Bishop John Shelby Spong, a liberal theologian and ally who championed women's and LGBTQ ordinations and rights, died September 12 peacefully in his sleep at his Richmond, Virginia home.
He was 90. Mr. Spong grew up in Charlotte, North Carolina with fundamentalist Christian parents, though he would spend the rest of his adult life rejecting biblical literalism.
Mr. Spong was ordained an Episcopal priest in 1955 after receiving a master's degree in divinity from Virginia Theological Seminary.
While serving at Southern churches, he preached against racism. When Mr. Spong was appointed rector at St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Richmond in the early 1970s, he removed the Confederate flag that had flown above the building.