On October 6, 1896, 89 priests, five deacons and 164 lay delegates met at Trinity, Buffalo, for a special convention to elect a new bishop. Before the election began, a resolution to once again divide the Diocese was introduced. Under canon law, however, the lack of a bishop precluded its consideration. The election then began and the Rt. Rev. William David Walker was selected on the sixth ballot.

After his enthronement on December 23, 1896, a member of the clergy remarked that dividing the Diocese had now become a possibility. The new bishop’s reply followed without hesitation, “Not while I am the Bishop of Western New York!”

Walker didn’t possess Coxe’s intellect or gift for oratory. He was a man of frankness and simplicity, and he had the reputation for being a workhorse. At his first convention in May 1898 he reported a rigorous schedule of visitations, 1494 confirmations and the ordinations of three priests and seven deacons. He followed this with a heartfelt plea for missionary work in the Diocese.

Early on, Walker decided to reside in Rochester for several months each year. This did much to quiet the voices calling for Diocesan division. He also asked to meet with the vestry of each parish during his parish visitations. These practices helped Walker maintain a good overall perspective of the Diocese.

In the first seven years of his episcopacy, the Diocese realized tremendous growth. The number of parishes increased from 126 to 151; communicants increased from 19,000 to 23,000; eight new clergy brought the Diocesan total to 128; the missionary offering rose from $6,132 to $18,426; and Diocesan offerings rose by $118,848. But growth was not the cause of WNY’s notoriety in 1906.

In April and May 1906, the Rev. Dr. Algernon Sidney Crapsey, rector of St. Andrew’s, Rochester, was tried by the Church on the charge of heresy. The cause was ­his 1905 book entitled Religion and Politics in which he entertained many of the views espoused by Biblical critics. Though on the third day of the trial, Crapsey’s lawyer read a statement that virtually retracted the ideas advanced in the book, the retraction was too little and too late. Crapsey was found guilty, and the original verdict was upheld upon appeal. In November of 1906 Bishop Walker deposed him.

In 1916, a request was made for the Committee on Constitution and Canons to frame a canon during the coming year to allow female parishioners to vote in parish elections. As a staunch conservative, Walker did not support this change. On May 2, 1917, before Convention arrived, Walker died. Two weeks later, the Committee on Constitution and Canons reported to Convention that it had declined to draft the canon, so a special committee was appointed to do so and the new canon was adopted.