View source for Ray Sutton

{{Infobox Christian leader
| type        = Bishop
| honorific_prefix = [[The Most Reverend]]
| name        = Ray Sutton
| honorific_suffix = [[Doctor of Divinity|D.D.]], [[Doctor of Theology|D.Th.]]
| title       = Presiding Bishop of the [[Reformed Episcopal Church]]
| image       = Bishop-ray-sutton.png
| alt         = Bishop Sutton presents an icon to the Anglican Deaconesses Association.
| caption     = Bishop Sutton presents an icon to the Anglican Deaconesses Association.
| church      = [[Reformed Episcopal Church]], [[Anglican Church in North America]]
| archdiocese =
| diocese     = [[Diocese of Mid-America|Mid-America]]
| see         =
| term        = 2016–present
| predecessor = [[Royal U. Grote Jr.]]
| successor   =
<!--   Orders   -->
| ordination     =
| ordinated_by   =
| consecration   = July 29, 1999
| consecrated_by = [[Leonard W. Riches]]
| rank           =
<!--   Personal details   -->
| birth_name    = Raymond Ronny Sutton
| birth_date    = {{birth date and age|1950|08|28}}
| birth_place   = [[Louisville, Kentucky]]
| death_date    =
| death_place   =
| other_post    =
| alma_mater    = {{unbulleted list | [[Southern Methodist University]] | [[Dallas Theological Seminary]] | [[Wycliffe Hall, Oxford]]}}
| spouse        = Susan Jean Schaerdel
| children      = 7
}}'''Raymond Ronny Sutton''' (born 1950) is an American Anglican bishop. He was [[bishop]] [[coadjutor]] in the [[Diocese of Mid-America]] of the [[Reformed Episcopal Church]], since 1999, a founding member of the [[Anglican Church in North America]], in 2009. He is the former Rector of the [[Church of the Holy Communion (Dallas)|Church of the Holy Communion]] in [[Dallas, Texas]], president and Professor of Scripture and Theology at Cranmer Theological House in [[Houston, Texas]], and headmaster of Holy Communion Christian Academy (formerly Bent Tree Episcopal School).<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.benttreeschool.org/content/view/13/30/#Bishop_Ray_Sutton |title=Bent Tree Episcopal School - Faculty and Staff |access-date=October 20, 2009 |archive-date=January 18, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110118212656/http://www.benttreeschool.org/content/view/13/30#Bishop_Ray_Sutton |url-status=dead}}</ref> Sutton was born in [[Louisville, Kentucky]], and moved to Dallas at age thirteen.

He is currently head of the Ecumenical Relations Committee of the Anglican Church of North America.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.allsaintsanglicanshreveport.com/ |title=All Saints Anglican Church Shreveport Louisiana Traditional |access-date=October 17, 2022 |language=en |quote=He is also the Dean of the Province and Ecumenical Affairs of the Anglican Church in North America (ACNA), ... |archive-date=July 1, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220701110636/https://www.allsaintsanglicanshreveport.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref name="acna.sutton.2017.10.17">{{Cite web |url=https://anglicanchurch.net/bishop-ray-sutton-installed-as-new-presiding-bishop-of-the-reformed-episcopal-church/ |title=Bishop Ray Sutton Installed As New Presiding Bishop Of The Reformed Episcopal Church |website=[[Anglican Church in North America]] |date=June 15, 2017 |language=en |access-date=October 17, 2022 |archive-date=September 27, 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200927101835/https://anglicanchurch.net/bishop-ray-sutton-installed-as-new-presiding-bishop-of-the-reformed-episcopal-church/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

He took over the leadership of the Reformed Episcopal Church and the [[Diocese of Mid-America]] on November 24, 2016, upon the death of [[Royal U. Grote Jr.]], on a provisional level, with his installation taking place on June 15, 2017.<ref name="acna.sutton.2017.10.17"/><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.rechurch.org/news.html#BishopGrote |title=News - Reformed Episcopal Church |website=www.rechurch.org |access-date=November 26, 2016 |archive-date=November 26, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20161126064629/http://www.rechurch.org/news.html#BishopGrote |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.virtueonline.org/dallas-bishop-ray-sutton-installed-new-presiding-bishop-reformed-episcopal-church |title=DALLAS: Bishop Ray Sutton installed as new Presiding Bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church, Virtue Online, 15 June 2017 |access-date=August 3, 2017 |archive-date=June 22, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170622010046/http://virtueonline.org/dallas-bishop-ray-sutton-installed-new-presiding-bishop-reformed-episcopal-church |url-status=live }}</ref>

==Personal life==
Sutton is married to Susan Jean Schaerdel of Dallas. They have seven children and 8 grandchildren.<ref name="acna.sutton.2017.10.17"/>

==Education==
* Bachelor of Fine Arts [B.F.A.] – [[Southern Methodist University]] in (1972)
* Master of Theology [Th.M.] – [[Dallas Theological Seminary]] (1976)
* Doctor of Philosophy [Ph.D.] – [[Wycliffe Hall]], [[Oxford University]], in association with [[Coventry University]] (1998)
* Doctor of Theology (hon.) – Central School of Religion
* Doctor of Divinity (hon.) – [https://www.cumminstheoseminary.org Cummins Theological Seminary]

==Career==
[[File:Church of the Holy Communion in North Dallas, Texas.jpg|right|thumb|250px|Church of the Holy Communion in North Dallas, Texas. Seat of Bishop Ray Sutton.]]
Sutton served in parish ministry from 1976 until 1991. He was a co-pastor with [[James B. Jordan]] of Westminster Presbyterian Church in [[Tyler, Texas]], which was a prominent church in the [[Christian Reconstructionist]] movement. Other members included [[Gary North (economist)|Gary North]] and [[David Chilton]]. The church belonged to the [[Westminster Presbyterian Church (Tyler, Texas)|Westminster Presbyterian Church]] of the [[Association of Reformation Churches]] in America. North praised Sutton for uncovering that [[Meredith G. Kline]]'s five-point covenant model applied to the whole Bible, and that it applies to three covenant institutions of family, state and church.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/docs/a_pdfs/newslet/cr/8803.pdf |title=Stones and Cornerstones in Christian Reconstruction |magazine=Christian Reconstruction |volume=12 |number=2 |date=1988 |language=en |publisher=Institute for Christian Economics |access-date=October 17, 2022 |archive-date=August 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819171820/http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/docs/a_pdfs/newslet/cr/8803.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/docs/a_pdfs/newslet/position/8701.pdf |title=Chilton, Sutton, and Dominion Theology |last1=North |first1=Gary |author1-link=Gary North (economist) |date=March 25, 1997 |language=en |website=garynorth.com |access-date=October 17, 2022 |archive-date=August 19, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220819171826/http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/docs/a_pdfs/newslet/position/8701.pdf |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite book |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=V5rmIKKLwDAC&q=gary+north%2C+ray+sutton&pg=PA39 |title=The Covenantal Kingdom: A Brief Summary of the Biblical Argument for Postmillennialism |isbn=9781930092235 |last1=Smith |first1=Ralph |year=1999 |access-date=January 2, 2021 |archive-date=October 17, 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221017182808/https://books.google.com/books?id=V5rmIKKLwDAC&q=gary+north%2C+ray+sutton&pg=PA39 |url-status=live }}</ref>

Sutton served as Dean and Associate Professor of New Testament at the [[Reformed Episcopal Seminary]] in Philadelphia from 1991 until 1995; and Dean and Professor of Theology at [[Cranmer Theological House]] in Shreveport, Louisiana from 1995 until 2001. Since the Synod of the Reformed Episcopal Diocese of Mid America in February 2013, he is once again the president of Cranmer Theological House based in the Houston area. Cranmer House also supports a satellite campus in Dallas at Sutton's parish, The Church of the Holy Communion (The DMA Pro Cathedral).

Sutton was ordained a bishop coadjutor of the Reformed Episcopal Church in 1999 and arrived at the Church of the Holy Communion in 2001.

==Works==
Sutton has authored several theology works:
* ''[[Daniel Waterland|The Sacramental Theology of Daniel Waterland]]'' (Doctoral Thesis—Coventry University), 1998.
* ''Signed, Sealed and Delivered: A Study of Holy Baptism'', Classical Anglican Press, Houston, TX (2001). {{ISBN|1-893293-54-8}}
* [https://www.stevemacias.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/captains_and_courts-1.pdf ''Captains and Courts, a Biblical Defense of Episcopal Government''].
* ''Second Chance: Biblical Principals of Divorce and Remarriage, Biblical Hope for the Divorced, Biblical Blueprint Series Vol. #10'', The Institute for Christian Economics, (1988).
* ''That You May Prosper : Dominion by Covenant'', The Institute for Christian Economics, (1987).
* [http://freebooks.entrewave.com/freebooks/docs/a_pdfs/rswf.pdf ''Who Owns the Family? : God or the State? Biblical Blueprint Series Vol. #03''] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060505034441/http://freebooks.entrewave.com/freebooks/docs/a_pdfs/rswf.pdf |date=May 5, 2006 }}, Dominion Press, [[Ft. Worth, TX]], (1986).
* Ray Sutton, [[David Chilton]], [[Gary DeMar]], Victoria T. deVries, Michael Gilstrap, ''[[Power for Living]]'', Arthur S. DeMoss Foundation, (1983).

===Articles===
* [http://www.garynorth.com/freebooks/docs/a_pdfs/newslet/sutton/8804.pdf Sutton, Ray R. "Covenantal Evil." Covenant Renewal 2 (1988) 4.]
* Sutton, Ray R. "Oath and Symbol." Covenant Renewal 3 (1989) 4: 1–4.
* Sutton, Ray R. "Clothing and Calling." in The Reconstruction of the Church. Christianity and Civilization Vol 4. ed. [[James B. Jordan]]. Tyler, Texas: Geneva Ministries, (1985).
* Sutton, Ray R. "The Saturday Night Church and the Liturgical Nature of Man." in The Reconstruction of the Church. Christianity and Civilization Vol 4. ed. [[James B. Jordan]]. [[Tyler, Texas]]: Geneva Ministries, (1985).
* Ray R. Sutton, "The Church as a Shadow Government," Christianity and Civilization III: Tactics of Christian Resistance, Geneva Divinity School, (1983).
* Ray Sutton, "The Baptist Failure", Christianity & Civilization, [[James B. Jordan]], ed., Geneva Divinity School, (1982).

===Editor===
* ''What is Anglicanism?'', Latimer Press (2004), by Mark F.&nbsp;M. Clavier, co-edited by Ray Sutton and Peter C. Moore.

==References==
{{Reflist}}

== External links ==
* {{commons category-inline}}

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{{S-bef|rows=2|before=[[Royal U. Grote Jr.]]}}
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{{S-ttl|title=[[Reformed Episcopal Church|Presiding Bishop of the Reformed Episcopal Church]]|years=2017–present}}
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{{Christian Reconstructionism}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sutton, Ray}}
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