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Bishop Belden Of Rhode Island Dies

Episcopal News Service. November 8, 1979 [79340]

DENVER -- The Rt. Rev. Frederick Hesley Belden, Episcopal Bishop of Rhode Island, died Nov. 4 in the hospital here where he had been under treatment since Sept. 8.

Bishop Belden suffered a heart seizure shortly after arriving in Denver for the Episcopal Church's triennial General Convention, was hospitalized and underwent surgery to close a hole in his heart. A spokesman for the hospital said the exact cause of death was not known but that "we assume it was due to coronary failure."

The burial office and eucharist were celebrated Nov. 8 at St. John's Cathedral, Providence, after cremation in Denver.

Bishop Belden, 70, had announced his intention to retire next spring. The election of his successor, a bishop coadjutor for the diocese, had already been scheduled for November 30.

A native of Watertown, N.Y., Bishop Belden was a graduate of Hartwick College and the General Theological Seminary. He was ordained deacon in 1935 and priest a year later.

From his ordination until 1949, Bishop Belden served parishes in the Diocese of Albany where he was also a member of the department of Christian education and a delegate to the Provincial Synod.

In 1949, he was called as rector of St. Paul's Church, North Kingston, R.I., and remained there until he was consecrated bishop coadjutor of the diocese in 1971. He succeeded as bishop in 1972.

He was a member of the Department of Mission in the Diocese of Rhode Island, 1950-1952, a member of the Examining Chaplains, 1954-1958, and chairman in 1958, and a member of the Committee on Canons, 1955-1958. He served two four-year terms on the Diocesan Council and was a member of the Ecclesiastical Court for several years. He also was a member of the Department of Christian Education in the Diocese of Rhode Island.

Bishop Belden was deputy to General Convention from the Diocese of Rhode Island in 1958, 1961, 1964, 1967, 1969 and 1970. He was president of the Rhode Island State Council of Churches in 1964-1065.

Bishop Belden was married to Dorothy Elizabeth Reumann on November 26, 1936, and they had four children.

Throughout his episcopate, Bishop Belden concentrated on pastoral issues and, according to a diocesan spokesman, was largely responsible for bringing a sense of unity to the small, diverse diocese. He was also deeply involved in providing leadership on hunger issues, a major concern of diocesan churches.