Called to be Bishop of the Episcopal Church's Diocese of Virginia in a critical period of the Church's history, Richard Channing Moore brought selfless dedication and a charismatic style to the weakened Church. From 1814 until his death in 1841 in Lynchburg where he was visiting his parishes he tirelessly worked to build a strong Diocese. His cathedral church was Monumental Church in Richmond.

    Bishop Moore's epitaph in Hollywood cemetery in Richmond reads:

"Richard Channing Moore, D.D. was born in New York, August 21, 1762. He labored faithfully and successfully in the ministry of the Protestant Episcopal Church 54 years. He was rector of the Monumental Church in Richmond, and Bishop of the Diocese of Virginia 27 years. In the Convention that called him to the Episcopate, there were only 7 members. At the time of his death there were 95 clergy in the Diocese of Virginia. He died in Lynchburg, Virginia, Nov. 11th, 1841, at the age of 79."

 

The "M" shown in the upper left corner is the Bishop's signet ring. The picture is from a portrait handed down in the family for several generations.