1st Black Bishop Elected in L.A. Episcopal Diocese
Delegates to a convention of Episcopal religious leaders in Los Angeles voted Saturday to elect the Rev. Chester L. Talton as suffragan (assistant) bishop of the six-county Episcopal Diocese of Los Angeles. Talton, rector of a Harlem church, is the first black priest to become a bishop in the diocese.
Talton, 48, who was a priest at St. Philip’s Church in New York, is the sixth suffragan bishop in the diocese’s 94-year history. He succeeds the Right Rev. Oliver B. Garver Jr., who retires June 30 to serve as chaplain of Harvard School in Studio City.
Serving under Bishop Frederick H. Borsch, Talton will oversee the 80,000-member diocese’s congregations and institutions.
“I look forward to working with laity and clergy to address the many issues the church faces today,” Talton said.
The diocese encompasses all of Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles, Orange and San Bernardino counties as well as a section of Riverside County.
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