USA > New York > New York City > A history of the parish of Trinity Church in the city of New York, pt 4 > Part 23
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Upon a detailed report by the Building Committee on the new church, with information regarding unfinished contracts, and the progress made on them, it was resolved : " That the Committee should proceed in the erection and completion of the edifice, including the spire, in pur- .suance of the plan originally adopted by the Vestry." 5
The art of glass staining or glass painting was at that time almost entirely unknown in the United States. Plain glass, sometimes set in geometrical patterns, with green or Venetian blinds, was the rule in all the churches.
' Records, liber iii., folio 373. 3 Ibid., folio 370.
2 Ibid., folio 363.
4 Ibid., folio 352. 5 Ibid., folio 352.
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The few attempts at color decoration for church windows were crude, harsh, and unsatisfactory. Even in England there was little modern glass of merit until the revival of Gothic architecture. It was therefore not only a de- parture from precedent, but a bold experiment for the Vestry to entertain the thought of filling any window in the new Parish church with painted glass.
The Vestry inspected "several drawings prepared by the architect of subjects for the bays of the large Altar window of Trinity Church and for the painting of the whole window." The estimated cost was stated to be "about four thousand dollars."
The whole subject was then referred to the Building Committee "with power." 1
A long discussion occurred as to the finial of the spire. Should the old-fashioned ball and vane be used ? should a weathercock, perched high in the air, turn with every wind ? or, above the mart of traffic and gain, should there gleam the symbol of the Christian's faith and hope ? Sundry designs prepared by the architect were submitted by the Committee and inspected by the Vestry, and finally, after a further inspection and debate, they decided May 12, 1845, "that the plan terminating with the cross be adopted." 2 The Building Committee were also au- thorized to make a contract for a tower clock and "to restore the ring of bells formerly in the old edifice to its former number, or in their discretion to enlarge the same." 3
In their report upon the chime for the new tower, the Building Committee recommended "that the large bell belonging to the chime now at St. Paul's Chapel be not removed but remain there," also the purchase of a new bell "in place of the smallest bell of the chime which is
1 Records, liber. iii., folio 376. ? Ibid., folios 373, 375, 3 Ibid., folio 364.
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so much out of tune as to render it expedient to order a new one."
It further recommended that "the three bells requisite to complete the chime" and a new bell in the place of the one to remain at St. Paul's Chapel be ordered from Mears and Company of London.1
In November, 1845, the bells to complete the chime arrived from England. They were excellent in tone and harmonized with the other bells of the chime.
A rearrangement of the various bells was now made. The two smaller bells were to be removed from the chapels of Trinity Church, and the smallest bell now in Trinity churchyard to be placed in one of the chapel towers "in lieu of one of those removed to Trinity." The Committee of Supplies and Repairs was authorized "to procure and put up another small bell in the tower of the other Chapel." 2
The City Mission Society having sent a memorial to the Vestry in April, 1844, praying for immediate relief from financial embarrassment, the Standing Com- mittee reported, February 10, 1845, recommending that the interest upon the loan from the Corporation of ten thousand dollars be remitted for the current year and that a grant be made of six hundred dollars in addition to the sum annually allowed, " one half thereof to be paid on the Ist of September next, and the other half on the Ist of March, 1846." The condition of this extra allowance was that "there shall be raised by donations of indi- viduals in addition to the present subscriptions for the objects of the Society the sum of twelve hundred dollars," to liquidate the present demands upon it.3
Such grants are but the occasion for renewed requests : it is so to-day, and it seems to have been so
1 Records, liber. iii., folio 376.
2 Ibid., folio 381. ' Ibid, folio 368.
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always. As the work of the City Mission Society grew, additional funds were needed, and again application must be made to the Mother of Churches. Notwithstanding the annual allowance of $1800, it was felt that a per- manent endowment might be-not to say, ought to be -secured from the Corporation. This desire, with a petition for additional aid to relieve the Society from immediate and pressing necessities, found utterance in a memorial from the rectors of parishes, and other clergymen residing in the city, and laymen from the various churches, which came before the Vestry in the spring of 1844.1
At the same time St. George's Church, in Beekman Street, the eldest child of Trinity, came forward with a request for help to build a chapel uptown in some position convenient for removed and fast removing parishioners. One of the last acts of the good Dr. Milnor was to memorialize Trinity for $25,000 to purchase lots uptown ; while it was hoped and expected that at the least $60,000 might be made up for the erection of a new building. It is an ancient and inveterate habit to look to Trinity whenever help is needed. Another instance of the reputation of the Parish for " boundless wealth " was given in a proposal made at this time by the Rev. Corry Chambers, of Wilmington, Delaware, that the Wilmington Literary Institute, whose Principal he was, and which was about to be incorporated into a college-should be entirely controlled by Trinity Church. The Vestry "respectfully declined." 2
The plea of many of these memorialists was that the original endowment of Trinity Church by the British Crown was a trust fund for Church Extension in the city of New York. Similarly it was held by some at
1 Records, liber iii., folio 356.
? Ibid., folio 356.
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a later day that all the communicants of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the city were corporators and had a right to vote at our elections, no matter from what parishes they came. So great is the power of the imagination, when unrestrained by sound judgment and a knowledge of historical and financial facts.
The subject of the regulations necessary in relation to the admission of corporators, the record of such admissions, and the qualifications of voters, has previously been referred to in these pages. It was under the con- sideration of a select committee from April 2, 1839, until March 25, 1844, on which date the conclusion was reached that, while no further legislation was necessary, the Vestry should provide, by the adoption of a carefully framed ordinance, for carrying out the provisions of the Charter. Such an ordinance was accordingly drafted, covering the questions of the qualifications of voters at the Easter elections, the manner in which they were to be admitted, and the method of election. This ordinance in its fundamental provisions has been in force from that time to the present day.
The building of the new church was not only an event of great importance to the Parish, but also a sign to the whole community. A sense of larger relations of their work, and of its value in the direction of Christian art and Catholic worship, though latent, must have been in the minds of those charged with the great enterprise. The officers of the Church were fortunate in their architect, that staunch Churchman, Richard Upjohn; they were fortunate in having been trained in the old Anglican theology of which Bishop Hobart and Bishop Onderdonk were masters; they were fortunate in their freedom from narrow views and contracted notions, such as go with an imperfect and limited education in Church principles. A VOL. IV .- 17.
أسوان الـ
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general feeling was abroad that the new building was to exceed in splendor and dignity anything ever seen thus far in the city or the country, and that everything must correspond to that exalted character. To such an im- pression of the fitness of things was due the decision that the lofty and beautiful spire should be surmounted by the cross of Christ. To the same feeling was due the decision that the chancel was to be much more spacious than might seem necessary to the average mind, and that it should be extended to the large Altar window, so as to give room for grand services, and, as some may possibly have ventured to think, for the accommodation of a choir, after the fashion of the cathedrals in the mother country. As the new church approached completion, its great beauty and dignity became more and more apparent. The Rector strenuously advocated whatever the architect advised ; the Vestry, by their votes, assented; and thus there was secured the largest chancel that had ever been seen in this country, one in which great Church functions could be held with all the impressiveness that might be demanded or desired.1
Nor was the question about the order of services in the new church forgotten. There was a general wish that the full beauty of the Church's worship should be made manifest by frequent services and strict attention to the rubrical law of the Book of Common Prayer. The Rector, Messrs. Gulian C. Verplanck, William Moore, and Dr. William H. Hobart were appointed a special committee "to consider and report at some time before the consecration of the sacred edifice, a plan for the celebration of daily service and other ministrations of the Church therein, and how the same shall be supplied and supported." 2 That committee in their report announced 1 Records, liber iii., folios 382, 383.
2 Ibid., folio 383.
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f
Trinity Church from the Architects drawing.
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that, after much earnest thought, they had agreed upon the principles which ought to guide the action of the Vestry. Its members knew that much was expected : they were prepared for whatever recommendations might be made. The committee aimed, in their report, to make clear to all the Parish, and (note this expression care- fully) to Churchmen in general, the true ideal of common worship ; to extend the influence of the Church; and to express, by word and deed, a profound sense of their accountability to the great Head of the Church for the treasure committed to their care. An interesting paper is found among the manuscripts of Dr. Berrian ; it is probably a series of suggestions for the committee's report ; and it states with some minuteness the principles which underlay the committee's recommendations.
Dr. Berrian says in the beginning of his paper : " Though not entitled to the name of a cathedral, inas- much as the Bishop of the Diocese has no closer connec- tion with it than any other of the churches under his jurisdiction, yet this edifice on account of its size and beauty, as well as the antiquity of its site, and the wealth of the parish to which it belongs, does now and will here- after to a greater extent, gather around it many of the interesting associations which spring from such establish- ments in our Mother Church of England." As the new church was "the most costly and magnificent and the best endowed of our places of public worship," there was a general expectation that there would be " a more frequent and more elaborate order of service than has heretofore existed in Parish Churches." Two measures to carry out this expectation, " which is both reasonable in itself, and one which it would be unwise in reference to the pro- motion of true piety in the Church to disappoint," are proposed. The first, that "there should always be two
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clergymen to officiate at Trinity on Sundays and holy days, one to read and the other to preach." The second, that "Trinity Church should be opened for prayer daily at 9 o'clock in the morning, and 3 o'clock in the after- noon." The Rector says that "the revival of a practice which the Liturgy itself so manifestly declares to be proper and expedient, or rather its introduction so far as this City is concerned, has long been advocated by many of the best friends of the Church; it has been partially attempted by several parishes in this City, and in other Dioceses, and the result has uniformly proved to be in the highest degree satisfactory." He dwells upon the satisfaction which the opportunity of daily service would afford to many, such "as the merchants on their way to and from their places of business, and strangers visiting the City." Considering the peculiar location of Trinity Church, he anticipates that there "might be likely to spring up a custom amongst the female members of Episcopal families in the upper part of the City to come down for the evening service, and meet their husbands, parents, or brothers, to join with them in grateful offerings of prayer and praise." He next con- siders, that
"as the lower part of the City has been deserted by the fashionable and wealthy inhabitants, but a large population of the poorer classes remain, and will remain, and probably even increase, Trinity Church, then, being the only place of worship of any denomination below John Street would seem to be discharging only a bounden duty, while at the same time it would unquestionably secure for itself the approbation of all the devout members of our communion by taking the pastoral care as far as possible of the poor in this part of the City."
To accomplish this increased work it was proposed to have two Assistant Ministers assigned to Trinity Church. Their Sunday duty would be to preach alternately every
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Sunday morning, and to read prayers, "except whenever the Rector wishes to perform that duty." The daily duty was to be done according to a routine arranged by the assistants. On Sunday afternoon "one assistant to read prayers, and the other to exchange, according to a settled routine with the ministers attached to St. Paul's and St. John's Chapels." A more prominent place was to be given to the due administration of the Holy Communion. It was suggested that it be celebrated monthly on suc- cessive Sundays in Trinity Church, and her two chapels. This approximated to a weekly celebration, which had been urged by some in the Parish, and which had then recently become the rule in some parishes in England.1
Such were the views of the Rector, and, as the report shows, they were substantially shared by the lay members of the committee. It was realized that the whole American Church was waiting to see what forward step would be taken by Trinity. Provision must be made for additional clergy, for special services for the destitute people of the first ward, and for systematic visiting and relief; and it was further proposed that, in addition to the priests in charge, two deacons should be employed subject to the Rector's control, and to be assigned to such duties as might seem to him best. A full report, using largely the Rector's suggestions, and embodying the new proposal for an increase of the clerical staff, was presented to the Vestry March 30, 1846. Its consideration was deferred until the May meeting.
Before the time fixed for action on the report arrived, several matters of minor importance were disposed of. A committee was appointed to make a proper assignment of pews in the new church to those who owned pews in the edifice which it replaced .? Dr. Hodges was appointed
1 No. 370, Berrian MSS.
9 Records, liber iii., folio 390.
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organist at Trinity Church, at a salary of $500, and a sum not to exceed $1500 per annum was appropriated for the choir. It was also determined that the date for the conse- cration should be the Feast of the Ascension, May 21, 1846, and a committee consisting of the Rector, Messrs. Adam Tredwell, Philip Hone, William H. Harison, and William E. Dunscomb was appointed to make all neces- sary arrangements for the function. 1
The report of the committee on increased services and duties was taken up at the May meeting, and fully discussed, with unusual earnestness and animation. The suggestions of the Rector had been closely followed ; it is probable that the report was from his pen. Briefly, it was recommended that the services in the new church should be on a scale commensurate with its dignity and beauty ; that there should never be less than four clergy present at the administration of the Holy Communion whenever practi- cable ; that the ministrations of the Church to the spiritual needs of the lower wards should be careful and constant ; that one Assistant Minister in addition to the three already provided for should be appointed, and also one young man in Deacon's orders to assist in the work.
As the outcome of the report, a resolution was adopted appointing two Deacons for one year at a salary of $600 each, one of whom should reside near the church. No other action was taken at the time, but the usage of the Parish became conformed, eventually, to its recommendations.
The Rev. Cornelius R. Duffie was then appointed as one of the two Deacons provided for in the resolution. He was well known to the Rector and Vestry. His father had been the founder and first Rector of St. Thomas's Church, contributing to that purpose largely from his pri- vate means. Mr. Duffie had spent the preceding month
1 Records, liber iii., folio 390.
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of his diaconate in Connecticut and in assisting various clergymen in New York City.
At the close of the meeting it was resolved " that when this vestry adjourn, it adjourn to meet on Thursday the 2 Ist inst. at half past 10 o'clock A.M. at the house of Wil- liam S. Bunker, No. 39 Broadway, to attend the consecra- tion of the New Edifice of Trinity Church."
The Bishop of New York being under a sentence of indefinite suspension, the Diocese was in commission. The Standing Committee, being the ecclesiastical author- ity, had invited the Right Rev. Samuel A. McCoskry, D.D., to make a visitation of the Diocese. That visita- tion was just completed ; but the Bishop, at their request, kindly consented to prolong his stay in the city for a short time, in order to consecrate the new church. The Vestry, in grateful acknowledgment of his courtesy, authorized the Rector to present him with a new set of Episcopal robes, and a set of communion plate for use in private ministration to the aged and the sick.
Before proceeding to the account of the consecration, another and a painful subject demands attention. In the midst of their preparations for the event, which, it was hoped, would promote the glory of Almighty God, and advance the interests of His Kingdom, a storm broke upon the people of the Parish. Prominent position awakens jealousy, and when to this are added the motives of suspi- cion and fear, trouble must ensue. It was a painful era in the history of the Diocese. The Bishop had been im- peached, tried, adjudged guilty of the charges against him, and condemned to a punishment so peculiar and cruel, that the canon law of our Church now prohibits the like to be pronounced at any future time. Great numbers were fully convinced of his innocence ; his friends were as : devoted as his foes were persistent; and among those
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friends were the Rector of Trinity Church and many of the most prominent persons of the Parish, who loyally maintained his cause, and drew upon themselves the bitter reproaches of his censors. Added to this, as a cause of discontent, was the reluctance of the Vestry to contribute with as liberal a hand as before, to applicants for aid ; a not unnatural disposition, considering the great burden of expense incurred in rebuilding the church on so splendid a scale and carrying on meanwhile the work under their charge. In fact the rebuilding of the church had been severely criticised, by persons who whispered, or muttered, that mission chapels and chapels of ease scattered about in different parts of the city would do more good than a great temple like that which was slowly rising at the head of Wall Street. The growth of the city was rapid ; church accommodations did not keep up with it; and the impression prevailed widely that the work of ministering to all who were uncared for belonged, as a duty, to Trinity.1 To these causes of irritation in certain quarters should be added the election of the Rev. Samuel L. Southard, Rector of Calvary Church, to be an Assistant Minister of Trinity Church, as it was known that he was a staunch friend of the suspended Bishop. He declined the call ; but the fact that it had been given afforded an additional ground for innuendo.
For these and other reasons, a feeling of hostil- ity to the Parish had grown up, and was spreading, fos- tered by disappointed applicants for bounty, and by
1 The injustice of the charge of dereliction to duty in this particular is shown by the fact that the subject had been already discussed in the Vestry, and that upon a resolution introduced by Mr. Gulian C. Verplanck, January 14, 1846, a committee had been appointed to plan for the extension of the work by the erection of chapels and large additions to the clerical staff, thus demonstrating that the Vestry, while realizing the duty of maintaining the ancient churches in the lower part of the town, were not overlooking or forgetting the needs of Church people elsewhere.
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others who sincerely considered the Parish to be a nest of superstition and an ally and abettor of deadly error in religion.
A point of attack seemed to be needed. It was found in the well-known Act of 1814, by which the legal title of the Corporation had been changed from that of "The Rector and Inhabitants of the City of New York" to that of "The Rector, Church Wardens, and Vestrymen of Trinity Church." The malcontents moved at last, and seized the favorable opportunity to level what they hoped and expected to be a telling blow at the status of the Corporation.
The attitude of the assailants is well illustrated in a pamphlet published anonymously and signed "A Lay Delegate." The writer is reviewing a document entitled, " A report to the Vestry of St. Peter's Church, Albany, by the Hon. John C. Spencer, on the Convention of 1845." After outlining the course of debate in that Convention, and alleging that those who spoke in favor of Bishop Onderdonk were recognized as being in the way of pro- motion and advancement by Trinity Church, he thus proceeds in caustic vein :
"The prominent position of Trinity Church and its influence upon the Diocese have been of late years frequent topics of remark. More than thirty years since, Mr. Cadwalader D. Colden predicted in some degree that which has come to pass. He said: 'In the Convention of the Churches, the Religious Croesus (Trinity Church) has of course its representation; and can it be expected that other members of the Convention who represent Congregations that are or have been de- pendent on Trinity Church will not have a bias to that course pointed out by the representatives of the vestry ?'"
The sectarian distribution of the pecuniary patronage of that Corporation seems to the writer to indicate an : entire forgetfulness on the part of the Vestry, that the
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original grant from King William was "for use and be- half of the inhabitants from time to time inhabiting and to inhabit, within our city of New York in communion of our Protestant church of England," and that the subse- quent grant under Queen Anne was expressed in the same clear and general terms and conferred no right upon the managers of the charity to use it for individual purposes or party ends. Since, however, the passage of the act of the State of New York in 1814, changing the title of the Corporation and restricting the right of voting, originally given to every Episcopalian in the city, to the few who belong to Trinity Church and her chapels, the number of electors has been growing smaller and smaller until the Vestry are become virtually a close corporation able to fill their own vacancies. And the property which they hold in trust has increased so prodigiously in value that the facility to turn its management to individual profit or sec- tarian ends, and the impunity from all investigation or punishment, tend to present temptations which may not always be successfully resisted.
The floating rumors, in some cases too well substanti- ated, of large sums paid to relieve favorites of their debts or of succor extended to long-established and comparatively wealthy parishes whose delegates in Convention had voted with Trinity, while the merest pittance was refused to a poor free church struggling with want because her minister, the father of a large family, had incurred the displeasure of the party ; the giving of money as a reward and the with- holding it as a punishment,-these things were, it was claimed, entirely foreign to the intentions and expectations of its royal founders.
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