When Cheshire resigned his rectorate of St. Peter's in 1893 to become assistant bishop of the Diocese of North Carolina, he left in the parish a record difficult for any future rector to equal. In the course of his twelve years at St. Peter's he had increased its membership from one hundred and thirty-seven to two hundred and sixty-three. He organized and established St. Martin's parish, St. Michael and All Angels' mission for Negroes, St. Mark's mission at Mecklenburg, and St. Paul's mission at Monroe. He sponsored the building of St. Peter's and the Good Samaritan hospitals, and assisted Rev. E. A. Osborne in establishing the Thompson Orphanage. These were significant accomplishments for a rectorate of twelve years. But as almost everyone else, Cheshire also experienced some failures. In his attempts to establish missions at Rockingham, Mooresville, and Mount Mourne, he had not been successful. However, balanced against his successes, these failures seem small. CHAPTER IV _Election to the Episcopate_ Theodore Benedict Lyman was elected assistant bishop of North Carolina in 1873, and upon the death of Bishop Thomas Atkinson in 1881 he assumed the control of the Diocese. In 1891 he celebrated in Christ Church, Raleigh, the fiftieth anniversary of his ordination to the priesthood. By this time the Bishop had begun to show signs that the duties of his office were becoming too arduous for his failing strength. It was not until two years later, however, that he felt that he must ask for assistance in his Episcopal duties. When the diocesan convention met in Christ Church, Raleigh, on May 17, 1893, Bishop Lyman brought to the attention of the body his failing health and the necessity of conserving his strength. He stated he would welcome any suggestions on the subject the convention saw fit to make. The subject of assisting the Bishop was taken under consideration immediately, and a committee was appointed to study how best this might be accomplished. The following day this committee recommended, in the form of several resolutions, that Bishop Lyman should be relieved of a part of his official work by the election of an assistant bishop; that when the convention completed its present session it should adjourn to meet again in Raleigh on June 27 to elect an assistant bishop; and that the present convention should take steps towards determining a salary for the new office. The resolutions were adopted in their entirety.