Johnson, Howard Albert

Howard Albert Johnson (1915–1974) was an Episcopal clergyman, theologian, author, and educator. He was born on October 8, 1915, to Mark Peter Johnson and Jessie Lulu (Howard). He earned an Associate of Arts degree from Riverside Junior College in 1934, a Bachelor of Arts from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1936, and a Bachelor of Divinity from Virginia Theological Seminary in 1939.

He was ordained to the diaconate in July 1939 and to the priesthood in March 1940 by Bishop Stevens of the Diocese of Fond du Lac. His early ministry included service as Vicar of St. Andrew’s Mission in Elsinore, California (1939–1940), and Minister of All Saints’ Church in Pasadena (1940–1941). In 1942, he worked as Assistant Student Worker at the Procter Foundation in Princeton, New Jersey. He then served as Assistant Minister of St. John’s Church in Washington, D.C. from 1943 to 1946. From 1946 to 1948, he was Assistant at St. Alban’s Church in Copenhagen and a Fellow of the American-Scandinavian Foundation.

Johnson was Associate Professor of Theology at the University of the South from 1949 to 1953 and served as Adjunct Professor of Religion at Columbia University from 1954 to 1958. Concurrently, he was Canon Theologian at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine in New York City from 1954 to 1964. He was a visiting lecturer in Hong Kong and Macao in 1969 and served briefly as Rector of St. Paul’s Church in Oakland, California (1969–1970).

In addition to his academic and clerical work, Johnson was an author, editor, and contributor to numerous theological and religious publications. He died on June 13, 1974.