USA > New York > New York City > A history of the parish of Trinity Church in the city of New York, pt 3 > Part 3
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The Bishop, after duly considering the matter, sent on the 16th day of October, 1816, his formal acceptance. In his letter to the Convention then in session, he says :
" I have considered it of so much importance that the respectable and important Diocese of Connecticut which has supplied the Church in other States, and particularly in the State of New York, with many most useful clergymen and lay members, should be furnished in its present emergencies with the regular exercise of Episcopal functions, that I have deemed it my duty to accept the invitation contained in
1 This provision forms the second paragraph of Canon I. of 1795 " Of Episcopal Visitation." It became Canon XX. of 1808, and in 1832 was made a separate Canon, -Canon VII. (Journal, 1832, appendix, p. II). It has remained the Code of Canons without material change, and is now Title I., Canon XIX., paragraph 15. See Digest of Canons, 1901, pp. 77, 78, bound with the Journal of 1901.
' The Journals of the Annual Conventions of the Diocese of Connecticut from 1792-1820, pp. 96, 97. New Haven : Printed and Published by Stanley & Chapin, 1842. 8vo., pp. 152.
See also : The History of the Episcopal Church in Connecticut, ii., by E. E. Beardsley, D.D., pp. 131, 132. New York : Hurd and Houghton, 1868. Svo., pp. xxix., 465.
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History of Trinity Church
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the above resolution of your body, sanctioned as this invitation is by a Canon of the Church. In conformity therefore with the XXth Canon of the General Convention, I do hereby consent to exercise the Episcopal Offices in the Diocese of Connecticut, agreeably to the Constitution and Canons of the Church.
" With prayers for the prosperity of the Church in Connecticut and your individual happiness, I remain, Gentlemen,
"Very sincerely yours, " JOHN H. HOBART.
"THE PRESBYTERS, DEACONS, AND LAY DEPUTIES OF THE DIOCESE OF CONNECTICUT IN CONVEN- TION ASSEMBLED." 1
In reporting the acceptance of the charge of the Diocese by Dr. Hobart, a resolution was passed that " this Convention do hereby acknowledge the Right Rev. John Henry Hobart, Bishop of this Diocese, to perform Episcopal Offices according to the Constitution and Canons of the Church."2
The expression used in the Resolution, "Bishop of this Diocese" called forth from the Bishop a letter in which he said : " I can consider myself as Bishop of the Diocese of Connecticut only according to the tenor of the XXth Canon of the Church. And on this view of the subject I conclude your resolution of yesterday was founded." He hoped to give as much attention to the Diocese as was "compatible with his paramount charge of the Diocese of New York." He would be " exceedingly gratified " when a Bishop was elected and consecrated for Connecticut.
The Bishop began on the following day an extensive visitation, his first act being the Consecration of St. Andrew's Church, Meriden. Everywhere the people
1 Journals of the Convention, 1792-1820, pp. 101, 102. New Haven, 1842.
' Journals, p. 102.
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Sunday-Schools
1816]
flocked to see and hear. The Confirmation classes were large, that at Waterbury having two hundred and twenty- six members, larger than any other class in the Diocese. Within three weeks he had confirmed eleven hundred and fifty-eight persons, consecrated two churches, and or- dained two priests. The enthusiastic welcome received by him showed that his genial and cordial nature had gained for him a place in the affections of the people. Many followed him from parish to parish, as if they could not bear to lose one service where he officiated. Al- though the services were usually held on a week day, the churches were too small to hold all who desired to attend.
The Bishop, commenting upon his journey, says :
" I feel it my duty to express the high gratification which I received in my visitation of the Diocese, not only from the efforts of both the clergy and the laity to make my stay among them personally agreeable, but principally from the evidence which I received of the flourishing state of the churches which I visited. There can be no doubt but that circumstances are eminently favorable to the increase of the Church in this State, in which there prevails a spirit of religious inquiry which is calculated to advance the cause of truth. The want, however, of clergymen is severely felt. This Diocese has supplied the Church in many other States, particularly in the Diocese of New York, with clergymen ; and her own increase and prosperity have in conse- quence been somewhat retarded. . . . Her clergy and laity have always been celebrated for their attachment to the distinguishing prin- ciples of the Church, and for zeal, firmness and perseverance in advo- cating those principles. To this circumstance, under God, may be attributed in no inconsiderable degree the general diffusion and prev- alence of sound Church principles." 1
The benevolent plan of Robert Raikes for the instruc- tion of the poor children of England in Sunday-schools made its way slowly in the United States. The chil- dren of the higher classes were well looked after, but no
1 Bishop Hobart's Address to the Convention of Connecticut, Guilford, June 5, 1817. The Christian Journal, No. 13, pp. 206, 207, July, 1817.
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special care was taken of those of the poor and destitute. The first Sunday-schools in the city of New York were formed in 1805, when Mrs. Isabella Graham and her daughter, afterwards the wife of the Rev. George W. Bethune, went among the poor and gathered their children together for religious instruction. There were possibili- ties in the plan which Bishop Hobart perceived ; in addi- tion to the old methods he was willing to try the new. An added sense of responsibility for all children, and the employment of a new agency, were the result of the move- ment begun by Robert Raikes.
It would be erroneous to conclude that the admonition - given to the sponsors whenever a child is baptised had been neglected until the end of the eighteenth century. Old-fashioned churchmen were careful to have the chil- dren for whom they had acted as sponsors properly trained to lead a godly and a Christian life, and be duly prepared for Confirmation and the Holy Communion. It had been the practice in Trinity Parish to gather the children monthly at the altar rail, to hear them recite the cate- chism, and then to give such explanation of various parts of the Services as the Rector deemed fit. Dr. Hobart was always happy in his addresses and intercourse with children, and he trained the two younger assistants, Mr. Berrian and Mr. Onderdonk, in his methods. The Bishop compiled, primarily for the children of that Parish, the series of instruction books known as The New York Catechism, which only recently has been superseded by more modern publications. The children of that genera- tion had the blessing and privilege, which seems to be de- nied to those of the present age, of living in homes where family prayer, religious conversation, and instruction were the rule. Conservative parents looked upon Sunday- schools as an innovation, and thought that they could
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نشر السلع
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Sunday-School Society Formed
1817]
never do the work which had been done by the pastor and the parents in the home.
This is evidently the reason why the organization of Sunday-schools in the Parish was deferred until the beginning of 1817. In February of that year a meeting of churchmen of New York was held to consider the expe- diency of promoting the formation of such schools, the in- tention being to have them under the control of an efficient board of managers, with the Bishop as President. After deliberation, it was determined to form " The New York Protestant Episcopal Sunday-school Society." In addition to the President there were to be three Vice-Presidents, a Secretary, a Treasurer, and a Board of Managers consist- ing of clergymen and laymen. Under the auspices of this society, and with the hearty co-operation of the Rec- tor, a school was organized in St. John's Chapel late in February, 1817, for which competent teachers volunteered their services. It opened with an attendance of one hun- dred and twenty children of both sexes, who had been " collected through the diligence of committees appointed for that purpose, in the short space of three days." This school grew so rapidly that it had to be divided into de- partments. The enrolment in the male department in July, 1817, was two hundred and forty-one, of whom twenty were blacks; and in the female department one hundred and forty-four, of whom twenty-six were blacks. The scholars with their teachers attended divine service on Sunday. For their accommodation, with the approval of the Vestry, the Board of Directors of St. John's Sunday- school erected, on either side of the organ loft, stages with seats rising in tiers. By this method better attention could be paid them by their teachers. All who could read were taught to find the places in the Prayer Book and to : respond audibly.
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The Sunday-school of St. John's was then the largest in any parish of the Church in the city.
The Sunday-school of St. Paul's was organized March 10, 1817, with one hundred and twenty scholars. The difficulties under which the teachers worked are mentioned in the report of the Superintendent of the girls' division :
" The majority of these were entirely ignorant of the alphabet ; some could spell tolerably well in words of two or three syllables ; but very few could read with any degree of correctness or fluency .. In the number above mentioned are to be included thirty coloured females, principally very young and deplorably ignorant. There were others, however, much more advanced in years, who had made some progress previously to their joining the school." 1
It was thought advisable to combine the male schools of Trinity Church and Grace Church, as there was diffi- culty in that part of the city in gathering scholars, "for very few, comparatively speaking, can be found, who are in need, or will accept of gratuitous instruction." The female department of Trinity Church began with sixty- one scholars .and had maintained its efficiency. Ample accommodations for both departments were afforded in Trinity Church. During its first year the society had enrolled in all the city parishes two hundred and twenty- five white, and twenty black, boys; three hundred and fifty-six white, and one hundred colored, girls. It was a real work of evangelization, as the greater part of these children had never before received secular or religious teaching.
On Tuesday, May 20, 1817, the General Convention met at half-past six in the evening in Trinity Church and proceeded at once to organize. The venerable patriarch of the American Church, Bishop White, of Pennsylvania,
1 Sunday-school Address, &c., pp. 38, 39, by John Henry Hobart, D.D., Dec. 31, 1817. To which is appended the First Report of the New York Protestant Episcopal Sunday-school Society. New York, 1818.
المسلم
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General Convention of 1817
1817]
presided in the House of Bishops, and the Rev. Benjamin T. Onderdonk was chosen Secretary.
In the House of Clerical and Lay Deputies the Rev. Dr. Isaac Wilkins, of West Chester, was chosen Presi- dent, and the Rev. Ashbel Baldwin, Secretary. After organizing, both houses adjourned to meet on Wednesday for the opening service. At the appointed hour a large congregation filled Trinity Church. Morning Prayer was said by the Rev. Dr. Wilkins. The Presiding Bishop began the Communion Service, assisted in the Epistle and Gospel by two other Bishops. The ser- mon was preached by the Right Rev. Alexander V. Griswold, Bishop of the Eastern Diocese. Taking his text from Revelation ii., 7, " He that hath an ear to hear, let him hear," he developed the theme, "Christ's Warn- ing to the Churches." He showed in detail for what the seven Churches of Asia were commended and blamed, and with what they were threatened. Under each of these heads he contrasted the condition of America with Apostolic Christianity. In conclusion the Bishop said :
"Great is the responsibility; and much, through the Divine bless- ing, may be effected by the zeal and fidelity of each member present; and it is chiefly to you, brethren, and friends, the clerical and lay dele- gates of this Convention, that we look for counsel and aid. To your piety, wisdom and holy zeal, the Churches of our Communion in these United States, now commend under God her concerns, her interests and her general welfare. It cannot be necessary, from this place, even to suggest how very much the present state of religion in this country requires our united efforts, and most arduous exertions in her sacred cause. In the last few years the Lord has smiled upon us in many blessings, and crowned our labours, we trust with much fruit to His glory and praise. We have the great comfort of beholding Zion in some degree of prosperity. Something has already been effected; but yet how small a part of that vast work which our hand findeth to do! What waste places remain; what desolations yet appear! What new labours are already rising to our view! We see fields, which
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History of Trinity Church
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'are white already to harvest.' Myriads of souls flocking to our West- ern States, destitute of religious teachers and the means of salvation, and sinking, we may well fear, into spiritual ignorance and thoughtless dissipation, demand the pious regard of this Convention. It is of im- mense importance that the blessings of the Saviour's Gospel be extended to these people; and too long already for the credit and interest of our communion, has this work been delayed. Our Christian brethren of the various denominations will no doubt, and they certainly do give great attention to this interesting part of our country. Shall we, only, be re- miss in such a labour of love? Shall not our standard appear among those rising millions, where are already dispersed thousands of our Christian brethren, craving the bread of eternal life; and suffering a famine of hearing the word of God ? 'Hungry and thirsty their soul faints within them.' And others, though boasting indeed that they are rich and increased in goods and have need of nothing, are spiritually 'wretched and miserable, and poor, and blind, and naked.'
"But while we would extend the comforts and blessings of our religion to others, let us not forget what is more essential, to practice it ourselves. Let us banish and drive away all corruption of life and doctrine, and 'hold the faith in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life.'
"May the Lord mercifully be with us, and direct our counsels to His glory, and to the prosperity and the salvation of His people: may he give us ears to hear, and hearts to understand, and wills to obey the warning of His Spirit, and the oracles of His Word, and to Him, the Father, the Son and the Holy Ghost, be ascribed all glory and praise, world without end. Amen."1
Among the interesting features of this Convention were the sermons, delivered one each day by some Bishop. The Convention discussed the important subject of Western missions for the encouragement of those on the frontier. Its chief work was the passage of resolu- tions approving a General Theological Seminary. The subject was placed in charge of a strong Committee of which Bishop White was chairman.2
1 Christ's Warning to the Churches, pp. 28, 29, 30. New York : T. & J. Swords. 1817.
? The other members were : Bishop Hobart, Bishop Croes, Dr. Charles H. Wharton, Dr. William Harris, Hon. William Meredith, Hon. Charles F. Mercer.
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Theological Seminary
1817]
Bishop Hobart was an earnest friend of theological education ; early in his ministry he had organized a private class for candidates, many of whom afterward attained eminence in the Church. To him the action of the General Convention was peculiarly gratifying, and he was an efficient member of the Committee.
The Bishop had hardly recovered from the fatigue and exertion of welcoming the deputies of the General Con- vention to his Diocese, his Parish, and his home, before he was obliged to proceed to Guilford to preside at the Convention of Connecticut. This body had in it many men of marked individuality and local and national promi- nence. The regard for their temporary Diocesan was shown in the large attendance and the new energy infused into them by his cheerful and buoyant spirit. In the course of his Convention address, after relating his work in the Diocese and commending the Episcopal Academy at Cheshire as a source from which some of its future clergy would come, and the excellent work of Dr. Tillotson Bronson, the principal, he concludes by exhorting the clergy and laity to remain firm in the Faith and in persevering attachment to the distinguishing tenets of the Church.
At the close of the Convention he commenced a brief visitation by consecrating the churches at North Killing- worth and North Guilford, and holding several con- firmations.
He was again in the Diocese in August, passing rapidly through Fairfield County, visiting the shore towns, and everywhere confirming large classes. On Saturday, August 16th, while in Hartford, he ordained to the priesthood the Rev. Jonathan M. Wainwright, who had recently been called to Christ Church in that city.
On September 2d, he consecrated Trinity Church, Humphreysville, a town founded by the famous Colonel
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History of Trinity Church
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: David Humphreys, the intimate friend of Washington, on his return from Madrid, where he had been our Minister Plenipotentiary for many years. Humphreysville was a model factory village, and gave the tone to the New Eng- land factory communities. For many reasons, therefore, the completion and consecration of a church building which had stood for twenty years unfinished in this busy com- munity is worthy of more than passing notice.
In September the Bishop visited several parishes in New York, finding much to encourage him. In the course of his address to the Diocesan Convention, which met in Trinity Church, New York, October 21st and 22d, after detailing his official acts, he gives some necessary admonitions concerning private meetings for devotion, which he thought tended to disparage the ap- pointed daily services in the house of God. He spoke of the purpose of the General Convention in proposing a Theological Seminary and commended the agent who was to solicit subscriptions in the Diocese.
At this session of the Convention the Bishop delivered his second charge. In it he drew a contrast between the " Corruptions of Rome and the Errors of Protestantism."
"This production," says Dr. McVickar, "is unquestionably among the finest displays of hortatory eloquence we find among his writ- ings. Nor only so: it bears also the marks of that sagacity which dis- tinguished his mind in looking into the future; and which bodied forthcoming evils in the spirit, not of fear, but of wise precaution. But it bears also his stamp in another point-the well balanced mind, that was not to be forced from its centre by the outcries of the multitude." 1
The charge opens with a consideration of the duty of ministers of the Church to question the spirit of the age, "to try the spirits whether they are of God." He thus continues :
1 Professional Years of Dr. Hobart, chap. xviii., p. 442.
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Bishop Hobart's Charge
1818]
"But it is a duty far from inviting. Much more pleasant is it to swim with than to stem the current; to be carried along by the popular gale, than, with incessant and wearying exertion, to struggle against it; to be hailed by the applause of hosts in whose ranks, or as whose leaders, men bear to a triumph the opinions or the measures of the day, than to meet their odium by refusing to enlist with them, or, by opposition, somewhat to perplex their progress, if not to diminish their success. And therefore, in general, the methods of insuring a prosper- ous issue to any plan, and a universal reception to any opinions, is to make them popular; for thus are enlisted in their cause all that is weak and all that is selfish in our nature.
" But I forget that I am addressing those, who, when at the altar of their Lord and Master they were invested with the office of minis- tering in sacred things, pledged themselves over the symbols of his body and blood, to make the unity and purity of his Church, estab- lished for the salvation of men, the object of their supreme and con- stant exertions ; who, on that altar, sacrificed all those human regards that would seduce or deter them from the faithful discharge of their duty; who are supported by the confidence that the Master, whose truth and Church they are defending, will never forsake them. Now comforting them with those hopes which the world can neither give nor take away, and hereafter, swallowing up the remembrance of past afflictions in rewards of immortality. These, my clerical brethren, are the consolations that fortify, with more than human strength, the spirit of the Christian minister against severer trials than any to which, in the present day, he is called. Under their influence the rack lost its terrors, and the stake the torture of its flames." 1
One more extract from this charge :
" Does Episcopacy lose its claims to a divine origin because, on its simple and apostolic foundation has been reared the gorgeous and un- hallowed structure of the Papal hierarchy ? If one extreme approves its opposite, if the abuse of an institution renders necessary the rejec- tion of it; if usurped prerogative justifies resistance to legitimate power, what is there in religion-what is there in civil polity- what is there in the departments of science - what is there in social life, that would remain sacred ? Let not, then, brethren, your attachment to the primitive institutions of your Church be in any
1 The Corruptions of the Church of Rome Contrasted with Certain Protestant Errors. By John Henry Hobart, D.D. New York : T. & J. Swords. 1818. VOL. III .-- 2.
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History of Trinity Church [1818]
degree shaken by the aspersion that they symbolize with papal supersti- tions. Be not intimidated from avowing and defending the Scripture and primitive claims of Episcopacy, by the reproach, that you are verging to the Church of Rome. The reproach discovers little ac- quaintance with genuine Episcopacy, and little knowledge of papal claims. The Episcopacy, which it is the privilege of our Church to enjoy, was the glory of martyrs and confessors, centuries before papal domi- nation established itself on the depression of Episcopal prerogatives." 1
Of our branch of the Catholic Church in America there is this fine description :
" Temperate, judicious, firm, unawed by papal threats, unmoved by the unjust reproaches of her Protestant kindred, she takes her stand where apostles and martyrs stood; and in her apostolic Episco- pacy, cleared of Papal usurpation, stands forth to the wandering mem- bers of the Christian family as a 'city set on a hill,' where they may find repose from the tumults of schism and communion with their Redeemer in those ministrations and ordinances which he has estab- lished as the channels of his grace and the pledges of his love." ?
1 Pp. 18, 19. Charge. 'P. 21. Charge.
CHAPTER II.
THOMAS YARDLEY HOW.
Nomination of Thomas Yardley How as Assistant Preacher-His Previous Career- Hobart's Friendship for him-His Sad Fall -- Deposed by Bishop Hobart-Who still Shows his Affection for him.
T r HE first act of Dr. Hobart as Rector was the nom- ination of the Rev. Thomas Y. How, as his " Assist- ant Preacher," which nomination having been consented to by the Vestry, an additional allowance of $500 a year was granted to Dr. How,1 who, as we have already seen, had been chosen, July 14, 1808, as Assistant Minister.2
Thomas Yardley How was born at Princeton, New Jersey, in 1776. He studied at the College of New Jer- sey, now Princeton University, and there formed enduring friendships with men who afterwards rose to eminence. Among these friends he numbered Henry Rollock,3 Fred- eric Beasley, afterwards Rector of St. Peter's, Albany, and Provost of the University of Pennsylvania,4 Joseph Caldwell, in after years President of the University of North Carolina,5 and John Henry Hobart. To these is to be added Charles Fenton Mercer, Hobart's intimate friend and correspondent. Dr. McVickar has preserved
1 Records, liber ii., folios 295, 296, March 11, 1816.
' Part II., 184.
Lamb's Biographical Dictionary.
'Sprague's Annals, p. 477. Lamb's Biographical Dictionary. History of St. Peter's Church, Albany, by the Rev. Joseph Hooper.
'See Lamb's Biographical Dictionary.
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in his Early Life and Professional Years of Bishop Hobart a letter from Mr. Mercer to Mr. How :
" JANUARY 31st, 1805.
"I write, my dear How, under an uncertainty whether my letter will find you in New-York, or else have to follow you in an Ameri- can or European tour ; but I thank God that your health continues to mend. Your country, equally with your friends, has an interest in your recovery. I am impatient, my dear How, to see you enter on the stage of public life, and to witness the exertion of the rich tal- ents which nature has given you and which you have so highly cul- tivated. I have no doubt myself, but that a sense of public usefulness would contribute more effectually to your perfect recovery than the whole 'materia medica.' Next to this moral remedy, the plan you have adopted seems to me to be the best ; it is, moreover, calculated yet further to extend your information, and to enlarge the field of your imagination. How I should delight to accompany you on your travels, to gather instruction from the clearness and force of your con- ceptions, to listen to your manly nervous eloquence, but more, indeed to share in your affection, to participate in your cares and your enjoy- ments, to nurse you in sickness, and endeavour, by the tenderest sym- pathy, to dispel from your bosom the sorrow that seems to consume you.
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