Identity elements
Reference Number
Name and location of repository
Level of description
Title
Date(s)
- 1924-1990 (Creation)
Extent
1.25 cu.ft (2 boxes) and 105 GB
Name of creator
Content and structure elements
Scope and content
This archive documents the records created by John Shelby Spong as he conducted research for an unfinished biography of former Presiding Bishop John Elbridge Hines, whom Spong admired for his courageous civil rights activism. Included are audio interviews recorded with and about Hines between 1974 and 1975, fifty-three of which have been digitized by the Archives. Research materials related to Spong’s planning and execution of the project, as well as his gathered documentation on the various stages of Hines’ ministry, round out the collection.
Arrangement
Interviews with and about John Hines, 1974–1975 (audio recordings)
Spong Research Materials
Material Collected for the Hines Biography, 1924–1990
Conditions of access and use elements
Access conditions
Access to Episcopal Church records is governed by the Archives Public Access Policy. Research requests must be submitted in writing.
Technical access
Rights and permissions
The Archives is able to respond to limited requests for reproductions subject to copyright restrictions, internal policy, and the condition of the source documents.
Languages of the material
English
Scripts of the material
Language and script notes
Finding aids
Acquisition and appraisal elements
Custodial history
Accruals
Related materials elements
Existence and location of originals
Existence and location of copies
Related records and archives
Related descriptions
Notes element
Specialized notes
- Abstract: In 1974 the Rev. John Shelby Spong began researching with the intention of writing the biography of former Presiding Bishop John Elbridge Hines. Unsure of the final outcome, he wished to conduct the research for its own sake, and then make it available to the wider Church. The project was sponsored by his parish, St. Paul’s Church, Richmond, and compristed a committee of editorial advisors including the Rev. John Coburn, Bishop Robert Brown, and Bishop Scott Field Bailey. However, after being elected Bishop of Newark, Spong was forced to put the project aside. In 1984 Spong compiled a booklet titled “A Celebration of the Ministry of John Elbridge Hines: A Moment of Grace in the History of the Church” which paid tribute to Hines on the 50th anniversary of his ordination.
Alternative identifier(s)
Description control element
Access points
Subject access points
Place access points
Name access points
- Hines, John Elbridge (Subject)
- Spong, John Shelby (Subject)