USA > New York > The centennial history of the Protestant Episcopal church in the diocese of New York, 1785-1885 > Part 17
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The name of Dr. Potter had been mentioned several times, in connection with vacancies in the episcopate, long be- fore his election to that office in his own diocese. On these occasions he persistently adhered to the line which he had adopted of discouraging such movements and of declaring his wish and preference to remain a simple parish priest, united with his family, and at peace in his home. In Pennsylvania and in Connecticut strong influences might have been brought to bear in his behalf, but for his entire indifference and posi- tive refusal to give any encouragement ; and, as he expresses it in one of his letters, " to trouble his head about it." But in the year 1854, the office which he had conscientiously refused to seek at length sought him ; and by the concurrent vote of the clergy and laity, assembled in Diocesan Convention, in September, he was elected provisional Bishop of New York, succeeding the honored and lamented Wainwright, whose brief but admirable episcopate of less than two years had been cut suddenly short by death. He was consecrated November 22d, in Trinity Church, New York, by the Rt. Rev. T. C. Brownell, Bishop of Connecticut, assisted by Bishops Fulford, of Montreal; Whittingham, of Maryland ; Hopkins, of Ver- mont; Doane, of New Jersey; McCoskrey, of Michigan, and Alonzo Potter, of Pennsylvania. The day was the guarantee of the coming era of rest, recovery, and peace, of great devel- opment, and of abounding works of grace to the glory of God and the extension of the Church.
Dr. Potter, elected provisional bishop, became bishop on the death of Bishop Onderdonk in 1861. Among the notable events of his administration was the subdivision of the diocese in 1868, by which the new Dioceses of Long Island, Albany, and Central New York came into existence. His influence, strongly felt at home in the House of Bishops, of which he
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SKETCHES OF THE BISHOPS.
was a distinguished member, was exerted on a much wider scale, through his active participation in the Lambeth Con- ferences, held in September, 1867, and in July, 1878. He was present, on both occasions, in those august assemblages of the Fathers of the Anglican Communion, ably representing the Diocese of New York in councils recalling those of the long ago ; councils representing one great division-alas ! that there are divisions-of the Holy Catholic and Apostolic Church. The friendships of earlier days were continued and strengthened at these periods ; new ones were formed, as the letters show. Among his correspondents were Bishop Wilberforce, once of Oxford and later of Winchester; Bishop Selwyn, of Lich- field ; Bishop Jackson, of London ; Bishop Moberly and his predecessor, Bishop Hamilton ; Bishop Medley, of Frederic- ton ; Lord Stanhope, Archdeacon Sinclair, Bishop Jacobson, of Chester ; the Rt. Hon. Sir J. T. Coleridge, and many others of like fame and worth.
This centennial history contains the evidence of the great growth of the diocese during the administration of its now venerable diocesan, and gives the particulars necessary in order to compute the advance in every part of the field. In all these things Bishop Potter took the initiative, as his ad- dresses to his convention prove. These were not " charges " in the strict sense of that word, but rather reviews of Church work during each preceding year, and most interesting ac- counts, in almost a narrative form, of the state of the diocese and the labors of its devoted clergy. It is needless to say that this annual retrospect proved a powerful stimulus to increased effort, and gave a practical turn to the work of the entire body. During his episcopate progress has been made in every desirable direction, but nowhere more distinctly than in efforts to reach the laboring classes and the poor, to popularize the Church, to draw the plainer sort of people into her fold, and to push on home missions in the city and in the rural districts. The day is now so far distant as to be hardly remembered when some were wont to cast a slur on the Church as that of the wealthy and fashionable; it is now one of her most marked signs, that she careth for the souls of the poor, and
I3
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CENTENNIAL CHURCH HISTORY.
that they are precious in her sight. The largest and wealthi- est parishes in the city of New York are so many centers of wise, well-directed, and successful action looking to the eleva- tion of the lower classes, the relief of the suffering, and the preaching Christ to the poor. It is not going too far to say that this marked characteristic of the work of the Church in this city is, under God, the result of the steady, persistent, persuasive, and unwearying presentation of these subjects to his convention, by the bishop, in those notable addresses to which I have referred.
During the episcopate of Bishop Horatio Potter ecclesias- tical controversy has been all but unknown among us. The spirit of mischief, though threatening from time to time, has never succeeded in getting head. Questions involving obedi- ence to the law of the Church, and calling for discipline, have from time to time occurred ; in such cases the bishop has met them with decision and sustained the law. But his calmness, his sagacity, his knowledge of human nature, and his just re- spect for the rights of all, have enabled him to maintain, within his border, an envied peace. Storms have gathered, but they have quietly rolled by ; enemies have predicted ap- proaching upheavals and convulsions, but the prophecies have failed, till men have grown tired of repeating them.
The scene which occurred at the General Convention in 1865, in connection with the reunion of the dioceses which had been temporarily separated from each other during the terrible civil war, must be held in perpetual remembrance as one of the most striking episodes in the life of our great- hearted bishop. It has been described by more than one eye- witness. I take the following graphic and eloquent account from Dr. Fulton's monograph in Bishop Perry's History of the American Episcopal Church (vol. ii., pp. 589-90).
There was intense desire on both sides to come together again, to forget the past, to be knit once more as of old, heart to heart, and hand to hand; yet no one felt quite sure how the reunion was to be brought about. It seems that the Bishops of North Carolina and Arkansas had determined to go to Philadelphia, and be present at the general convention,
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not with the thought of taking their seats there, much less of claiming them, but to see what God in His Providence might have in store, and to consult, if opportunity might be found, on the general interests of the Church and the means of effecting a reunion. What followed is thus described by Dr. Fulton :
" At the opening services of the General Convention of 1865, the two Southern bishops modestly took seats with the congregation in the nave of the Church, and a thrill of deep emotion passed through the vast assembly when their pres- ence was observed, and it was whispered that the South was coming back. Messengers were sent to conduct them to seats among the other bishops in the chancel, a courtesy of which they were fully sensible, but which they felt it to be proper to decline. After the service the Bishops of New York and Maryland went with others to greet them, and with friendly violence drew them toward the House of Bishops. It was then, when they hesitated to enter that house until they should know on what terms and with what understanding they were to be received, that Bishop Potter addressed to them the memorable words : 'Trust all to the love and honor of your brethren !' They could ask, and they desired no other assurance. They knew the men with whom they had to deal. They entered without further hesitation, and the House of Bishops nobly redeemed the noble pledge made by the Bishop of New York."
A few words may be considered in order, by way of de- scription of the celebration of the twenty-fifth anniversary of Bishop Potter's consecration. The day was Saturday, Novem- ber 22, 1879 .* In the morning at eleven o'clock divine ser-
* Under the title of "A Blameless Bishop," the following editorial appeared in the New York Tribune, on the morning of the twenty-fifth anniversary of Horatio Potter's consecration :
"The Protestant Episcopal Church of this diocese will this day mark in a proper and pious manner the twenty-fifth anniversary of the consecration of its present excellent head, and on Tuesday next there will be further observances. The whole community, without religious distinction, will be interested in this recognition of work well done under circumstances of peculiar delicacy and diffi-
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vice was celebrated in Trinity Church. The Bishops of Long Island, Western New York, and Albany were present, and an immense congregation filled the Church. After the Holy Gospel had been read and the Nicene Creed sung, an address
culty. Bishop Potter has been temperate when rashness would have been easy, and conciliatory when he might have been offensive. Though sometimes sorely tried, either by those of his clergy who went too far, or by those who did not go far enough in their ideas of priestly duty, he has been sparing and tenderly pater- nal in his rebukes. Patient under occasional provocation, he has steered his way between Tractarian and Tepidarean, without scandalous collision.
"Far be it from us to intimate that Bishop Potter has been, in any offensive sense of the word, a trimmer. The most minute inspection of his record will dis- cover no great principle neglected, no true position abandoned, no rule of the Church conveniently disregarded. At the same time he has not been a fretful disciplinarian, scolding from the rising of the sun until the going down of the same ; infusing all the affairs of the diocese with a polemic spirit ; eagerly hunting for eccentricities or irregularites of ritual ; putting himself perpetually upon his Episcopal dignity. He has not acted as if a true soldier of the Cross must be, like some military martinet, a monomaniac upon the subject of pipe-clay and buttons, forever brandishing his crook, as if it were a drill-sergeant's baton, at the high who were too high, at the broad who were too broad, and at the low who would not come up an inch higher, and who were by no means averse to a little com- fortable martyrdom. If he had pleased he might have made the history of his administration one long series of Celebrated Cases of the ecclesiastical sort. He might have resolutely refused to set foot in certain sacred edifices until there had been a complete rearrangement of their altars. He might have absented himself until all the candles had been extinguished, the crucifixes taken down, and the vestments reduced to a plain uniformity of white and black. He might have de- nounced an intonation of the service, the employment of incense, and the frequent use of the sign of the Cross. Indeed, he might have been so afraid of Rome, and so sharp in the expression of his fear, as to send more than one of his churches, rector, wardens, and all, in that direction. On the other hand, he might have made matters exceedingly unpleasant for such of his clergy and of their congrega- tions as care for none of these things ; for those who minister wherever they can find a chance-in Methodist chapels or in Baptist meeting-houses-and who are as ostentatiously low as others are ostentatiously high. Fortunately he has been so uniformly amiable, and has brought to the discharge of his duties such uncom- mon common sense, that at the end of twenty-five years remarkable for new views and much religious speculation he does not stand responsible for a single schism, and has had hardly one important desertion. If there are those who think that this has been an easy thing to do, it is because they know nothing about the matter.
" It is for his own people to extend to Bishop Potter their particular congratula- tions ; but all who desire decency and order, who are scandalized by the spectacle of church quarrels, who love to see men consistent in creed and conduct, and who
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SKETCHES OF THE BISHOPS.
was presented to the bishop by a deputation representing the clergy and laity of his diocese, to whom he made a reply. On Tuesday, the 25th, a reception was given to the venerable diocesan in the Academy of Music. On that most interesting evening the house was crowded to its utmost capacity by an audience among the most remarkable which ever assembled in this city. The reception committee consisted of the Rev. George D. Wildes, D.D., and Messrs. Woodbury G. Langdon, Cornelius Vanderbilt, William Waldorf Astor, George Macul- loch Miller, William W. Wright, De Lancey Kane and Elbridge T. Gerry. Music was performed by a large orchestra and by the choirs of Trinity Church, Grace Church, and St. Thomas's Church. The addresses were as follows :
I. A congratulatory address from the President and Cor- poration of Union College, Schenectady.
2. An address from St. Peter's parish, Albany, of which the bishop had been so long rector.
3. An address from the Standing Committee of the Diocese of Albany.
4. A congratulatory address by the Hon. William M. Evarts.
5. An address by the Hon. John Jay, who at the same time presented the bishop with a very beautiful and elaborate piece of silver, the description of which, in its design, its sym- bolism, and curious and exquisitely elaborate workmanship, would occupy much more space than the writer has at his disposal.
The venerable bishop, at the conclusion of these addresses, which were varied by appropriate selections of sacred music, made his response ; and as he advanced to do so, the immense audience rose, and remained standing while he spoke to them.
think peacemakers to be indeed blessed, will also remember in a kindly spirit this amiable prelate. We will not say that after him will come the deluge, but when at last he is called to his great reward-distant be the day !- we do think that his place will be a hard one to refill. He will, however, leave the legacy of his example. He has shown that to patience, to wisdom and to Christian love nothing is impossible. He has made the way of his successor easy, if only that successor shall find grace to follow it."-Editor.
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CENTENNIAL CHURCH HISTORY.
A sight more impressive in its way has probably never been seen ; it was rendered the more affecting by the reflection that these were, for the most part, his own children in the faith, communicants of the various parishes, great numbers of them persons on whose heads his hands had been laid in confirmation, men and women who stood thus reverently be- fore him as their Father in God, to hear his words of affec- tionate greeting and to receive his pastoral benediction. The sight can never be forgotten by those who had the good for- tune to be present.
The bishop's last public service was held in the Church of the Incarnation in the evening of Ascension Day, May 3, 1883. It was at the end of a long and very fatiguing Visita- tion. On the Sunday preceding he had held three confirma- tions, though suffering from cold. An attack of pneumonia followed after that final service; it left him in a state of prostration from which he never rallied. On the 12th of Sep- tember following, he addressed a communication to the Standing Committee, informing them that it was his own belief, and the opinion of his physician that, even if his life should be considerably prolonged, he should never have the physical strength necessary to endure the fatigues and expos- ure incident to the active duties of the Episcopal office, and announcing his complete withdrawal from the administration of the diocese.
Since that time, the aged servant of God has remained quietly in his Heavenly Father's hands, resigned, patient, waiting for the hour of release, the time of entrance into his reward. "SALUTARE TUUM EXPECTABO, DOMINE."
D. Appleton & Eu
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SKETCHES OF THE BISHOPS.
THE ASSISTANT BISHOP OF NEW YORK.
HENRY CODMAN POTTER, the Assistant Bishop of the Diocese of New York, was born in Schenectady, N. Y., May 25, 1835. He is a son of the late Bishop of Pennsylvania, and a grandson of Dr. Nott, President of Union College. His education was obtained chiefly at the Episcopal Academy, Philadelphia, and he was for a brief time engaged in mercan- tile life. His classical and other studies for the ministry were under the immediate direction of his father and Prof. G. E. Hare, D.D. Entering the Theological Seminary of Virginia, he was graduated from that institution in 1857, and during the same year he married. He received deacon's orders at his father's hands in St. Luke's Church, Philadelphia, May 25, 1857, and was ordained in Trinity Church, Pittsburg, October 15, 1858, by Dr. Bowman, Assistant Bishop of Penn- sylvania. His first pastoral work was as the rector of Christ
Church, Greenburg, Pa., and in May, 1859, he was called to St. John's Church, Troy, N. Y. In 1862, he was elected rector of Christ Church, Cincinnati; in 1863, chosen Presi- dent of Kenyon College, Ohio, and in the same year he was called to St. Paul's Church, Albany, N. Y.,-all of which he declined. But, after seven years' service in Troy, he accepted, in 1866, the position of assistant minister of Trinity Church, Boston. Two years later he became rector of Grace Church, New York, which office he filled with singular faith- fulness and success for fifteen years. In 1875, he was elected Bishop of Iowa, but declined. He received the degree of D.D. from Trinity College and LL.D. from Union College. He was secretary of the House of Bishops from 1865 to 1883, and also for many years was one of the managers of the
.. .
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CENTENNIAL CHURCH HISTORY.
Board of Missions. Dr. Potter's published works include Sisterhoods and Deaconesses at Home and Abroad, 1872; The Gates of the East-A Winter in Egypt and Syria, 1876; and Sermons of the City, 1880.
In 1883, Bishop Horatio Potter having asked for an as- sistant, the convention, which met in the autumn of that year, acceded to his plea of advancing age and increasing infirmities, and on September 27th unanimously elected Dr. Henry C. Potter, to the office of Assistant Bishop of New York. He was consecrated in Grace Church, on Broadway, October 20, 1883, by Bishops Smith of Kentucky, Williams of Connecticut, Clark of Rhode Island, Whipple of Minnesota, Stevens of Pennsylvania, Littlejohn of Long Island, and Huntington of Central New York. Other bishops who were present and assisted in the service were Lay of Easton, and Howe of Central Pennsylvania, who acted as the presenters. Bishop Williams was the preacher. The occa- sion was otherwise memorable as being the last consecration performed by the venerable presiding bishop, Benjamin Bos- worth Smith, then lacking but a few months of four-score- and-ten. Forty-three bishops were present, as the General Convention was then in session in Philadelphia. More than three hundred of the clergy were also present, together with all the students of the General Theological Seminary, and a large congregation, including many prominent laymen from all portions of the diocese. Many of these paid their personal respects to the new bishop at the reception extended to him in the evening by the rector of Trinity Church at his resi- dence, No. 27 West Twenty-fifth Street. By personal in- struments, soon after executed, the bishop resigned the entire charge and responsibility of the work of the diocese into the new bishop's hands.
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PARISH HISTORIES.
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TRINITY CHURCH, N.Y. 1788-1839.
PARISH HISTORIES.
An asterisk (*) added to the name of a parish indicates that no report was rendered although repeatedly requested by the Committee .- Editor.
TRINITY PARISH, NEW YORK,
Was organized in 1697. The first church was built in 1696, the second in 1788, and the present edifice was begun in 1839, and completed in 1846.
The rectors of the parish have been : William Vesey, 1697-1746.
Instituted as rector, February 6, 1697. Died, July II,
1746.
Henry Barclay, 1746-1764.
Samuel Auchmuty, 1765-1777.
Charles Inglis, 1777-1783.
Benjamin Moore, 1783.
Elected, November 1, 1783. Did not enter.
Date of induction, April 22, 1784. Resigned, December 22, 1800.
Benjamin Moore, 1800-1816.
Elected and inducted, Decem- ber 22, 1800. Died, Febru- ary 27, 1816.
Elected and inducted, March II, 1816. Died, September 12, 1830.
Elected and inducted, Oc- tober II, 1830. Died, No- vember 7, 1862.
Elected, November 10, in- ducted, November 11, 1862.
Morgan Dix, 1862.
Date of certificate of induc- tion, October 22, 1746. Died, October 28, 1764. Date of letters of institution, September 1, 1764. Died, March 4, 1777.
Date of letters of institution, March 20, 1777. Resigned, November 1, 1783.
Samuel Provoost, 1784-1800.
John H. Hobart, 1816-1830.
William Berrian, 1830-1862.
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CENTENNIAL CHURCH HISTORY.
The clergy at present connected with the parish are : MORGAN DIX, S. T. D.
RECTOR.
ASSISTANT MINISTERS. I .- Assigned to Duty by the Vestry.
SULLIVAN H. WESTON, D.D. St. John's Chapel.
CORNELIUS E. SWOPE, D.D. Trinity Chapel.
JAMES MULCHAHEY, D.I). . St. Paul's Chapel.
GEORGE WILLIAM DOUGLAS, D.D. Trinity Church.
II .- Assignable to duty by the Rector.
WILLIAM H. COOKE, CHARLES T. OLMSTED, PHILIP A. H. BROWN.
III .- In charge of Mission Chapels.
THOMAS H. SILL St. Chrysostom's Chapel.
St. Cornelius' Chapel.
EDWARD H. C. GOODWIN.
St. Augustine's Chapel.
ARTHUR C. KIMBER.
LOUIS A. ARTHUR Assistant Priest at Trinity Church. 66
JOSEPH W. HILL.
60 St. Paul's.
A. J. THOMPSON
" St. Chrysostom's.
J. R. L. NISBETT
St. Augustine's.
OLIN HALLOCK. 66
WILLIAM B. HOOPER
A rectory was purchased in 1872, No. 27 West Twenty- fifth Street.
St. Paul's Chapel was opened in 1766.
St. John's Chapel was opened in 1807.
Trinity Chapel was opened in 1855.
St. Chrysostom's Chapel was opened in 1869.
St. Augustine's Chapel was opened in 1877.
Trinity Church School-house was opened in 1872, with extensive additions in 1875.
St. Paul's and St. John's have been enlarged and reno- vated from time to time. Trinity Chapel School-house was completed in 1861, Dr. Berrian, rector. And the infirmary in Varick Street, formerly rectory of the parish, was estab- lished in 1874, Dr. Dix, rector. In the Convention Journal of the diocese for 1885, there is a tabulated statement of the activities of the entire parish. From the summary-for there is not space for the details of each chapel and congregation-
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PARISH HISTORIES.
are drawn these particulars: During the year there were 1,230 baptisms administered, 455 received confirmation, and the present number of communicants is 5,396. Owing to the destruction of the records of the parish twice by fire, 1746 and 1776, it is impossible to present full statistics since the organization of the parish.
The wardens in 1700 were Thomas Wenham and Richard Willett ; in 1710, David Jamison and John Crook ; in 1720, John Moore and John Roade; in 1730, '40 and '50, Joseph Robinson and Joseph Murray ; 1760, Joseph Reade and John Chambers ; in 1770, Joseph Reade and David Clarkson ; in 1780, James Desbrosses and John I. Kempe ; in 1790, John Jay and James Duane; in 1800 John Charlton and Robert Watts; in 1810, Rufus King and Anthony L. Bleecker; in 1820, Richard Harrison and Nehemiah Rogers; in 1830, Nehemiah Rogers and Charles McEvers; in 1840, Nehemiah Rogers and Thomas L. Ogden ; in 1850, Adam Tredwell and Edward W. Laight ; in 1860, Wm. E. Dunscomb and Robert Hyslop; in 1870, Wm. E. Dunscombe and George T. Strong, and in 1880, Samuel T. Skidmore and John J. Cisco.
For many years past Trinity parish has given itself chiefly to the extension, nurture and conservation of Church work in New York city. As the spiritual destitution of that part of the city below Canal Street has deepened year after year by the removal and dying out of churches and missions, Trinity has accepted the trust remaining on her hands, and made systematic and thorough provision for the immediate and more pressing requirements of this vast and populous pre- cinct. In addition to the multiplied activities of the church and two chapels, St. Paul's and St. John's, this region is treated as a missionary cure, in THREE DIVISIONS,-WEST OF BROADWAY, from Broadway to the North River, and from Battery Place to Jay Street, and EAST OF BROADWAY, from Broadway to the East River, and from Battery Place to Broome Street. The THIRD DIVISION-GERMAN, is cared for in a German congregation, which meets in a room fitted as a chapel in Trinity Church House. In this extra pa-
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CENTENNIAL CHURCH HISTORY.
rochial mission-cure, 439 families receive pastoral care and oversight.
To illustrate the type of parish work in church and chapels, and all are after much the same pattern, a rapid summary of the activities and organizations under way in Trinity Church may be of use. I. The Sunday-school with 39 teachers and 602 scholars ; 2. The Industrial School ; 3. The Daily Parish School for boys ; 4. The Night School ; 5. The Ladies' Employment Society ; 6. The Altar Society ; 7. The Guilds, (a) For Boys and Young Men-(I.) Guild of St. Ambrose, (2.) Guild of the Holy Cross, (3.) Guild of St. John the Evangelist, (4.) Guild of St. Nicholas, (5.) Guild of St. Paul ; and (b) Guilds for Girls and Young Women-(1.) Guild of the Good Shepherd, (2.) Guild of St. Agnes, (3.) Guild of St. Mary, (4.) Guild of St. Monica; 8. Week Day Bible Classes ; 9. Mothers' Meetings; 10. The Mission Cure, already described; II. Trinity Church Association, which supervises and supports : (I.) The Mission House, 30 State Street, (2.) The Physician and Dispensary, (3.) The Kinder- garten, (4.) The Training School for Girls in Household Service, (5.) Reading Rooms, etc., for the guilds of men and boys, (6.) Entertainments and Lectures for the Poor, (7.) A Seaside Home for Children, (8.) A Relief Bureau, and (9.) A kitchen garden. This association is independent of the corporation of Trinity Church, and in 1884 expended more than $11,000 in its several works. The church has a choral school, where a thorough course in singing for men and boys is given by Mr. Messiter, the organist and musical director of Trinity, five afternoons each week. All are taught free of charge, and those having special talent receive instruction in vocali- zation.
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