to join the Protestant Episcopal Church. He was ordained deacon in 1838 and priest in 1841. He was the 53rd bishop of the American Episcopalian succession, and was consecrated by Bishops Thomas Church Brownell, John Henry Hopkins, and William Heathcote DeLancey. In 1896, he was acknowledged as the senior bishop in the Anglican communion.

Works Among his published works are: Thoughts on the Gospel Miracles (1848) The English Reformation (Paddock Lectures, 1881) The World's Witness to Jesus Christ (Bedell Lectures, 1882) Studies in the Book of the Acts (1888)