
                         Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, May 10, 1993                   TAG: 9305100088
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C4   EDITION: METRO 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: ALEXANDRIA                                LENGTH: Short

1ST BLACK BISHOP ELECTED BY VA. EPISCOPALIANS

The Rev. Canon Antoine Lamont Campbell says the South's racial history made his election as Virginia's first Episcopal bishop an even bigger surprise.

"I went outside and let out a scream that I'm surprised you didn't hear in Washington," Campbell said of his reaction to the election results.

The Episcopal Diocese of Virginia chose Campbell and the Rev. Canon Frank Clayton Matthews as the state's new assistant bishops at its May 1 meeting in Alexandria.

Campbell said he hugged his wife and gathered his three children together at their Charleston, S.C., home to share the news: Their father would be the first black bishop in the 207-year-old Episcopal Diocese of Virginia.

At age 38, Campbell also will be the youngest member of the Episcopal Church's 250-member House of Bishops.

by CNB