USA > Connecticut > The history of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut, Vol. II > Part 28
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33
1 The Rt. Rev. Geo. T. Spencer, D. D., late Lord Bishop of Madras, the venerable John Sinclair, the Rev. Ernest Hawkins, and the Rev. Henry Caswall.
389
IN CONNECTICUT.
of the Jubilee of the venerable Society referred to in a previous chapter. Those who composed the deputation must have looked with pride and joy upon the council of the daughter Church, gathered now in so much strength from every section of the land to legislate for her best interests, and to provide for any new emergencies that had arisen in her history. One painful circumstance, - the complete abandonment of our Communion by Dr. Ives, late Bishop of North Carolina, and his submission to the Roman hierarchy, - might have been noted by them; but the solemn and canonical deposition of him from the Apostolic office was almost immediately followed by the eleva- tion to the Episcopal bench of two presbyters, - one (Dr. Atkinson), to take his place, and the other (Dr. Davis), to fill the vacant see of South Carolina. On the occasion of their consecration, all the Bishops of the American Church were present, together with Bishop Spencer, and Dr. Medley, the Bishop of Fredericton, New Brunswick, who both joined in the imposition of hands. The latter preached the sermon, and the House of Bishops thanked him " with frater- nal greetings," and solicited a copy of it for publica- tion.
A bold step towards the extension of the Church was taken by the same Convention in the choice of two presbyters,1 to be consecrated Missionary Bishops for the Pacific coast, - one for California, and the other for " Oregon, having jurisdiction in Washington Territory." The rapidity with which that region, especially California, was filling up with an active
1 Rev. Wm. I. Kip, D. D., of Albany, N. Y., and Rev. Thomas F. Scott, of Columbus, Ga.
390
HISTORY OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
population, forbade the policy of waiting for the per- fect organization of dioceses before sending out the chief shepherds to oversee the scattered flocks.
The pastoral letter of the House of Bishops at this time was from the pen of the presiding prelate, and it breathed with the spirit of peace, moderation, and wisdom. A single extract from it will be of interest in the present connection : -
" The world around us is pervaded by forms of error, against which nothing but active controversy can be successful. It should be a controversy, how- ever, dictated and modified by love. On the one hand, we behold an all-grasping Romanism, which gives no quarter, allows no truce, but demands an unconditional submission. On the other hand are various forms of error, still pervaded, more or less, by the true spirit of Christianity, but constantly break- ing into fragments, and steadily tending to latitudi- narianism and infidelity. Amid these erratic tenden- cies, the best hopes of Christianity are centred in the Church of England, and in the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States.
" The spread of Romanism in this country is in- evitable - not much, indeed, by proselytism, but by immigration. A few romantic and sentimental minds may be captivated by its imposing ceremonial, and its specious claim to holy living, but the hollowness of its pretensions, and the imposing parade of its im- postures cannot stand the scrutiny of an enlightened public opinion. In most Roman Catholic countries, there is, probably, a wide-spread infidelity among the more intelligent classes of the community. They regard with contempt the impostures which the igno-
391
IN CONNECTICUT.
rant eagerly receive. The Roman Catholic religion, too, wears a very different aspect in Italy, Spain, and Portugal, from that which it exhibits in this country. Superstitions and mummeries there pass unquestioned, which, in this country, would not impose upon the credulity of its most ignorant devotee. The remis- sion of several hundred years of the pains of purga- tory, by the dropping of a few shillings, and repeat- ing a few aves and paters at the shrine of some sup- posed saint, which is so frequently advertised in the countries referred to, would hardly impose upon the most ignorant Romanist in this land of free opinions.
" The wonderful immigration of Roman Catholics to this country is often looked upon with alarm by the friends of other religious institutions. Who knows but it is the way designed by Infinite Wisdom for their reformation ? We would hope that Roman- ism cannot withstand even the popular influences of our country. Besotted ignorance cannot long prevail in a land of free schools. Servile superstition must gradually decline in a land of free inquiry. Priest- craft and imposture cannot long flourish in a land of newspapers. It should seem to be our wisdom, there- fore, as well as our duty, to treat our less favored brethren with kind consideration, to improve their temporal condition, to enlighten their minds, and to afford them the full benefit of all our free institu- tions. Under their own organization, they can hardly fail gradually to emancipate themselves from the thraldom which has been imposed upon them in times of ignorance and imposture. There can be little doubt that, from the very circumstances of their posi- tion, they will be making rapid advances towards a
392
HISTORY OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
more intelligent and a purer faith; and it is hardly possible that more than a century or two can elapse before, by a gradual progress, they will relieve them- selves from those superstitions and corruptions of the Dark Ages, which, in our parent Church, were thrown off by a more sudden revolution. We may be too sanguine in these anticipations, but it is certainly a consummation most devoutly to be wished."
No positive provision was made for the support of the Assistant Bishop at the time of his election. It was understood that he would not immediately retire from the presidency of the College, and that the mat- ter of salary, at least during his continuance in that office, would be a private arrangement between him and the venerable Diocesan. The Episcopal Fund had been nursed with the greatest care, but the income from it, together with the annual assessments upon the parishes in the proportion of two and one half per cent on the salaries of their respective rectors, scarcely amounted to three thousand dollars. The amount should have been larger, but many of the parishes neglected to pay these assessments; and at the Convention of 1853, a committee of laymen, in a voluminous report not free from mistakes, reviewed the history of the Fund, and urged upon the Conven- tion the necessity of taking effectual measures to increase its permanent and productive capital. By this time, the whole of the considerable balance, prin- cipal and interest, due to the senior Bishop ten years before, had been paid, together with his regular salary of eighteen hundred dollars per annum, to April 1, 1853.
When the subject came up for discussion in the
393
IN CONNECTICUT.
Convention of that year, the two Bishops withdrew, and afterwards sent in a joint communication, in which they stated that they would be " entirely satisfied " with receiving the present income of the fund, and the assessments on the parishes ; and concluding with the expression of their earnest hope, "that the avail- able resources of the Diocese may be applied, as far as is practicable, to the Extension of the Church ; by aiding the weaker parishes, and by the establishment of missions, and the organization of new congrega- tions in those populous portions of the State where the Church is yet unknown." This was certainly generous to the Diocese, if it was not strictly just to themselves.
The original charter, under which the Trustees of the Bishop's Fund acted, gave them no power to hold property at any time, " the annual product of which exceeded the sum of one thousand dollars," and upon their petition, the General Assembly, at its May ses- sion in 1853, authorized and empowered them to receive and hold for the purposes for which they were incorporated, funds "the annual income of which, at the rate of six per cent per annum, shall not exceed five thousand dollars." In opening the charter, the Legislature took away the rights of a close corporation, and required of the Trustees an annual report to the Diocesan Convention of the con- dition of the fund, its investment and proceeds; and also empowered that body to fill all vacancies in the Board, and in case of the neglect or refusal of the Trustees to render an acceptable report, to remove . any one or more of them from office, and appoint others in their place. The result of these changes in
394
HISTORY OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
the charter was beneficial. The Diocese now gained, as a matter of right, the information which formerly it had acquired only as a matter of courtesy. The effort to collect from the delinquent parishes what was due on the old assessment of 1813 was finally abandoned, and reliance for the full support of the Episcopate placed with more wisdom on the annual assessment, which had been renewed by a special vote of the Convention, and directed to be continued during the life of Bishop Brownell.
The Trustees had managed the fund well, and not- withstanding one heavy loss, - the loss by the failure of the Eagle Bank, - it had grown upon their hands, and in the language of Mr. Sigourney, when, on account of age and infirmities, he resigned the office of Treasurer in 1854, after having held it for upwards of forty years, " the little brook had become a river." The Diocese was grateful to him for his long-con- tinued services, and he retired from his trust with a vote of deserved thanks.
When the Assistant Bishop resigned the presidency of Trinity College, it was with the understanding that he was to receive from the Trustees of the Episcopal Fund the surplus revenue of that Fund, as increased by the amount paid in by the parishes, after the salary of the Bishop had been paid. This arrangement was to take effect from the 1st of January, 1853, ante- dating so far the time of his actual separation from the College. But the revenue thus received was insufficient to afford him a competent income, and in 1856, the Convention voted to give him twenty- five hundred dollars per annum, and to double the assessment upon the parishes, -" the extra sum so
395
IN CONNECTICUT.
raised, to be appropriated to meet the increase of the Assistant Bishop's salary." The resolution in regard to doubling the assessment was not carried into effect. Bishop Brownell, on learning what had been done, directed the Treasurer of the Episcopal Fund to pay to his assistant twenty-five hundred dollars annually, and accepted for himself whatever balance there might be, without the additional tax. He had become too infirm to make any visitations, or to be depended upon for the discharge of any official duties. His last communication to the Convention of the Diocese, and his last appearance in that body, were at its assembling in Christ Church, Hartford, in 1859. Providence had thrown into his hands a sufficiency of this world's goods to make him comfortably inde- pendent in his declining years, and he freely relin- quished, for the benefit of his assistant and successor, what he might have equitably claimed on the score of past services. The salary of Bishop Williams was increased, in 1864, to three thousand dollars,1 and the resolution assessing the parishes two and one half per cent, was reaffirmed and ordered to be in force until the annual income of the Fund should, at least, be equal to that amount.
The special attention of the laity was directed, in 1853, to a more liberal support of the parochial clergy. Nowhere in the Diocese, unless in a few city parishes, were their salaries more than sufficient for the absolute necessities of their position. “An intelligent mechanic," said Bishop Brownell, in his
1 In 1866, it was increased to four thousand dollars, and in 1868, the Convention, upon the suggestion of the Trustees of the Bishop's Fund, added five hundred dollars more, - making it four thousand five hundred dollars per annum.
396
HISTORY OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
address to the Annual Convention of that year, "re- ceives better compensation for labor than many a clergyman who has devoted years to hard study, and spent much money in acquiring the necessary liter- ary and theological preparation for the duties of his profession." The age had become extravagant, and the cost of living was greatly advanced. Individuals devoted to other pursuits demanded an increased remuneration for the fruits of their toil on the ground that it was necessary to enable them to maintain their families, and provide them with suitable com- forts, and the demand thus made was irresistible. But the salaries of the clergy, though a matter of contract between them and their people, could not be regulated simply on the principles of a hireling. This was a low view of the question, and the parishes that entertained it were unmindful of their best interests.
The whole subject was referred by the Convention to a committee of laymen, who,. in their report, recognized the fact that the salaries of the clergy, especially in the rural districts, were not what they ought to be, and they appealed to the laity to awake to a proper sense of duty and justice in this matter. " No greater blessing," said they, " can exist in any village, than the influence of an educated, an intellec- tual, cheerful, and happy clergyman, and his family. This influence is felt in all our social or domestic rela- tions, softening the asperities, refining and elevating the propensities of our nature. In sickness and in health, in our joys and in our sorrows, he is with us to alleviate and to heighten; and gratitude should unite with interest in the laity to strengthen that influence. Much, very much, depends in this respect
397
IN CONNECTICUT.
upon a comfortable support, cheerfully and promptly given."
Whether the suggestions, emanating from the Con- vention in this way, were the cause or not, the parishes soon began to make better provision for the support of their rectors. The salaries were generally increased, and with the development of more life, as shown in the erection of new churches, or the enlarge- ment of old ones, several parishes proceeded to sup- ply themselves with rectories, which were to be free of rent for their respective pastors. This was a move- ment in the right direction, and tended to prevent the evil of frequent clerical changes. Besides the direct advantage to the clergyman, there are pleasant memories for the people lingering about the rural rectory. They often come to it for the relief of their burdened souls, and for guidance in the day of trouble and adversity. They watch with delight the hand of improvement, as applied by some tasteful occupant, and a priest of God in the next generation may thus have reason to cherish feelings of gratitude towards his predecessor, and to be excited thereby to good works. When the celebrated George Herbert had rebuilt, at his own charge, the greatest part of the parsonage at Bemerton, he caused to be engraved upon the mantel of the chimney in the hall, for the benefit of his successor, these significant lines : -
" If thou chance for to find A new house to thy mind, And built without thy cost, Be good to the poor, As God gives thee store, And then my labor 's not lost." 1
1 Temple and Country Parson, p. 43.
398
HISTORY OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
CHAPTER XXVIII.
PROGRESS OF THE DIOCESE ; DEATH OF DR. CROSWELL; NEW CHURCH AT STRATFORD ; AND EFFORTS TO INCREASE THE RANKS OF THE MINISTRY.
A. D. 1857 - 1860.
MANY proofs of steady and continuous growth were now visible in every part of the Diocese. Its clerical force, - besides the two Bishops, - consisted of one hundred and thirteen presbyters, and eleven deacons. The names of twenty-three persons appeared on the list of candidates for Holy Orders in 1857, and the number was the same two years later. At the Annual Convention of 1858, which was held in Waterbury, ninety-five of the clergy of the Diocese were present, and one hundred and six lay delegates. Bishop Wil- liams, in his address on that occasion, noted a large list of clerical changes - too large for the good of the Church; but he expressed his belief that the action of the Convention five years before, in regard to the increase of the salaries of the clergy, had served to · lessen this evil, and that the laity had it in their power, if they pleased, to render the pastoral relation more permanent in the future. "The mere perfunc- tory performance," said he, " of the duties of preach- ing, administering the sacraments, and going through with services and offices, can be as well done by an itinerant ministry, or occasional supplies, as in any
399
IN CONNECTICUT.
other way. But to secure the real work of a pastor, to insure that it shall be any thing more than an ephemeral and spasmodic effort, the pastoral relation must be made an enduring one."
A remarkable religious interest pervaded Connecti- cut in the beginning of 1858. Unlike revivals in previous years, it was attended with no special excite- ment, and the influence of noted preachers in orig- inating and carrying it on was scarcely perceptible. The financial embarrassments of the country led men to pause in their career of worldliness, and daily prayer-meetings, and the ordinary instructions of the pulpit on Sundays, and occasionally on other days, were followed by the conversion of many sinners, and their pursuit of a new and better life.
The clergy of the Church, particularly in those places where the revival prevailed, were more dili- gent in their ministrations, and probably the Lenten services in no former season had been so numerously attended. The number confirmed in sixty-three par- ishes of the Diocese, as reported to the next Annual Convention, reached eleven hundred and twenty-five, and of these confirmations, nearly one fourth were for the parishes in New Haven. The religious interest manifested itself very largely in that city, and the opportunity was improved by the several rectors, to draw together their flocks more frequently for the purposes of Christian instruction, and, by stirring appeals, to warm the hearts of established believers, encourage the timid and the wavering, and awaken the careless from the sleep of insensibility, to the duty of a living faith in the Son of God, and of practical obedience to His laws.
400
HISTORY OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
There was no reaction to the Episcopal Church in the movements and results of this revival. During the next Conventional year, the Assistant Bishop visited all the parishes and missionary stations in the Diocese except four; and administered the rite of confirmation to one thousand and twenty-nine per- sons. This was the most extended visitation which he had ever made in any one year, and he was as much gratified as surprised to find so soon again large classes of candidates presented for the Apostolic rite. The quiet and earnest work of the pastors seemed to be producing the blessed fruits for which some of them had patiently waited. The aggregate of communicants in the whole Diocese went up, in 1859, to eleven thousand and five hundred, though the loss by death and removal, as reported at the same time, was fully equal to one third of the yearly in- crease by new admissions. These admissions, from year to year, coincided for the most part with the number of persons confirmed, - it having, for a long period, been the practice of the clergy to teach that "what is required of those who come to the Lord's Supper," is substantially no more than what should be required of those who present themselves for the rite of Confirmation. The number of families, too, fell but little short of nine thousand, and the Sunday- schools and the missionary and charitable contribu- tions steadily increased.
One by one, the venerable presbyters, who, since the death of Bishop Jarvis, had been conspicuous actors in the affairs of the Diocese, disappeared, and left their places to be filled by younger men. On the last day of December, 1854, the Rev. Dr. Croswell,
401
IN CONNECTICUT.
Rector of Trinity Church, New Haven, preached a sermon, which was afterwards published, commemora- tive of the fortieth anniversary of his connection with the parish. If any of his parishioners were dis- appointed that the occasion was not more largely improved by one who had been "forty years in the mount," his brief reminiscences must have, at least, touched their hearts, and made them grateful to God, for the vast amount of parochial duty which He had enabled His servant to perform in the several offices of the Church.
" Forty years," said he, " constitute a large portion, even of the longest life ; and when considered with reference to the relationship between pastor and peo- ple, it seems, indeed, like a very long period. Such instances of unbroken pastoral connection are ex- tremely rare, and especially in this age of fluctuation and change, where hearers sometimes become fas- tidious, critical, and fond of novelty, and preachers exhibit at least a corresponding degree of sensitive- ness, restlessness, and instability. But to one who has been permitted to enjoy such a protracted rela- tionship, the passage of so many years would appear but a mere span, were it not for the considerations that present themselves to the mind on an occasion like the present.
" I stop at this point in my journey, for recollection and review; and who can tell what memories crowd upon the thoughts? Surrounded by the same parish, into whose service I entered forty years ago, what can I behold to show its identity ? What has become of the familiar faces of my immediate contemporaries ? Where are those who stood with me, side by side, at VOL. II. 26
402
HISTORY OF THE EPISCOPAL CHURCH
that period ? Alas ! how many of their number have passed away! How few continue to accompany me on the short remainder of my journey! Here and there, indeed, a senior's voice may be heard in the con- gregation ; and they verily seem like the last 'shak- ing of the olive tree, or like gleaning grapes, when the vintage is done.' But as for the residue, - they have risen up to occupy the places of those who have gone before ; and the generations by whom I am now surrounded, are pressing forward to fill the ranks vacated by their predecessors. But still an identity may be traced. It is the same parish. Those who have grown up under my pastoral care, or have been gathered from the fields, constitute but one and the same household. All maintain the same relation- ship ; and, amid perpetual changes, the parish remains the same." 1
Dr. Croswell, at this time, had an associate 2 in the rectorship, and for many years he had not been with- out aid in his ministrations. He dwelt among his own people, and was rarely absent from his post, but his strong and robust constitution was beginning to feel the effects of an insidious and complicated disease, and he finally fell before it, on the 13th of March, 1858, when he was approaching his eightieth birth-day. Bishop Williams preached the sermon at his funeral, which was attended by a great concourse of people, and by forty-seven of his brethren in the ministry, - a larger number than was present at the special Convention of the Diocese in 1819, when Bishop Brownell was consecrated.
1 Sermon, pp. 5, 6.
2 Rev. Thomas C. Pitkin, D. D., now Rector of St. Paul's Church, Detroit Mich.
403
IN CONNECTICUT.
It is the privilege of few clergymen to pass through a life of such varied experience and momentous events as that of Dr. Croswell. He was brought up to the occupation of a printer, and in early manhood became the editor and proprietor of a political news- paper, published first in Hudson, and then in Albany, N. Y. He showed much talent and tact in that capacity, and gained for himself the confidence and friendship of a circle of distinguished men. Some of his severe and pungent editorials brought him into collision with his political foes, and being prosecuted for libel, he was defended by Alexander Hamilton in a speech, remarkable as the greatest forensic effort of one of the greatest minds of his age.
The arena of politics proved unsatisfactory to Mr. Croswell, and "turning his thoughts to the solemn subject of religion, and the Christian duties that rest on our race," he conformed to the Episcopal Church in 1812, and immediately applied his vigorous intel- lect to the study of theology. From the time of his ordination in the spring of 1814, until his removal to New Haven, a period of eight months, he officiated in Christ Church, Hudson. It has been seen, in previous chapters, how much he was identified with the inter- ests of the Church in his native state, and how reso- lutely he stood up to defend her doctrines, discipline, and worship, when he found them misrepresented and maligned. He was widely known in our communion, and filled the most important posts of honor and use- fulness in her councils. From 1816 till the day of his death, he was chosen uninterruptedly by the Dio- cese, one of its clerical delegates to the General Con- vention, and from 1822 to 1852, when he declined a
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.