Former President Jimmy Carter died on Dec. 29, 2024, at age 100. He was the oldest living U.S. president ever. Photo: Mark Reinstein/MediaPunch/IPx per AP
[Episcopal News Service] Presiding Bishop Sean Rowe issued the following statement following the death of former President Jimmy Carter, who passed away on Dec. 29 at age 100. The 39th president served one term and went on to work for peace and human rights; in 2002 he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize, “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.”
Carter, a Democrat, was born on Oct. 1, 1924, in Plains, Georgia. He was a peanut farmer, a U.S. Navy veteran, served as the governor of Georgia from 1971-75, and was elected president in 1976. He and his wife Rosalynn, who died in November 2023, had four children.
Rowe’s statement follows:
I give thanks for the life and witness of President Jimmy Carter, who has died at the age of 100. He was a devoted peacemaker and steadfast public servant whose faithful labor for his country, his church, and the cause of global democracy and human rights has long been an inspiration to Christians across the world.
As a politician and humanitarian leader, President Carter met adversity with resilience and never relented when he saw an opportunity to serve. Whether seeking peace in the Middle East, leading the international campaign to eradicate Guinea worm disease, or building houses with Habitat for Humanity, he eschewed wealth and celebrity in favor of service to God and his fellow humans.
In 2002, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize “for his decades of untiring effort to find peaceful solutions to international conflicts, to advance democracy and human rights, and to promote economic and social development.” His legacy will live on through The Carter Center, which he founded with his beloved wife, Rosalynn, and which continues the selfless work they did throughout their lives.
When Jimmy Carter took the oath of office to become the 39th president of the United States in 1977, he did so on a family Bible laid open to Micah 6:8. The nation was hurting and divided in the wake of scandal, and to set forth a new vision, he read the words of the prophet: “He hath showed thee, O man, what is good; and what doth the Lord require of thee, but to do justly, and to love mercy, and to walk humbly with thy God.”
May we follow his example of Christian service, and may his soul and the souls of all the departed, through the mercy of God, rest in peace.
The Most Rev. Sean W. Rowe
Presiding Bishop