IN MEMORIAM: Peter Lee, Interim Dean 2010-2011

The Rt. Rev. Peter James Lee, 12th Bishop of the Diocese of Virginia, died in Chapel Hill, North Carolina on July 2, 2022, aged 84.

Bishop Lee served for 25 years (1984 to 2009) as Bishop of Virginia. During his tenure he ordained more than 200 people to the priesthood; helped to strengthen the Church Schools in the Diocese of Virginia; oversaw major capital improvements to the two diocesan conference centers, Roslyn in Richmond, and Shrine Mont in Orkney Springs; developed a partner relationship with the Diocese of Christ the King in South Africa; and established a program to give financial assistance to diocesan youth to make mission trips. He also helped to establish the Triangle of Hope, a covenantal relationship between the Dioceses of Virginia, Liverpool, England and now the Diocese of Kumasi, Ghana. The Triangle of Hope promotes reconciliation and healing from the three dioceses’ shared history in the slave trade.

One of the hallmarks of Bishop Lee’s episcopate was his vote in 2003 to confirm Gene Robinson ’73 as the first openly gay bishop in The Episcopal Church. In a 2009 interview with the Virginia Episcopalian, Lee said the biggest disappointment in his tenure involved the 11 congregations that left the Episcopal church in objection to Robinson’s ordination. “I’m very saddened that they didn’t think they could remain in a diocese with people with whom they disagree,” he said, adding that the arc of the church “bends toward including all people in the life of the church.”

Lee noted that some of the highlights of his career were meeting Nelson Mandela, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and being presented to the Queen of England. Another legacy he leaves to the Diocese of Virginia is a fund established in his name, the Peter James Lee Fund for Small Church Revitalization. The endowment fund was established in 2001 and its purpose it to assist small churches in their revitalization, preservation and expansion primarily of their facilities.

While Bishop Lee eventually found his way to seminary, ordained ministry was not his first career. Prior to his call to ministry, Bishop Lee served as an Army Intelligence Officer (61-62), then as a journalist for several newspapers, including the Richmond Times-Dispatch. He enrolled in Duke University Law School in 1963, but it was during his first year that he felt his call to ordained ministry. It was also the year he met his wife, Kristy Margaret Knapp.

Bishop Lee graduated from Virginia Theological Seminary in 1967. From 1968-1970, he served as Assistant Rector of St. John’s Lafayette Square, then became rector of Chapel of the Cross, Chapel Hill, NC, where he served from 1971 – 1984. While rector, Lee invited Pauli Murray ’76 to celebrate her first Holy Eucharist at the chapel where her grandmother had been baptized. 

Lee was elected Bishop Coadjutor of the Diocese of Virginia in 1984 and while Bishop served in many leadership positions in the wider Episcopal Church and the Anglican Communion, including as President of the Presiding Bishop’s Fund for World Relief (1987-1993); President, American Friends of the Diocese of Jerusalem (1989-1996); Chairman, Board of Trustees, VTS (1993 – 2009); Chaplain, Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul, Washington, DC (1994-2000) and Chairman of The Friends of Canterbury Cathedral in the United States (2003 – 2018).

After resigning as Bishop of Virginia in 2009, Lee continued his distinguished career in ministry serving as Interim Dean of Grace Cathedral, San Francisco from 2009-2010, Interim Dean of General (2010-2011), and Interim Dean of the American Cathedral in Paris (2012-2013). In 2013, he was elected Provisional Bishop of the Diocese of East Carolina, where he served as an Interim Bishop until 2014. He then served in a variety of other ministries including Interim Rector, Christ Church, Georgetown, (2015 – 2017); Assisting Bishop, Diocese of North Carolina and Bishop-in-Residence, Chapel of the Cross, Chapel Hill, NC.

Bishop Lee is survived by his wife, Kristina Knapp Lee, daughter Stewart, son James, and several grandchildren.

Funeral details are still being planned.

From the Diocese of Virginia and the Richmond Times-Dispatch 7/3/2022