When the Rt. Rev. Robert Lionne DeWitt was elected Bishop of Pennsylvania in 1964, the quiet and low-key New England native was (and the record stands) the youngest person to hold that position. Given his background and temperament, what surprised many was his relentless advocacy for the full inclusion of women in ordained orders and his anti-Vietnam War stance. Bishop DeWitt died Nov. 21 in Saratoga Springs, N.Y. He was 87.

In 1974, he was one of several bishops who ordained 11 women as priests at Church of the Advocate in Philadelphia. He resigned that same year in order to become editor of The Witness magazine and president of the Episcopal Church Publishing Co.

After the women were ordained, the Episcopal Church debated whether the ordinations were valid before eventually concluding in 1976 that they were “valid but irregular.” At the 1999 celebration commemorating the event, Bishop DeWitt modestly credited the 11 women with making history and claimed “The bishops were only accessories.”