Jane Dixon


Jane Holmes Dixon was an American bishop of the Episcopal Church. She was a suffragan bishop in the Episcopal Diocese of Washington and served as Bishop of Washington pro tempore from 2001 to June 2002. She was the second woman consecrated as a bishop in the Episcopal Church. She died unexpectedly in her sleep in her home in Cathedral Heights on Christmas Day morning in 2012.

Personal life

Dixon was born in Winona, Mississippi in 1937 and, after graduating from Vanderbilt University, spent her early life as a teacher and mother, raising three children.

Theological education

Dixon enrolled at Virginia Theological Seminary at the age of 40, receiving her Master of Divinity degree in 1982. She later received the degree of Doctor of Divinity in 1993.

As Bishop of Washington ''pro tempore''

During her tenure as bishop pro tempore, Dixon sued in federal court to remove a priest, Samuel Edwards, from his position as a parish rector in Accokeek, Maryland. She had refused to approve Edwards's appointment early in 2001, since Edwards opposed the Episcopal Church's beliefs about female and homosexual clergy. Following several months of acrimony, Dixon filed suit to have Edwards removed. The court ruled in her favor in October 2001. After several appeals, the initial decision stood. She retired following the election of the Right Rev. John B. Chane.