Provost Peggy Agouris of the College of William & Mary has written in tribute to David Lynn Holmes, Walter G. Mason Professor of Religious Studies, Emeritus, who died on April 29:
Professor Holmes will long be remembered as one of W&M’s “greats” — an eminently knowledgeable and inspired lecturer, possessed with wry humor and a penchant for pranks. His legendary tenure of 46 years permitted him to teach, advise, and counsel more than one generation within a family of alumni.
… Professor Holmes was a nationally recognized American church historian. Raised as a Congregationalist, he became an Episcopalian. He considered himself “the lowest of Low Church Episcopalians.” When attending church, he delighted in singing the hymns. His knowledge of the colonial church in Virginia seemed endless. His published books include A Brief History of the Episcopal Church, The Faiths of the Founding Fathers, The Faiths of the Postwar Presidents: From Truman to Obama. In 2022 he published his final book, a collection of vignettes about life at William & Mary entitled Glimpses of a Public Ivy: 50 Years at William & Mary.
… A service to remember and celebrate the life of Professor David Holmes will be held at historic Bruton Parish Episcopal Church, Duke of Gloucester Street, Williamsburg, Virginia, on Saturday, July 15, 2023, at 1 p.m.
Read on at William & Mary News
Douglas LeBlanc is the Associate Editor for Book Reviews and writes about Christianity and culture. He and his wife, Monica, attend St. John’s Parish Church on Johns Island, South Carolina.
