The Rt. Rev. Morgan Porteus, who served the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut, died last month at the age of 102.

Porteus, born in Hartford on Aug. 10, 1917, served as the 11th Bishop of the Connecticut Diocese from 1977 through his retirement in 1981. He died at his home in Wellfleet, Mass. on Dec. 15.

At 102 years old he was still living independently and was well-known in his community — he was an avid fisherman who loved to flyfish and enjoyed living in Wellfleet, where he had spent many summers before his retirement, his former colleagues said.

Before succeeding Bishop Warren Hutchens to lead the Connecticut diocese, Porteus had been elected bishop coadjutor and bishop suffragan and served as the rector for St. Peter's Episcopal Church in Cheshire for 27 years.

Rt. Rev. Ian T. Douglas, the 15th Bishop Diocesan of the Episcopal Diocese of Connecticut, said Porteus "was an incredibly gracious human being."

Douglas said he knew Porteus for about five years, but has heard stories of his leadership for years.

"He was definitely known as a wonderful communicator and cared deeply for individuals and his communities," said Douglas, Porteus' fourth successor. "He was known as a very effective and powerful preacher with a warm sense of humor in his sermons."

Douglas said that in his leadership, Porteus was "definitely forward looking" and was influential in bringing the 1979 Book of Common Prayer into being. The book was published as an update with modern language and more appropriate context, said Douglas.

As a member of the Standing Liturgical Commission of the Episcopal Church, Porteus was deeply involved in drafting the book, which is still used today.

He also, said Douglas, was a major proponent of women's ordination, which the Episcopal Church started to allow in 1976.

Rev. Elizabeth Page Rogers, who served as the rector at St. John's in Niantic for 12 years and is currently involved with parishes in Old Lyme and Plainfield, said Tuesday that Porteus "had a profound influence on me as a person, who I would later become a priest."

Rogers was one of the first female Episcopal priests to be ordained in 1981, just after Porteus' retirement. She said the bishop's work to support ordaining women and his involvement with the 1979 prayer book helped make that possible.

Before 1979, the prayer book used only male pronouns, Rogers said. The edition Porteus helped draft, however, featured pronouns for deacons, priests and bishops in italics, providing an opportunity for female pronouns to be put in place.

"It was a very powerful change because even though it (women's ordainment) hadn't happened yet, you could tell that the church was preparing for that and open and ready for that," said Rogers, who said she later thanked Porteus for his influence on her career.

"He was a profound agent of change," said Rogers. "He opened the door and he made it all possible."

Rogers met Porteus when she was about 11 years old while on vacation with her family on Cape Cod. Porteus was preaching at St. James the Fisherman, a church he helped found in Wellfleet, and Rogers said she was immediately struck by his charisma, his powerful preaching and the unique, outdoor chapel-in-the-round style of his church.

"He was an amazing preacher. He often used symbols from the seashore, like beaches and dune grass, as the subjects of his sermons and he would connect them to the Christian life in a very powerful and compelling way," she said.

A few years later, Rogers and her family began attending St. Peter's in Cheshire where Porteus was rector. She said Porteus had a beautiful voice when he sang the liturgy and had a "genuine and authentic personality," even encouraging his parishioners to call him by his first name.

"He was just an extraordinary powerful pastoral presence," said Rogers. "I count much of my ministry as being rooted in and formed by him."

Rev. Canon Robert Miner, who served as the interim rector at St. James Episcopal Church in New London from February 2016 to March 2017, met Porteus in 1966.

"He was always a delight," said Miner of the bishop, recalling a time in 1976 when Porteus visited his 6-year-old daughter in the hospital while she was seriously ill.

"He will leave behind the legacy of a bishop who was caring and involved," said Miner. "I will remember him as a kind, gentle person who was very personable and a fantastic preacher."

Douglas agreed that Porteus will be remembered fondly as a bishop and friend to many.

"Above all, he was known as a warm and caring pastoral presence who loved the people in the Episcopal Church in Connecticut deeply," said Douglas.

Porteus was a graduate of Bates College in Maine and the Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge, Mass. He was ordained to the diaconate in 1943 and to the Sacred Order of Priests in 1944, according to his obituary.

A memorial liturgy celebrating his life will be held next summer at the Chapel of St. James the Fisherman in Wellfleet, according to his obituary.

t.hartz@theday.com