Jefferts Schori, Katharine, 1954–, American Episcopal bishop, b. Pensacola, Fla. An oceanographer (Ph.D. Oregon State Univ., 1983) who had worked with the National Marine Fisheries Service, she was ordained an Episcopal priest in 1994 and served in Corvallis, Oreg., until she was elected bishop of the Nevada diocese in 2001. In 2006 she was elected presiding bishop of the Episcopal Church, becoming the first woman to head a member church of the Anglican Communion. Her tenure was marked by the tensions over homosexuality and woman bishops, and saw a number of conservatives leave the church. She was succeeded (2015) as presiding bishop by Michael Bruce Curry.
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