Brydon, George MacLaren

(June 27, 1875-Sept. 26, 1963). Priest and church historian. He was born in Danville, Virginia. Brydon received his B.A. from Roanoke College, Salem, Virginia, in 1896, and his B.D. from Virginia Theological Seminary in 1899. He was ordained deacon on June 23, 1899, and priest on May 31, 1900. Brydon was deacon-in-charge of Randolph Parish, Halifax County, 1899-1900; assistant at Emmanuel Church, Baltimore, 1900-1901, and again 1904-1907; rector of St. Paul's Church, Hamilton, as well as Mt. Calvary, Round Hill, and Christ Church, Lucketts, all in Loundon County, 1901-1904; rector of Trinity Church, Morgantown, West Virginia, 1907-1911; rector of St. Paul's and Hanover Parishes in King George County, 1911-1914; Richmond City Missionary, 1914-1917; and rector of St. Mark's Church, Richmond, 1917-1919. He was executive secretary and treasurer of the Diocese of Virginia, 1919-1940, and the Archdeacon of Colored Work, 1914-1930 and 1937-1941. He made many of his most significant contributions as historiographer of the Diocese of Virginia. His major work was Virginia's Mother Church and the Political Conditions Under Which It Grew, 2 vols. (1947, 1952). He died in Richmond, Virginia.