Elected Coadjutor Bishop in the Diocese of Virginia, the largest Episcopal diocese in the country, Lee was consecrated and served from 1984 to 1985, until the retirement of Bishop Robert Bruce Hall.[2] Lee then served as bishop from 1985 until his own retirement in 2009, having Shannon Sherwood Johnston as Coadjutor Bishop in his final years.
Beginning early in Lee's episcopate, several conservative congregations stopped paying diocesan dues, citing objections to the ordination of women priests, as authorized by the General Convention. The controversy metamorphosed, with the stated primary objections changing to matters of sexuality with the consecration of bishop Gene Robinson of the Episcopal Diocese of New Hampshire in 2003, and the election of Katharine Jefferts Schori as Presiding Bishop in 2006. Two large Virginia parishes attracted national attention by attempting to leave the Diocese and associate with an African diocese while keeping their Virginia churches and other property. Lee sued to have the facilities declared the property of the Diocese,[2] and was ultimately successful, although that resolution only happened under his successor.[3]
Lee was married to Kristina Knapp (Kristy) Lee. They have two children, daughter Stewart and son James,[6] and five grandchildren.[1] Peter Lee died on July 2, 2022, in Chapel Hill, North Carolina.[6]
