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Robert Westly Peach

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Robert Westly Peach

Presiding Bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church
ChurchReformed Episcopal Church
DioceseNew York and Philadelphia Synod
In office1922–1930
PredecessorRobert Livingston Rudolph
SuccessorFrank V. C. Cloak
Other post(s)Bishop of the New York and Philadelphia Synod, 1930–1936
Orders
ConsecrationMay 23, 1924
by Robert Livingston Rudolph
Personal details
BornNovember 27, 1863
DiedDecember 23, 1936(1936-12-23) (aged 73)
Upper Darby Township, Pennsylvania, United States
SpouseHarriet
Children3

Robert Westly Peach (November 27, 1863 — December 23, 1936) was an American Reformed Episcopal bishop and hymnologist. He was presiding bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church and bishop of its New York and Philadelphia Synod from 1930 until his death in 1936. He was also known for his collection of 6,000 hymnals—at the time of his death, the largest such collection in private ownership.[1][2]

Biography

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Peach was born in 1863[2] and educated at Boston University. He began pastoral ministry in 1890 in Ashtabula, Ohio, later serving as pastor of Second Presbyterian Church in Camden, New Jersey.[1] He was received into the Reformed Episcopal Church in 1907 and pastored Emmanuel R.E.C. in Newark, New Jersey, for 17 years.[3][1] In 1924, he was set apart as a bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church.

Within the Reformed Episcopal Church, Peach was a professor of church history at Reformed Episcopal Seminary and held several denominational offices.[2] He was also an executive committee member of the Federal Council of Churches.[1] In 1924, he was consecrated as coadjutor bishop of the New York and Philadelphia Synod.[4]

Peach succeeded Robert Livingston Rudolph as presiding bishop and bishop of the New York and Philadelphia synod in 1930, serving until his own death in 1936. At the time of his death, he was married to Harriet, and they had three surviving children.[1]

Legacy

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After his death, Peach's collection of 6,000 hymnals—the largest in private hands at that time and which he had spent his lifetime assembling—was acquired by the American Antiquarian Society.[2] The Peach collection continues to form the core of the Society's collections of hymnbooks. Peach also annotated John Julian's 1907 Dictionary of Hymnology.[5]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e "Bishop R. W. Peach dies in Upper Darby". Evening Courier. December 24, 1936. p. 4. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
  2. ^ a b c d Vail, R. W. G. (October 1939). "Report of the Librarian" (PDF). Proceedings of the American Antiquarian Society: 257–258. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
  3. ^ "REPORT OF THE STANDING COMMITTEE OF THE NEW YORK AND PHILADELPHIA SYNOD" (PDF). Journal of the Nineteenth General Council of the Reformed Episcopal Church. 1909. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
  4. ^ "EVENING SESSION" (PDF). Journal of the Twenty-Fourth General Council of the Reformed Episcopal Church: 137–138. 1924. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
  5. ^ "Hymnals". American Antiquarian Society. Retrieved 14 May 2025.
Religious titles
Preceded by Bishop Ordinary of the New York and Philadelphia Synod
1930–1936
Succeeded by
Presiding Bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church
1930–1936
Succeeded by