Bishop Otis Charles

Edgar Otis Charles (called Otis; April 24, 1926 – December 26, 2013) was the eighth bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Utah. After his retirement in 1993, Charles publicly came out as gay, the first Christian bishop ever to take such a step. He relocated to San Francisco, where he helped to found the California branch of the Oasis Commission.

Obituary

The Right Reverend E. Otis Charles

1926 ~ 2013

The Right Reverend E. Otis Charles, DD, STD, Eighth Episcopal Bishop of Utah and known as "Otis" to all, will be interred in the Columbarium of the Cathedral Church of St. Mark in Salt Lake City, followed by a memorial service including Eucharist and celebration of his life on Saturday, June 7, 2014, at 11am.

Born April 24, 1926, in Norristown, Pennsylvania, Otis died on the afternoon of the Feast of St. Stephen, December 26, 2013, at the Coming Home Hospice in San Francisco. A memorial service was held at St. Gregory of Nyssa Episcopal Church in San Francisco on January 11, 2014.

Otis shepherded the Diocese of Utah from 1971 until 1986 and also served as Bishop-in-Charge of the Episcopal Church in Navajoland for two years during that time. He was active in the peace movement and opposition efforts to prevent Utah and Nevada becoming launch sites for the MX missile. He was Chair of the Board of St. Mark's Hospital and of Rowland Hall-St. Mark's School. He was instrumental in establishing Hospice of Salt Lake City. He served as chairman of the Church's Prayer Book Committee and as member of the Bishops' Committee on Racism.

In 1986, Otis was called to serve as Dean and President of the Episcopal Divinity School in Cambridge, Massachusetts, until retiring in 1993. In 1997, the Episcopal Divinity School announced a major gift to endow the Otis Charles Chair of Pastoral Theology. Following his relocation to San Francisco in 1993, Otis became the first bishop of any mainline church to publicly disclose his gay sexual orientation. In San Francisco, Otis served as Executive Director of Oasis/California, the gay and lesbian ministry of the Episcopal Diocese of California, as interim Dean of the School for Deacons serving northern California, as Bishop-in-Residence at the Church of St. John-the-Evangelist and as an Assisting Bishop.

Otis graduated from the General Theological Seminary in New York City and was ordained a priest in 1951. He married Elvira Latta that same year. Together, they were actively involved in the civil rights and peace movements.

Otis held a variety of Church roles in New York and Connecticut before moving to Utah. He served as vicar of St. Andrew's in Beacon, New York. He helped found two schools in Washington, Connecticut - the Washington Montessori School and Wykeham Rise School. During his time as a priest in the Diocese of Connecticut (1959-71), he served as rector of St. John's Parish in Washington, president of the Standing Committee and Deputy to General Convention.

Otis married Felipe Sanchez-Paris in 2008, following a commitment ceremony held in 2004. Sanchez-Paris died July 31, 2013; his ashes were interred in the Columbarium at St. Mark's Cathedral in Salt Lake City.

Otis is survived by his former wife, Elvira Latta Charles of Salt Lake City, with whom he stayed in close communication; five children - Christopher (Catherine Schereschewsky) Charles, Washington, Conn.; Nicholas (Louise Pryor) Charles, Woodland, Calif.; Emilie (Brian Wilkinson) Charles, Salt Lake City; Timothy (Janice Cohea) Charles, Cedar Rapids, Iowa; and Elvira Nelson, Salt Lake City; Felipe's four children; 11 grandchildren and four great-children.

The family wishes to extend much love and a deep debt of gratitude to Otis's San Francisco family, particularly Alfredo Casuso, David Perry and the Venerable Anthony Turney.

• Salt Lake Tribune, June 1, 2014

Sources

• Wikipedia: E. Otis Charles