USA > Massachusetts > Middlesex County > Cambridge > Sermon on the re-opening of Christ Church, Cambridge, Mass. : preached on the twenty-fourth Sunday after Trinity, November 22, 1857 : with a historical notice of the Church > Part 2
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Pray for us, brethren, that the word of His truth may be glorified, and that though ministered in weak- ness, it may be attended with the power of God unto salvation. The Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord prosper you in all things pertaining unto life and god- liness ; in the things of this life and of that which is to - come; and may He bring us all to the everlasting rest of our heavenly country and the comforts of our Father's house, through Him who is the way, the truth, and the life, our blessed Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.
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HISTORICAL NOTICE OF
CHRIST CHURCH.
1
JH Buffbeds Lih
CHRIST CHURCH CAMBRIDGE, MASS. 1792. Copied from an Engraving in the Massachusetts Magazine of July 1792
HISTORICAL NOTICE OF CHRIST CHURCH.
.
I.
THE CHURCH EDIFICE AND DEDICATION.
THE original subscription for building the church is dated at Boston, April 25th 1759. The petition to the Society was signed by Henry Vassal, Joseph Lee, John Vassal, Ralph Inman, Thomas Oliver, David Phips, Robert Temple, James Apthorp. At a meeting held at Boston, September 29th 1759, the six first named gen- tlemen with the Rev. East Apthorp, were chosen as the building Committee; Ralph Inman Esq. was appointed Treasurer, and it was voted by the Committee and sub- scribers present :
"I. That the extreme dimensions of the church, in- " cluding the thickness of the walls, but exclusive of the chancel and tower, be sixty feet in length and forty-five feet in breadth.
"II. That the architect be at liberty to make any alter- ations in the above dimensions of sixty feet by forty-five, provided he does not enlarge the area of the church.
" III. That the expense of executing the whole build- ing is not to exceed £500 sterling.
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THE CHURCH EDIFICE AND DEDICATION.
"IV. That the building be of wood, and covered on the outside with rough cast; that there be only one tier of windows and no galleries except an organ loft.
" V. That a letter be wrote to Mr. Harrison of New- port requesting a plan and elevation of the outside and inside, and of the pulpit and vestry of the church; and that if Mr. Harrison approves of it, there be no steeple, only a tower with a belfry; and that he be informed of the dimensions of a picture designed for the chancel (now at Mr. Merritt's, at Providence) when the Committee are informed of its size.
" VI. That Mr. Phips and Mr. Inman wait on Mr. Bordman of Cambridge, to know whether he will give a piece of land, and what quantity, for the church to be built upon."
Mr. Bordman's land took in both sides of the Appian Way, fronting on the Common, and some arrangements were made for building the church there; but an adjoin- ing piece of land one hundred feet square was finally bought of Mr. James Reed, for £16. 2s. 1}d. lawful money. It formed a part of the grounds belonging to his house on what is now Brattle Street and School Court. This, with the same quantity bought of the Proprietors of the Common and undivided lands of the Town of Cam- bridge and taken in from the Common, formed the church lot. The price paid to the Proprietors was £13. 6s. 8d. lawful money, the church also paying for the removal of the Pound. The line of the Common, which was origin- ally curved, was thus straightened, the Burying Ground being also extended up to the church line. In 1839 the parish sold a strip of the land on the northwesterly side running the whole length of the lot, with the reservation that no building should ever be erected on any part of it.
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THE CHURCH EDIFICE AND DEDICATION.
The dimensions of the building proposed by the Commit- tee were adopted by the architect without change. The whole cost of the church, not including the land, was about £1300 sterling. The rough cast seems never to have been added.
In their letter of thanks to the Society for establishing the mission at Cambridge, dated November 24th, 1759, the Committee say: " We have applied to a masterly architect for a plan, and purpose to build a handsome church of wood." The architect alluded to was Mr. Peter Harrison, then residing at Newport, Rhode Island, whose designs of public buildings have been much admired for correct taste. He was the architect of the Redwood Li- brary, Newport, and of the King's Chapel, Boston. In a letter addressed to him in 1749, requesting a plan for the latter, the Rev. Dr. Caner, Rector, says : " As the chief beauty and strength of a building depends upon the due proportion of the several members to each other, the gentlemen of the Committee are encouraged to make this application to you, whom they have heard mentioned with advantage for particular judgment and taste in things of this kind, and for the knowledge you have acquired by travelling and observation. We chiefly aim at symmetry and proportion, which we entirely submit to your judgment."
Christ Church, built from his designs, seems to have been always regarded as an edifice of superior elegance. In his Sermon at the opening of the church, Mr. Apthorp says of it: " By the union of your counsels and expense this temple hath arose to the glory of God and the pro- moting of Christianity, with a beauty and elegance not unbecoming the majesty of religion. Much has been done already by your munificence towards completing a
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THE CHURCH EDIFICE AND DEDICATION.
structure, the least merit of which is the honor it does to our country by adding to the few specimens we have of excellence in the fine arts, which, under the conduct of a good imagination, have so much influence in polishing and humanizing the mind, and when employed in the service of religion are so expressive of reverence to the Deity, that they may justly be considered (as they were by the sages of antiquity) in a moral view, and made subservient to the noblest purposes of policy, ethics and devotion." To this passage is appended the following note: " In urbe templum ædificas ? Pulcherrimum id sit omnium in urbe palatiorum. In villâ ? æquet, immo vincat, reliquas in villâ ædes."
Other notices occur of the architectural merit of the church. The Massachusetts Magazine for July 1792, which gives an engraved view of the building, speaks of it as " commodious and elegant." The Rev. Dr. Holmes, in his history of Cambridge, says: "It is considered by connoisseurs in architecture as one of the best constructed churches in New England. Its model is said to have been taken from Italy." The circular for obtaining sub- scriptions towards its repairs in 1824 calls it " a model of architectural symmetry and beauty," and articles in the North American Review twenty years later refer to it in terms of high praise. Something of this commendation should perhaps be taken relatively, or in comparison with the few specimens we have of excellence in the fine arts, for a long time sparingly introduced among us. But though outshone by many later and costlier churches, the architectural style and particularly the proportions of Christ Church were always pleasing, and the eye of the careful observer seldom failed to be struck with its air of chaste and simple elegance. To those who had long
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THE CHURCH EDIFICE AND DEDICATION.
worshipped in it, the building as it stood was sacredly dear, and the late alteration was made at a considerable sacrifice of personal feelings and preferences in view of the increasing needs of the congregation.
The ceremony of opening the Church (for there could not be a regular consecration as there was no Bishop in the colonies) took place on Thursday, October 15th 1761, when an instructive and admirable Sermon was preached by Mr. Apthorp, on the Constitution of a Christian Church, from the text, "They continued sted- fastly in the Apostles doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread and in prayers." Acts ii. 42. This Ser- mon was published by the Building Committee, and to it is prefixed the inscription on the corner stone of the Church, (probably composed by Mr. Apthorp,) and also the dedicatory prayer.
THE PRAYER.
Eternal God, Parent and Sustainer of all things, In- finite in wisdom and power, justice and mercy, most humbly we adore Thy Divine Majesty, approaching Thy throne with our prayers for the Catholic Church, the whole congregation of Christians over all the earth, more especially for the reformed churches of these realms and nations.
We implore Thee, O King of kings, to crown with the blessings of heaven and earth our most Gracious Sovereign Lord, George the Third, by Thy grace King of Great Britain and Ireland and of all the dominions thereunto belonging, defender of the faith, and through- out all his realms supreme in all causes ecclesiastical and civil, endue him with all royal virtues, prosper his arms and counsels, grant him a long and happy reign 4
.
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THE CHURCH EDIFICE AND DEDICATION.
over a free and willing people, to Thy glory, the welfare of his subjects, the protection and advancement of true religion. Bless, O Lord, her Royal Highness the Prin- cess Dowager of Wales, and all the royal family, enrich them with Thy heavenly grace, and prosper them with all happiness.
Illuminate with the truth of Thy doctrine the dis- pensers of Thy most holy word and sacraments, the Archbishops, Bishops, Priests, and Deacons of the Church of England and the Ministers of all other Pro- testant Churches. Pour down upon them the continual dew of Thy blessing, that they may be holy and ex- emplary in their lives and faithful stewards of Thy mysteries. Bless the nobility and magistracy, endue them with grace and wisdom, that they may all in their several characters maintain religion and virtue. In more especial duty we pray for His Excellency the Governor of this Province, His Honor the Lieutenant Governor, the Honorable Council and House of Representatives. So bless them in their respective stations, that wisdom and knowledge may be the stability of our times, and the fear of Thee our treasure.
Father of lights, from whom descendeth every good and perfect gift, grace with Thy divine favor and en- lighten with Thy Spirit all seminaries of learning and religious education, particularly the Universities of Eng- land and the Colleges of this place, on whose President, Tutors, and Students we implore Thy heavenly bene- diction, that they may equally excel in virtue and useful knowledge.
O most gracious God, hear Thou in heaven Thy dwelling place, and behold with an eye of favor this congregation here assembled. In all humility, conscious
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THE CHURCH EDIFICE AND DEDICATION.
of our own unworthiness, we implore Thy mercy, pardon and acceptance through the merits and puissant media- tion of Thy Son, Jesus Christ; to whose most sacred name, and to the promoting of whose glory and kingdom we consecrate this Church, and ourselves the living temples of the Holy Ghost. Bless, we beseech Thee, all those whose pious munificence and public spirit have assisted in this good work, especially the Venerable and religious society for the Propagation of the Gospel. Grant success to their Christian purposes for the advance- ment of true religion, endue their ministers with fidelity to their trust, a sincere faith, unfeigned charity and sanc- tity of manners. Make them in their several stations the happy instruments of extending the kingdom of Thy Son, as well by supporting Thy pure worship in these colonies, as by publishing the glad tidings of the Gospel among remote and barbarous nations.
Grant, O God of truth and love, to Thy servants here before Thee, an uncorrupted, firm, and efficacious faith in the merits, mediation, and promises of their Divine Redeemer ; aid and enlighten them by Thy Holy Spirit that they may sincerely practise all the duties of the Christian life, and adorn . the doctrine of God our Saviour by holiness and piety, and by their ardent charity towards all mankind, especially towards all Christians of every denomination, preserving indissoluble the bond of peace and endeavoring in meekness to restore the unity of the spirit.
Finally, O God, we praise Thy holy name for all Thy servants departed this life in Thy faith and fear, beseeching Thee that we may so follow their good ex- ample, that, our probation ended, we may be partakers with them of a glorious resurrection, and of that ever-
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THE CHURCH EDIFICE AND DEDICATION.
·
lasting inheritance purchased for the faithful by the most precious blood of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Saviour and Redeemer of the world; in whose prevail- ing intercession we trust for the acceptance, and with whose sacred words we supply all the defects of our imperfect petitions.
Our Father, &c.
THE INSCRIPTION ON THE CORNER STONE.
DEO. AETERNO. PATRI. FILIO. SPIRITVI. S. HANC. AEDEM. SUB. AVSPICIIS. ILLUSTRISS. SOCIETATIS. PROMOVENDO. EVANGELIO. IN. PARTIBUS. TRANSMARINIS. INSTITUTAE. CONSECRABANT. CANTABRIGIENSES. ECCLESIAE. ANGLICANAE. FILII. IN.
CHRISTIANAE. FIDEI. ET. CHARITATIS. INCREMENTVM. A. D. MDCCLX.
PROVINCIAM. PROCURANTE. V. CL. FRANCISCO. BERNARDO.
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THE REV. DR. APTHORP.
II.
THE REV. DR. APTHORP.
THE Rev. East Apthorp D. D. was the fourth son of Charles Apthorp Esq. merchant, and was born at Boston, Massachusetts, 1733. From the Boston Latin School he was sent to England to finish his education, and was entered as a student in Jesus College, Cam- bridge, where he took the degree of B. A. in 1755, and that of M. A. in 1758; having obtained several prizes for eminence in classical learning, and being also chosen Fellow of his College. His father died at Boston, Nov. 11th 1758, and late in that year or early in 1759 he returned to this country. He was then in the twenty- sixth year of his age, of an ardent temperament and earnest piety, and full of youthful enthusiasm for relig- ion and learning. His appointment as Missionary dates from Lady Day March 25th 1759, though in reality not made till June of the same year. He was settled at Cambridge and entered upon his public duties in October 1761, having been previously married to Elizabeth, daughter of Judge Hutchinson. The Ven. Andrew Burnaby1 (Travels through the Middle Settle- ments of North America, 1760, p. 141) says: "A church has been lately erected at Cambridge within sight of
1 Archdeacon of Leicester, England.
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THE REV. DR. APTHORP.
the College. The building is elegant and the minister of it, the Rev. Mr. Apthorp, is a very amiable young man of shining parts, great learning, and pure and engaging manners."
The Missions of the Society in this country, though demanded of the Church of England by so many con- siderations of duty to her children, had been, on po- litical as well as theological grounds, for some time regarded with alarm, particularly by the colonists in New England. In addition to the three churches in Boston, the King's Chapel, Christ Church and Trinity, there were then in Massachusetts the following churches of the English communion : St. Michael's, Marblehead ; St. Peter's, Salem; St. Paul's, Newburyport; St. Thomas, Taunton ; St. Paul's, Hopkinton ; Christ Church, Brain- tree, now Quincy ; and St. Andrew's, Scituate. The founding of the Church at Cambridge, in the immediate neighborhood of the College, and the appointment of so able and accomplished a Missionary, seems to have given rise to renewed distrust with regard to the ulterior objects of the Society. Mr. Apthorp felt called upon to defend its proceedings, and published in 1763, " Con- siderations on the Institution and Conduct of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel." This led to a sharp reply from the Rev. Jonathan Mayhew D. D., pastor of the West Church in Boston, which was followed by an anonymous answer from a member of the Society, supposed to have been the Rev. Dr. Samuel Johnson, Missionary at Stratford, Ct. Other pamphlets appeared on both sides; one, printed at Providence, R. I., in verse, (a vehicle it seems of theo- logical controversy sometimes resorted to in those days,) though the argumentative part was chiefly in the shape
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THE REV. DR. APTHORP.
of notes. Dr. Thomas Secker, then Archbishop of Canterbury, published in 1764 without his name a temperate and dignified answer to Dr. Mayhew, to which Dr. Mayhew replied ; and his reply was reviewed in 1765 by Mr. Apthorp then in England.
It was thought that the bitterness with which he was assailed in this controversy was the reason of Mr. Apthorp's abandoning his original purpose of returning to America. "I have heard," says Dr. Burnaby, " that this gentleman met with so much opposition and per- secution from the Congregationalists, that he was obliged to resign his cure, to quit the colony, and has since lived in England." It was hinted that he had an eye to the Episcopate, in case Bishoprics should be established in the colonies. Upon settling in Cam- bridge he built a spacious and costly mansion, between the present Linden and Chestnut Streets, (the one now occupied by Dr. S. Plympton and Mrs. E. B. Manning, to which however a third story has since been added,) the unwonted splendor of which caused many remarks. Said the Rev. Dr. Mayhew, in one of his pamphlets : "Since the mission was established in Cambridge, and a very sumptuous dwelling-house (for this country) erected there, that town hath been often talked of by the Episcopalians as well as others as the proposed place of residence for a bishop." In another he amus- ingly surmised that "a certain superb edifice near Harvard College was even from the foundation de- signed for the palace of one of the humble successors of the Apostles."
No doubt Mr. Apthorp's situation in Cambridge was rendered uncomfortable by this controversy, and he the more readily embraced the opportunity of preferment
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THE REV. DR. APTHORP.
which now opened to him in England. In 1765 Arch- bishop Secker gave him the vicarage of Croydon, near London, where he found very congenial and pleasing society, to which he was himself a most valuable addition. This appointment was the more acceptable to him as his sister, the wife of Alderman Trecothick, then resided with her family in the neighboring village of Addington. For twenty-eight years he continued Vicar of Croydon, performing the duties of a Parish Priest with exemplary diligence, and to the great satis- faction of the inhabitants, by whom he was very justly revered, and who showed. their regard for him when he had lost his sight, by a noble present of nearly two thousand pounds sterling. Here he also found time for his favorite classical and historical studies, and in 1770 issued proposals for a publication of the ancient Latin historians ; which design however was aban- doned for the lack of sufficient encouragement. How comprehensive a plan he had conceived may be judged by the title of the proposals: " Conspectus nova edi- tionis Historicorum veterum Latinorum qui extant omni- um, ita disponenda ut pro ordine temporum et rerum serie integrum corpus componat Historia Sacra et Orientalis, Fabulosa et Heroica, Græca et Romana, ab orbe condito ad excidium Imperii Occidentalis et initia Regna Italici ; cum singulorum Scriptorum historia lite- raria et Annotationibus philologicis Anglice conscriptis, adjectis Nummis, Tabulisque chronologicis et geogra- phicis."
The historian Gibbon was at that time preparing his labored work, the first part of which appeared in 1776. Early in 1778 Mr. Apthorp entered the lists against him by the publication of "Letters on the
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THE REV. DR. APTHORP.
Prevalence of Christianity before its Civil Establishment, with Observations on a late History of the Decline of the Roman Empire." Gibbon, in the Vindication of his History in 1779, says: "When Mr. Apthorp's letters appeared, I was surprised to find that I had scarcely any interest or concern in their contents. They are filled with general observations on the study of history, with a large and useful catalogue of historians, and with a variety of reflections moral and religious, all preparatory to the direct and formal consideration of my two last chapters, which Mr. Apthorp seems to reserve for the subject of a second volume. I sincerely respect the learning, the piety, and the candor of this gentleman, and must consider it a mark of his esteem that he has thought proper to begin his approaches at so great a distance from the fortifications which he designed to attack."
But this mode of reply was in fact rendered necessary by the peculiar character of the work which he opposed. Mr. Apthorp saw that the danger from Gibbon's History was not in any direct assault upon the Christian Reli- gion, but in the covert satire and ingeniously managed slurs with which it is filled, and that the only way of counteracting its unhappy influence, was to re-write the whole histroy of the early relations of Christianity, and - to do it with a degree of labor and research equal to that of the elegant historian himself. His masterly perform- ance of the introductory part makes it a matter of regret that Mr. Apthorp's failing sight prevented the completion of his undertaking. The letters however will be found to contain satisfactory replies to some of the worst insin- uations of Gibbon, and may be read with profit by the student of history. They are worth a perusal if only to
5
1
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THE REV. DR. APTHORP.
·
see how well even a sneer can be refuted. At the outset Mr. Apthorp very justly characterizes the method of his opponent in the following passage, which probably sug- gested the wit of Gibbon's remark about the distance at which he began his approaches. "Since Religion has been found impregnable in her citadel, her enemies have been content to make desultory attacks on the mere out- works, and have exchanged the open war for the more insidious and destructive way of stratagem. Objections to revelation have been of late proposed obliquely, and where the unsuspecting reader would not think to find them." The titles of the letters will give some idea of their contents. Let. I. A view of the great controversy concerning the truth of the Christian Religion. Origin of Deism. Let. II. The study and uses of history. Let. III. Characteristics of past and present times ; the Chris- tian era ; the period of the Reformation and the present age, with a refutation of some objections to revealed reli- gion. Let. IV. The establishment of Paganism; charac- teristics of its different forms ; the inherent immorality of the system; its magnificence and strength, and the im- possibility of its subversion otherwise than by a Divine Energy.
Soon after the appearance of this work Archbishop Cornwallis conferred on him the degree of D. D., and col- lated him to the Rectorship of St. Mary-le-Bow, London. In 1790 he was made a Prebendary of St. Paul's Cathe- dral, and had the offer of the Bishopric of Kildare, which he declined on account of the state of his health. In 1793 Bishop Porteus, who had been his college compan- ion, on the recommendation of Archbishop Moore, gave him the very valuable Prebend of Finsbury, attached to St. Paul's Cathedral ; which obliged him to resign his
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1822068
THE REV. DR. APTHORP.
other livings. He wished to have retained Croydon, and it was the desire of his parishioners, but the archbishop would not consent. The remainder of his days were passed at Cambridge, England, amidst the scenes of his early academical career. Says Dr. Calder, one of his inti- mate friends: " The instructive conversation of this very learned and worthy man was a great enjoyment to me during the years that I lived in his parish; but soon after my very pleasing acquaintance with the doctor (which commenced in 1789) his sight began to fail him, and not long before he left Croydon it became so imper- fect that he seldom went out without Mrs. Apthorp. He
told me with regret, ' there was an end of all his studies.' With wonderful facility he preached extempore when he could no longer read his sermons ; and more to the satis- faction of a numerous audience ; the rather as, by not stooping as he was wont to do, he was better heard." After his retirement to Cambridge he was couched for his blindness, and in some degree recovered his sight. He had lost his wife in 1782, and was married in 1787 to Anne, the daughter of John Crich Esq. of Thurlow, in Suffolk, England. By his first wife he had eight chil- dren, one son, the Rev. Frederick Apthorp, Prebendary of Lincoln, and seven daughters. By his second wife, one daughter. One of his daughters was married to the Rev. Dr. Cory, master of Emanuel College, Cambridge ; another to the Rev. Dr. Butler, master of Shrewsbury School, and a third to the Rev. Mr. Paley, son of the celebrated Archdeacon Paley.
The published writings of Dr. Apthorp, in addition to those which have been mentioned, were, Ist. The Consti- tution of a Christian Church Illustrated, in a Sermon at the opening of Christ Church in Cambridge, Massachu-
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THE REV. DR. APTHORP.
setts, Thursday, October 9th 1761. 2d. The Felicity of the Times, a Sermon preached at Christ Church, Cam- bridge, on Thursday, August 11th 1763, being a day of Thanksgiving for the General Peace; inscribed to his Excellency William Shirley Esq. Lieutenant General of His Majesty's Army. 3d. The Character and Example of a Christian Woman, a Discourse at Christ Church, Cambridge, on the death of Mrs. Anne Wheelwright, 1764, in two parts. This lady was a younger sister of Mr. Apthorp. 4th. Of Sacred Poetry and Music, a Dis- course at Christ Church, Cambridge, at the opening of the organ on Tuesday, 21st August 1764. 5th. The Excellency of the Liturgy of the Church of England, a Sermon at the Church of St. Mary-le-Bow, on St. Mark's Day, 1778, to which is annexed an account of a catechet- ical lecture revived in that church. 6th. A Sermon preached in Lambeth Chapel, at the Consecration of Dr. Samuel Halifax, Lord Bishop of Gloucester, Oct. 28th 1781. 7th. Two volumes of Discourses on the Prophe- cies, read at the Chapel at Lincoln's Inn, at the Lecture founded by Bishop Warburton.
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