At the time of Albert Rhett Stuart's election in 1954, many of the cultural challenges that would try the church during his episcopacy in the 1950s into the 70s were just taking shape. The diocesan office was still in the basement of Christ Church, Savannah, and even three years into his episcopacy there were but 9,976 communicants in the Diocese of Georgia.  He served as diocesan bishop through 1971, by which time the diocese had grown to 12,180 communicants.

A brief history of Bishop Stuart's tenure as diocesan bishop sixth Bishop of Georgia was recently written by Bishop Harry Shipps as part of a diocesan history project. As Shipps writes of Stuart, "The epitome of a Southern gentleman, he had impeccable credentials, strong leadership skills, and innate wisdom, all of which served him well as the storm clouds of racial unrest appeared over the South. He was a trusted leader in the Savannah community, and along with Mayor Malcolm Maclean and a committee of 100 leading Savannah business and professional people, effectively moved the community and diocese into a positive, affirming, and cooperative position, avoiding racial crisis during the early years of the Civil Rights movement."

In the coming weeks, we will share his histories of the three bishops who succeeded Bishop Stuart. The first of this series is online here: Bishop Stuart's Episcopacy.