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Conditions Governing Access

The collection is open for research.

Preferred Citation

Researchers wishing to cite this collection should include the following information: [identification of item], [box], [folder], Episcopal Diocese of Southwestern Virginia Records II, Ms2011-018, Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Va.

Acquisition Information

The Episcopal Diocese of Southwestern Virginia Records II were acquired by Special Collections and University Archives prior to 2011.

Processing Information

The processing, arrangement, and description of the Episcopal Diocese of Southwestern Virginia Records II was completed in February 2011.

Administrative History

The Episcopal Diocese of Southwestern Virginia was originally formed from the Diocese of Virginia, which was organized in 1795 and included the area that is now the states of Virginia and West Virginia. West Virginia achieved its statehood in 1863, and split from the Diocese in 1877. In 1892 the Diocese of Southern Virginia was formed, and in 1919 the western part of the diocese split off to form the Episcopal Diocese of Southwestern Virginia. Robert Carter Jett, D.D., of the Virginia Episcopal School, was consecrated Bishop of the Diocese in March 1920. He selected Roanoke as the headquarters, and St. John's for his parish church. Bishop Jett established a diocesan newsletter, encouraged interdenominational cooperation among the Protestant sects, and oversaw a program of church construction and the growth of mission schools. In 1938 Bishop Jett retired and Henry Disbrow Phillips assumed the duties of Bishop of the Diocese. Under Phillips' leadership, the Diocese continued to expand in parishioners and influence, most notably in the growth in the Diocese's function in education. William Henry Marmion became the third Bishop of Southwestern Virginia in May 1954, and led the Diocese through an era of social upheaval in the 1960s. Bishop Marmion was strongly against racial segregation, and was confronted with the problem of challenging the long-held beliefs of many of his parishioners while integrating blacks into the church at the same time. The 1960s and 1970s also saw women pushing for a higher status in society, and the Diocese saw women increasingly become part of the church leadership as lay readers, deacons, and priests. Bishop Marmion also guided his parish into accepting the revisions of the Book of Common Prayer. Bishop Marmion retired in 1979, and Bishop Heath Light assumed leadership that same year.

The Standing Committee of the diocese meets under the authority of the Canons of General Convention and the Diocese of Southwestern Virginia. The Standing Committee is primarily concerned with issues of ordination, clergy discipline, and real property.

See Hills of the Lord: the Background of the Episcopal Church in Southwestern Virginia, 1738-1938 by Katherine L. Brown (1979) or http://www.dioswva.org/about/our_history.html for more information on the early history of the Diocese.

For more information on individual churches in the diocese, including those in the collection, visit the diocese website at http://www.dioswva.org/index.html .

Scope and Content

The collection includes accounting records, attendance records, documents from the diocese, bills, correspondence, and service programs for five churches and one diocese organization. The records contain Christ Church of Roanoke, Christ Church of Schuyler, St. Andrew's in Galax, St. John's in Roanoke, and Saint Peter's in Roanoke, as well as those of the diocese Standing Committee.

Arrangement

The collection is divided into six series based on organization.

Series I: Christ Church, Roanoke contains correspondence, expenses, tithe pledges, 50th Anniversary materials, minutes of the vestry and congregation, order book, and tithe reports. This series arranged by type of material. Folders for each material type are in chronological order. Items within each folder are in their original, reverse chronological order.

Series II: Christ Church, Schuyler consists of expense records, correspondence, Woman's Auxiliary, Sunday School supply magazine, and Parochial reports. These materials are organized in alphabetical order by type of the materials. Within each file, the materials are in chronological order.

Series III: St. Andrew's of Galax has a single service records book (March 4, 1956 - August 20, 1967).

Series IV: St. John's of Roanoke includes pages of correspondence from 1936-1940. Some correspondence deals with expenses. Letters are in chronological order.

Series V: St. Peter's of Roanoke comprises a single book of minutes for the Vestry meetings (Jan. 7, 1917 - Feb. 22, 1957).

Series VI: Standing Committee contains correspondence, council meeting records, and signed Canon 9, section I, subsection III change documents. This series arranged by type of material. Folders for each material type are in chronological order. Items within each folder are in chronological order.

Related Material

Additional information on the churches in this collection and the diocese in general may also be found the following collections also at Virginia Tech Special Collections and University Archives:

Subjects and Indexing Terms

• Christ Episcopal Church (1917-) (Roanoke, Va.)
• Christ Episcopal Church (Schuyler, Va.)
• Episcopal Church. Diocese of Southwestern Virginia
• Episcopal Church. Diocese of Southwestern Virginia. Standing Committee
• Local/Regional History and Appalachian South
• Religion
• St. Andrew's Episcopal Church (Galax, Va.)
• St. John's Episcopal Church (Roanoke, Va.)
• St. Peter's Episcopal Church (Roanoke, Va.)
• Virginia, Southwest

Rights Statement for Archival Description

The guide to the Episcopal Diocese of Southwestern Virginia Records II by Special Collections and University Archives, Virginia Tech, is licensed under a CC0 ( https://creativecommons.org/share-your- work/public-domain/cc0/ ).