First arriving in 1899, Tucker served for twenty four years as a missionary in the Nippon Sei Ko Kai, the Anglican Church in Japan. He served alongside the British AnglicanHugh James Foss, as joint bishop of the Osakadiocese, and later in 1913 was appointed Bishop of Kyoto. In 1903 he became President of St. Paul's College in Tokyo, an establishment that in 1922 gained formal recognition as Rikkyo University.[2]
During 1918 Tucker worked alongside lay medical missionary Rudolf Teusler in Siberia supervising civilian relief work under the auspices of the Red Cross. During this period Tucker also held the rank of major in the Allied Expeditionary Force.
In 1923 Tucker returned to the United States, becoming both Professor of Pastoral Theology at Virginia Theological Seminary and bishop coadjutor of the Episcopal Diocese of Virginia. Succeeding as Bishop of Virginia in 1927, Tucker eventually became the Presiding Bishop of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, thus becoming the leader of all Episcopalians in the United States. At the 1940 General Convention, he preached against "aggressive nationalism" and asked the bishops to refrain from smoking during sessions.[3] As an Episcopal presiding bishop, St. George Tucker is honored with a window in the Washington National Cathedral. He was the first bishop to hold this position full-time, rather than on top of a continuing diocesan appointment.
Tucker also authored a book on the history, growth, and development of the Episcopal Church in Japan.[4]