Chapter III: Part 3

This was the state of things when Seabury (afterwards bishop) embarked in mid-summer, 1752, for Scotland to attend a course of medical lectures at the University of Edinburgh, and upon its completion to proceed to London and receive Holy Orders in the Church of England. On the morning of the Sunday after his arrival in Edinburgh, he inquired of his host where he might find an Episcopal service, and was answered: "I will show you; take your hat and follow me; but keep barely in my sight, for we are closely watched and with jealousy by the Presbyterians." He followed him through narrow, dirty lanes and unfrequented streets, and finally disappeared in an old building several stories high, and ascended to an upper room where a little band of faithful churchmen had gathered to worship God in the forms of the liturgy and according to the dictates of their conscience. That building stood until a few years ago. A friend in Edinburgh gave me a photograph of it, which is valuable as showing the uninviting quarters to which the poor Episcopalians were driven in those days to find freedom in their religious services. The upper room where they met was acquired by purchase in 1741, and the tradition is that the person who sold it, being an invalid churchman, reserved to himself the right to occupy an apartment on the same floor with a window opening into it that he might hear and share in the service. A new church, retaining the old name, St. Paul's, Carubber's Close, has been built on the ancient site with space for future enlargement, and it was my privilege to preach in this church last September, and a very attentive congregation helped to brighten for both myself and Professor Hart, who accompanied me, the interesting historic associations.

Well, two and thirty years pass away and the same Seabury who joined in the worship offered there under such discouraging circumstances has crossed the Tweed and appears in an upper-room in Long-Acre, Aberdeen, to receive a spiritual gift which for reasons of state had been refused him by the bishops of the Church of England.

The old Scottish Church, sometimes called the catholic remainder of the ancient Church of Scotland, differed in no essential particular from the Church of England except that she did not lean upon apolitical Episcopacy--an Episcopacy directed and controlled by parliamentary legislation. She was now in the lowest depths of depression and adversity. Her bishops had become reduced to four and her clergy to forty, and these ministered, it is true without molestation for the most part, to the little remnants of faithful churchmen scattered through the cities and villages of the land. Probably the feeling among outsiders was that the Scottish Episcopal Church would never again have much influence or attract many adherents. Three of the four bishops, however, when duly applied to, took the matter of raising Dr. Seabury to the apostolic office into immediate and solemn consideration and consecrated him without delay. One of them said: "I do not see how we can account to our great Lord and Master, if we neglect such an opportunity of promoting His truth and enlarging the borders of His Church."

And for whom did they consecrate this bishop, but for Connecticut, whose clergy with far-seeing wisdom had taken the earliest steps after the independence of the colonies to secure the Episcopacy-- a boon which, though greatly desired and needed in this country, had long been sought for to no purpose? The Church in Connecticut, and indeed in all the American colonies, was at this time in a critical, headless condition--living, yet on the verge of death, and something must be done to save and restore what was so broken and disordered. I suppose there could not have been more than two hundred Episcopal clergymen, if there were as many, in all the colonies at that date, and fourteen of them were in Connecticut ministering to weak and diminished flocks that had more to hope and pray for than in human probability they were likely to realize.

How much did that simple consecration service in the upper-room in Long-Acre, Aberdeen, open up for Churches of the one faith! If the act was not sublime in itself, it was the beginning of a sublime history, and the English Church thereupon awoke to a sense of her duty to the child she had long nursed in the colonies and now left friendless and forlorn, as well as to a more decent recognition of the poor, down-trodden Scottish communion. The offensive laws which had been for some time comparatively inoperative were soon repealed or modified by act of Parliament; and the laity, more than the clergy, felt the advantage of the relief gained, which was fully secured to them by legislative enactments half a century later. The House of Hanover was entirely accepted and prayed for in the Scottish as in the English liturgy. Then the Episcopal Church in Scotland began to rise from the dust, and to-day she has seven bishops and two hundred and seventy clergymen, with a zealous and hearty laity who are not content to possess spiritual privileges without making them practically useful. We were all struck with the reverence among the Scottish people for the fourth commandment, and with the spectacle of goodly numbers of every religious denomination going to the house of God in company. I am sure they quite surpass the Americans in the regularity of their attendance upon public worship, and a Scotch mist, which oftentimes is about equal to a New England rain, seems not to be considered a sufficient excuse for staying at home when the Lord invites us into His sanctuaries. The external improvement, or rather advancement, of the Scottish Church is seen in various things. Her decayed and barn-like churches have been succeeded by substantial and appropriate, and in many cases beautiful edifices, and altogether she is now in a better condition, with brighter prospects, than at any period in her previous history.

But leaving Scotland, how does the contrast stand with the American Church as placed along with her condition one hundred years ago? Connecticut has her one bishop, but her fourteen clergy have increased to nearly two hundred, and her parishes have fourfolded in numbers, and more than fourfolded in strength, activity, and generosity. When Leaming preached the sermon before the convention of the clergy in Middletown at the welcome given to Seabury on his return from Scotland, the Church was so insignificant in the State that no notice was taken of the occasion in the contemporary prints, and she was so poor that it was a problem how the parishes could decently support their rectors, now that the stipends of the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel had been withdrawn. Seabury himself, writing to a Scottish bishop three years later, said: "We have now sixteen presbyters in this diocese and four deacons who will soon be in priests' orders. Four more--i. e., twenty-four in the whole--will be as many as the present ability of the Church can support. It does, however, grow, and converts from Presbyterianism are not unfrequent." The growth has been so great that at our last annual convention in this diocese the reported contributions, including parochial expenses and salaries, amounted to upwards of $620,000, and if there had been no omissions to make returns the aggregate would have--been considerably larger. If we give a moment's attention to the whole Church in the country, we find that we have sixty-six living bishops, the list from Seabury down numbering one hundred and thirty-four; and the clergy in all the dioceses and missionary jurisdictions must be well nigh on to four thousand.

It is in no spirit of boasting that we make this comparison. "Not unto us, O Lord, not unto us, but unto Thy Name give the praise, for Thy loving mercy and for Thy truth's sake." Yet it is becoming on this one-hundredth anniversary of the consecration of the first bishop of Connecticut to remember that results under God have flowed from it so vast in extent that no human eye could have forseen them at the time; no human heart could have believed that the Episcopal Church in America, cemented in one body and carrying with united zeal her doctrines and ritual into every part of our great republic, would so soon verify in a broader sense than he used them the words of the ancient seer: "How goodly are thy tents, O Jacob, and thy tabernacles, O Israel! As the valleys are they spread forth, as gardens by the river's side, as the trees of lign-aloes which the Lord hath planted." It is becoming also on this anniversary to remember with profound gratitude that we live in an age when happily persecution for the sake of religion has passed away, and when the ever old but ever new commandment of peace and love rises above sectarian strife and projects its influence into whole communities of earnest and believing souls. The responsibilities entailed upon us by our position and our prosperity are to be read in the light of history, and fulfilled in the fear of God and in the faith of "the Church which is the pillar and ground of the truth."

REV. MR. NICHOLS'S ADDRESS.

The Rev. W. F. Nichols, Rector of Christ Church, Hartford, and chaplain to Bishop Williams in his recent visit abroad, spoke of the first day of the commemoration at Aberdeen:

He said it would be useless to deny that there was an individual pleasure in having this welcome to round out the happiness of getting back to one's home and one's work, as there was an individual pleasure at the honor the diocese had put upon those whom it had sent with the bishop to Aberdeen, and an individual appreciation of the prayers that had been offered on both sides of the Atlantic, in private as well as in public, for preservation on the journeyings by water and by land--an individual appreciation, too, of what it was to have around the family altars and the church altars in Scotland as well as in our own country, voices joining with those on shipboard in the lines:

"O hear us when we cry to Thee For those in peril on the sea";

and so he ventured personally to thank him who had so kindly spoken the words of welcome and through him the diocese.

But he did not forget that this was not a welcome to which he should reply as an individual, but one extended to an embassy returning from a sacred mission. An embassy responding to its welcome would naturally refer to two things: the one, the immediate facts and occurrences of its visit; and the other, the bearings of the visit upon the relations between the two countries concerned, Others would do this fully on more general lines; it had been assigned him to speak more especially of one of the days of the celebration at Aberdeen, and that was Tuesday, October 7th. Taking up the first of the two things which an embassy would naturally report upon, he spoke of the events of the day--the Holy Communion in the six churches of Aberdeen and in private chapels at 8 o'clock; the principal service at St. Andrew's Church at 10 1/2 o'clock, with the sermon by our own Bishop from Isaiah lx. 5; the two hundred clergy (including eighteen bishops from Scotland, America, England, Ireland, and the colonies), the large congregation, the use of the Scotch Office for the Holy Communion, both at the early and the later services; and also, briefly, of St. Andrew's Church and its decorations. In speaking of the photograph of the clergy who were present, which was taken at the close of the service, he pointed out two curious facts about the groups: without any prearrangement, part of an American flag had been taken on the plate; and then the only clerical descendant of Bishop Skinner present--the Rev. J. Skinner Wilson--stood by the side of the only clerical descendant present of Bishop Seabury-- the Rev. Dr. W. J. Seabury of New York city.

He gave some description of the banquet held at Music Hall in the afternoon, and of the speeches of those who proposed and those who responded to the toasts, especially the toast to "The Church in America," proposed by Dr. Wordsworth, Bishop of St. Andrews, and responded to by our own Bishop. He referred to some letters which those who had read the Aberdeen papers sent home had seen, in which there was discussion of the phrasing of the toast "The Church _in_ Scotland." He said it did not become him to comment on the discussion at such a time, only if they should think of making any change in the phrasing at the next centenary it occurred to him that "Scotland in the Church" might be tried.

After speaking of another morning commemorative service, at which Canon Body of Durham preached an able and appropriate sermon, and giving passing reference to an enthusiastic meeting of the Scotch "Free and Open Church Association" held in the evening as an accompaniment to, rather than as a part of, the day's commemoration, he passed on to speak of the second thing upon which an embassy would naturally report, and that was the bearings of the day's events upon the relations between the two Churches. In this connection he spoke of the sermon and the use of the Scotch Communion-office of the morning and the hospitality of the afternoon, which, like the hospitality of the whole stay in Aberdeen, showed that while the latitude of the place was that of the far north--it was opposite the northern part of Labrador--the latitude of the atmosphere and hearts within was most truly that of the warm and sunny south. In conclusion, he spoke of the unifying impetus given, both social and spiritual, and expressed his belief that while the embassy thanked the diocese for the welcome, all could before God's altar and in that highest sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving with which they were keeping the anniversary of the consecration of the first bishop of our diocese and the American Church, thank Him Who has purchased to Himself an universal Church by the precious Blood of His dear Son, that as He was with the ministers of apostolical succession in their highest office to make the great venture of faith one hundred years ago, so He has ever been with their successors. Let all realize how much of that purchase of the Son of God has already been rendered up to Him since 1784, and how in 1884 we are empowered by the Holy Spirit to extend the Church of Christ more and more, not in Scotland only, not in America only, but in the whole world!

REV. MR. HART'S ADDRESS.

The Rev. Professor Hart of Trinity College then gave an account of the second day of the commemoration at Aberdeen:

I am to try to give in a few words an account of the many events of the second day of the commemoration at Aberdeen; they shall be as far as possible the very words which were used in the addresses which were read and delivered there. The Holy Communion was celebrated at an early hour in all the churches of the city; and the special service of the day was held in St. Andrew's Church. Before the service began, the Rector of Christ Church, Hartford, on behalf of a considerable number of the clergy and laity of Connecticut, presented to the Bishop of Aberdeen, as representing the Scotch Church, a handsome silver paten and chalice, to be used by himself and his successors. The written address which he read, prefacing it with a few words, recognized the two-fold gift of a century ago--an Episcopate which, in words so often used at the time, was "free, valid, and purely ecclesiastical," and a Eucharistic Office embodying catholic and primitive principles. The Bishop of Aberdeen accepted the gift as a witness of faith in God's promises, of the love of the brethren, and of unity of worship, as well in the past and the future as in the present. He then proceeded to celebrate the Holy Communion according to the English rite, which the Scotch canons now require to be used at all synods and ordinations, two other Scotch bishops assisting him, and the vessels just presented being employed both in the consecration and in the administration.

At the close of the service the six Scotch bishops present--the venerable Primus being still confined to his house by illness--met in Synod, when, after prayer and proclamation, the record of the acts of the Synod of a hundred years ago and the copy of the Concordate which was left in Scotland were laid upon the table. Our bishop then, in accordance with an appointment given him by the House of Bishops of our Church, presented and read an address prepared, on behalf of that house, by the Presiding Bishop and the Bishops of New York, Rhode Island, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Minnesota. In it, after expressing their affectionate regards towards the Scotch bishops for the heroic act of their predecessors, they called attention to the fact that the name of Bishop Seabury now stands at the head of a list of over a hundred and thirty bishops; and that, though our Church is grateful for the direct connection of her Episcopate with that of the Church of England, she is glad to remember that, through Bishop Seabury, the Scotch succession has been transmitted to every bishop consecrated in this land and will be so transmitted to the end of time. They also expressed our Church's gratitude for the shaping of her office of the Holy Communion in such a way as to make it in harmony with the primitive liturgies. And so, offering warm thanks for offices rendered, for sympathy expressed, and for examples set, they gratefully acknowledged the close spiritual and ecclesiastical relationship which binds the two Churches together. The Bishop of St. Andrews--Dr. Charles Wordsworth--read the reply, which was understood to have been framed by the venerable Primus. It alluded to the former sufferings of the Scotch Church, and to the fact that those who consecrated Bishop Seabury rendered themselves liable by that act to felon banishment, but that they did not count their liberty dear to themselves so that they might do something for the sake of Christ. It bore witness to the catholic spirit shown by Dr. Seabury and those whom he represented, when they confessed that by no temporal misfortunes could the grace of Orders be affected, thus showing that the low estate of the Scotch bishops was to them no offense, their poverty no stumbling-block. Then, recalling God's favor as shown to both Churches, the reply used those words which God's people have never forgotten to use in their joy and their prosperity--and in reading them the voice of the venerable Bishop quivered with emotion-- "_Non nobis, Domine, non nobis, sed Nomini Tuo da gloriam_."

The Rector of St. Thomas's Church, New Haven, attended by the other clergy of the delegation, then read an address prepared on behalf of the Bishop, Clergy, and Laity of the Diocese of Connecticut in Convention assembled, by a committee of which the Rector of Trinity Church, New Haven, was chairman. It bore witness to the fidelity and bravery of the Scotch bishops of a century ago in equipping the Church in our diocese for the work it has since done and the witness it has borne; and, repeating the words of the reply which the Connecticut clergy returned to the letter which Bishop Seabury brought from his consecrators, acknowledged our indebtedness to them and our gratitude to God, and promised that we would act with our bishop in maintaining unity of faith, doctrine, discipline, and worship with the Church from which we received our Episcopate. Referring to the depressed state of both Churches a hundred years ago and to their better condition now, we assured them that we still cling to the ancient faith and order, and that we shall never forget our debt of gratitude or fail to recognize and cherish the bond of Christian fellowship sealed in the Concordate even as our fathers have done. The Bishop of St. Andrews read a reply from the Scotch bishops to this address. It spoke of their special pleasure in having Bishop Seabury's successor present at that time, attended by some of the faithful of his diocese. It adopted the words of the saintly Bishop Jolly in saying that Connecticut is to them all a word of peculiar endearment, as the name of its first bishop ever excites their warmest veneration. And, in the language of one of the psalms for this fourteenth day of the month, it thanked God for bringing the Scotch Church to comparative honor and comforting it on every side.

The Bishop of Aberdeen then, in behalf of a large number of contributors, presented to our Bishop the pastoral staff which was borne before him in the procession this morning, calling his attention to the figures upon it, of St. Andrew, the patron-saint of Scotland, St. Ninian, one of the early Celtic evangelists, St. Augustine of Canterbury, as representing the English succession, St. John, to whom the Scotch Communion office (and with it our own) is traced, Bishop Kilgour, the senior consecrator of Bishop Seabury, and Bishop Seabury himself. Our own Bishop replied in words which I will not undertake to report in his presence.

In the afternoon two papers were read: one by the Rev. Dr. Beardsley on "Seabury as a Bishop," giving a sketch of his life and work, testifying to his fidelity to convictions and his successful efforts to promote peace, by which he brought about the unity of the Church in this land; and one by Professor Grub of the University of Aberdeen, tracing the historic connection between the Scotch and the American Churches. The discussion which followed was remarkable for the representative character of those who took part in it--our own Bishop, the Bishop of Gibraltar, Canon Trevor of York, Canon White of New South Wales, and Dr. Aberigh-Mackay of Paris (once of Connecticut).

I can do no more than allude to the crowded meeting at the Music Hall in the evening, which was addressed in noble speeches by the Bishop of Minnesota, the Bishop of Winchester, the Rev. Mr. Danson of Aberdeen, Mr. Speir--a prominent Scotch layman,--and the Bishop of Albany. There was a wonderful unity of sentiment in what was said, and nothing was more noticeable than the way in which the speakers all referred to the impulse given to Church work by the event which we were commemorating. There was a marvellous inspiration in the volume of voice in which the great assembly recited the Nicene Creed; and the dignified and scholarly language of one of the foremost of English prelates, the earnest and practical words of the Scotch clergyman and layman, the touching eloquence of our great missionary bishop, and the impassioned and bold utterances of the other bishop, who is honored abroad for his father's sake as well as for his own, all sustained and heightened the enthusiasm which had been kindled by the services of these days and the memories and hopes which they had awakened.

BISHOP WILLIAMS'S ADDRESS.

At the close of these addresses Bishop Williams said:

You have now heard, my dear brethren, the report of the pilgrims whom you sent on a pilgrimage of love to that old city where our succession begins. Visible memorials of all that came together in Aberdeen in the first week of last month are before you or in your thoughts. There is the Mitre which tells you of the transmitted Episcopate; there hangs the Concordate which speaks to you of our Communion-office. Across the water they have received the holy Sacrament of the Body and the Blood from the Chalice and Paten which you sent, and standing here you see this Pastoral Staff-- gifts the interchange of which attests that the pledges and the gifts of that elder day are not forgotten, but live and will live while time shall last. The dear old Church of Scotland! How it has lived through trials deep and wearing and in the face of "dungeon, fire, and sword!"

They have kept this day which we are keeping now and here, in Aberdeen; they have kept it in London, in St. Paul's Cathedral, where the Primate of all England was the preacher. So has the triple, bond been--I will not say knit again, but--recognized anew. So be it forever! I will only add what I said in Aberdeen to the blessed Church of Scotland, having now in mind all the national Churches of the English succession, as they are all one in Christ: "Peace be within thy walls, and plenteousness within thy palaces. For my brethren and companions' sakes, I will wish thee prosperity. Yea, because of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek to do thee good."

The Bishop then proceeded with the Communion-service, announcing that the offerings would be for the benefit of St. Thomas's Church, Hartford, a memorial to Bishop Brownell, of whom he said that the longer he lived the more he was impressed with the value to the diocese of the long and faithful episcopate of his revered predecessor. Bishop Williams was assisted in the service by the Bishop of Massachusetts. In consecrating the elements a paten and chalice were used which once belonged to Bishop Seabury and are now the property of the Berkeley Divinity School; and for the administration of the elements two patens were used which were left by Bishop Seabury to St. James's Church, New London. The Rev. Dr. Giesy of Norwich, and the Rev. Messrs. McCook, Buckingham, and Nichols assisted in the administration, a large number of clergy and laity receiving the Holy Sacrament. Bishop Williams gave the benediction, holding his pastoral staff. At the close of the service the clergy left the church, singing the old version of the first part of the ninetieth psalm, beginning "O God, our help in ages past."

After the service the clergy were entertained by the Churchwomen of Hartford in the parish-rooms of Christ Church.

The following is a nearly complete list of the clergymen who were present:

From Connecticut: The Rt. Rev. the Bishop; The Rev. Messrs. C. G. Adams, Southport; H. A. Adams, Wethersfield; W. G. Andrews, Guilford; E. W. Babcock, New Haven; J. H. Barbour, Hartford; E. E. Beardsley, D.D., LL.D., New Haven; A. E. Beeman, Unionville; J. H. Betts, South Glastonbury; Prof. John Binney, Middletown; L. P. Bissell, Litchfield; C. W. Boylston, Greeneville; J. W. Bradin, Hartford; F. W. Brathwaite, Stamford; George Buck, North Haven; W. B. Buckingham, New London; W. H. Bulkley, Tashua; C. C. Camp, New Haven; H. S. Clapp, Norwalk; C. W. Colton, Pine Meadow; Prof. H. Ferguson, Hartford; J. H. Fitzgerald, Milford; T. B. Fogg, Brooklyn; Louis French, Darien; E. C. Gardiner, Naugatuck; Prof. F. Gardiner, D.D., Middletown; J. F. George, Thompsonville; J. H. George, Salisbury; Samuel Giesy, D.D., Norwich; Alfred Goldsborough, Yantic; J. B. Goodrich, Windsor; Francis Goodwin, Hartford; Prof. Samuel Hart, Hartford; J. E. Heald, Tariffville; S. J. Horton, D.D., Cheshire; J. T. Huntington, Hartford; J. W. Hyde, West Hartford; Prof. W. A. Johnson, Middletown; W. E. Johnson, Bristol; J. R. Lambert, Glastonbury; W. H. Larom, Stafford Springs; E. S. Lines, New Haven; T. D. Martin, Meriden; J. J. McCook, Hartford; W. H. Moreland, Hartford; W. F. Nichols, Hartford; J. L. Parks, Middletown; W. L. Peck, Windsor Locks; C. I. Potter, Stratford; A. T. Randall, Meriden; J. B. Robinson, Hazardville; J. H. Rogers, New Britain; J. L. Scott, Wallingford; S. O. Seymour, Hartford; Prest. G. W. Smith, D.D., Hartford; James Stoddard, Watertown; Jacob Streibert, West Haven; Henry Tarrant, Huntington; William Tatlock, D.D., Stamford; J. A. Ticknor, Collinsville; T. O. Tongue, Bloomfield; John Townsend, Middletown; R. H. Tuttle, Windsor; W. E. Vibbert, D.D., Fair Haven; Millidge Walker, East Bridgeport; J. H. Watson, Hartford; P. H. Whaley, Hartford; Elisha Whittlesey, Hartford; J. E. Wildman, Wallingford; C. E. Woodcock, New Haven.

From other dioceses: The Rt. Rev. Bishop Niles, New Hampshire; the Rt. Rev. Bishop Paddock, Massachusetts; the Rev. Messrs. G. F. Flichtner, Thomas Gallaudet, D.D., Joshua Kimber, G. S. Mallory, D.D., New York City; W. M. Chapin, Barrington, R. I.; F. B. Chetwood, Elizabeth, N. J.; G. B. Cooke, Petersburg, Va.; E. M. Gushee, Cambridge, Mass.; W. A, Holbrooke, L. I.; R. M. Kirby, Potsdam, N. Y.

EXHIBITION OF SEABURY RELICS, ETC.

In one of the parish rooms of Christ Church was a large exhibit of articles of interest in connection with the centenary commemoration of the consecration of Bishop Seabury. They were contributed partly from the archives of the diocese and the library of Trinity College, and partly from the private collections of Bishop Williams, the Rev. Dr. Beardsley, the Rev. Professor Hart, C. J. Hoadly, Esq., Jared Starr, Esq., Mrs. Dr. Starr, and others. Among those of especial interest were Bishop Seabury's mitre, of black satin with purple strings, having the Cross in a glory on the front, and the crown of thorns on the back, embroidered in gold; the original of the letter on vellum from the Scotch bishops who consecrated Bishop Seabury to the clergy of Connecticut, testifying to the fact of the consecration and commending him to them; fac-similes of his Letters of Orders and of Consecration and of the Concordate between him and his consecrators; portraits of Bishop John Skinner, of Bishop Jolly who held the book, of Bishop Seabury himself, and of one of his electors, Dr. Mansfield; the manuscript records of ordinations by Bishops Seabury and Jarvis; the manuscript records of the convocation of the clergy of Connecticut, open at the vote accepting the Prayer-Book of 1789; a manuscript fac-simile of a volume of Bishop Seabury's journal; the sermon preached by Bishop Skinner at the consecration; a large collection of Bishop Seabury's works, including one of his loyalist pamphlets which he wrote at the breaking out of the Revolution under the name of "A. W. Farmer," his charges, occasional sermons, volumes of discourses, etc.; one of his manuscript sermons and two or three letters, copies of his Communion-office, and a copy (in his own writing) of his Service for the Burial of Infants; a copy of his edition of the Psalter, etc.; his surplice and two patens left by him to St. James's Church, New London; his official seal, still used by his successor; volumes of _The Courant_ and of _The Gentleman's Magazine_ with notices of Bishop Seabury; sermons relating to later bishops of Connecticut; the Scotch Prayer-Book of 1637 (known as Laud's) and its reprint of 1712; Scotch Communion-offices of 1717, 1774, and later dates; the proposed American Prayer-Book of 1785 (both American and English editions), and the first edition of the adopted Prayer-Book of 1789; a Hebrew Psalter used by the Rev. Dr. Samuel Johnson in conferring degrees at King's College, New York; a bit of the robe in which Bishop White was consecrated; a manuscript letter of Bishop Jolly's; two programmes of Yale College Commencements, in one of which (before 1784) the ministers of the Congregational churches are called _pastores_, while in the other (of 1785) they are called _episcopi_; photographs of the clergy present at the late commemoration in Aberdeen, and programmes, etc., relating to it; pictures of old churches in Edinburgh and Aberdeen; and other matters of interest. Bishop Williams's pastoral staff was also exhibited. The exhibit was under the care of the Registrar of the Diocese, who was kindly assisted by the Rev. J. H. Barbour, Librarian of Trinity College.

CENTENARY COMMEMORATION

OF THE RETURN OF

BISHOP SEABURY. 1885

THE RT. REV. SAMUEL SEABURY, D.D.

_FIRST BISHOP OF CONNECTICUT,_

HELD HIS FIRST ORDINATION AT MIDDLETOWN,

AUGUST 3, 1785.

On the ninth day of June, 1885, the Diocesan Convention met in Hartford. Morning Prayer was read in Christ Church at 9 o'clock by the Rev. W. E. Vibbert, D.D., Rector of St. James's Church, Fair Haven, and the Rev. J. E. Heald, Rector of Trinity Church, Tariffville. The Holy Communion was celebrated in St. John's Church, the service beginning at 10-1/2 o'clock after the singing of the 138th Hymn. The Bishop was assisted in the service by the Rev. Dr. Beardsley of New Haven, the Rev. Dr. Seabury of New York, the Rev. Dr. Vibbert of Fair Haven, and the Rev. J. W. Bradin, Rector of the Parish. The sermon was preached by Bishop Williams, as follows:

THE WISE RULER.

PSALM lxxviii. 72.

"So he fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands."

The seventy-eighth psalm contains a rapid review of the history of the chosen people from the day when God led them out of Egypt "with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm," down to the time of David. The record of provocation and transgression on the side of Israel, and of mingled mercy and judgment on the side of Jehovah, ends with the reign of the shepherd-king. He who watched his flock as, centuries after, other shepherds watched theirs, on the hill- sides of Bethlehem; he who had risked his own life that he might deliver his charge "out of the paw of the lion and out of the paw of the bear," was now called "from among the sheep-folds" to the throne of Israel and Judah. He who had been "faithful over a few things" was made "ruler over many things" in a kingdom which was itself but a type of a mightier Kingdom wherein One who was not only the Son of David but the Son of God should reign forever and ever.

In describing the character of David as a ruler, which is done in the text of this discourse, it will be observed that the same qualities are emphasized that marked his shepherd-life. What he was in the narrower field, that he was also in the wider. What he had been in Bethlehem, that he continued to be in Jerusalem. What he had done for his flock, that he did for his people. "He fed them according to the integrity of his heart; and guided them by the skilfulness of his hands." Integrity in purpose and discretion in action are the two qualities here emphasized. The former without the latter makes the impracticable blunderer; the latter without the former makes the time-serving schemer; the two together make the wise ruler of men. Unless I greatly err, we shall see these two qualities strikingly illustrated in the story of that Episcopate of which I am now to speak to you.

We must still linger for a while with the newly consecrated bishop in that city on the German ocean where we last beheld him. For his consecration is not the only thing which occurred there that was to have an abiding influence on the future of our national Church. On the day following the consecration (Nov. 15th, 1784), the Scottish bishops present and their American brother united in signing the important document known as the "Concordate." While this is not the place to speak of it at length, some of its positions and agreements ought not, in view of opinions then prevalent in Great Britain and of events soon to occur in this country, to pass unnoticed.

First of all, the document opens with a full and clear statement of the necessity, "before all things," of holding the "One Faith." As the Lord declared that on Himself, as confessed by His apostle, He would build His Church; as St. Paul, when he has spoken of "one Lord," speaks next of "one faith," so the framers of the "Concordate"--invoking "the blessing of the great and glorious Head of the Church"--declare their "earnest and united desire to maintain the analogy of the faith once delivered to the saints, and happily preserved in the Church of Christ."

This all-important and fundamental truth having been asserted, the document proceeds to declare that the Church of Christ is "a spiritual society," the powers and authority of which come from God and not from man; and which, as they are not given and cannot be given by any civil government, so neither can any civil government take away.

Does this statement seem a truism to us? Then let us remember that it was no truism in the days when it was made. "The Church as by law established" was then a phrase on everybody's lips in Great Britain; and, strangely enough, it meant, and still means, one thing in England and a very different thing in Scotland. Nor was that all;--we may well fear that to many minds the weightiest and most important part of the phrase, lay in the words "by law established" rather than in the preceding words "the Church"; so that, in many instances, a mere accident in the Church's history displaced the remembrance of its divine constitution, and led on to the folly of supposing that the act of the State, human law, could create and constitute a Church! To assert the truth against so patent a delusion was timely, and indeed needful, a century ago. Would that it were needful nowhere now!

Following this declaration was the agreement that no "communion in sacred offices" should be held with clergy, of whatever ordination, who were officiating in Scotland without recognizing, or being recognized by, the national Episcopate.

Finally, passing from doctrine and organization to worship, the Scottish bishops, after speaking of the desirableness of "as near a conformity in worship and discipline between the two Churches as is consistent with the different circumstances and customs of nations," go on to say that, inasmuch as "the celebration of the Holy Eucharist, or the administration of the sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ, is the principal bond of union among Christians, as well as the most solemn act of worship in the Christian Church,... though they are far from prescribing to their brethren in this matter, they cannot help ardently wishing that Bishop Seabury would endeavor all he can, consistently with peace and prudence, to make the celebration of this venerable Mystery conformable to the most primitive doctrine and practice." So far the Scottish bishops. On his part, the newly consecrated bishop agreed "to take a serious view of the Communion-office recommended by his brethren, and, if found agreeable to the genuine standards of antiquity, to give his sanction to it, and by gentle methods of argument and persuasion to endeavor, as they have done, to introduce it by degrees into practice, without the compulsion of authority on the one side or the prejudice of former custom on the other."

These are all weighty, wise, and noble words. I have quoted them at some length for two reasons. In the first place, they embody just those things which come to the front in St. Luke's description of the Apostolic Church in the full glow of its Pentecostal life: "They continued steadfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in the breaking of the bread and in the prayers." The more carefully the document and the inspired statement are compared, the more clearly is this remarkable agreement seen. If this is the result of a conscious reference to the words of St. Luke, it shows how faithfully the venerable framers of the Concordate went back to the very sources of the Church's organic life. If the reference is unconscious, it shows, even more strikingly, how thoroughly they were imbued with the spirit of the apostolic age.

In the second place, unless I have greatly misread history, our first bishop, both in his work in this diocese and also in the part he took in bringing about for our whole Church the happy settlement of 1789, followed on the line of action indicated in the Concordate, patiently and unswervingly; and in following it, he was guided by that integrity in purpose and discretion in action which characterize the wise and efficient ruler.

Had Bishop Seabury carried out his original purpose, he would have sailed for his native land "in the ship _Triumph_, commanded by Captain Stout." He was, however, detained in London, and from that city he addressed what has been called "his first pastoral letter" to the representatives of the clergy of Connecticut. His detention was largely, probably not wholly, due to the necessity which came upon him of making, if possible, some provision for the future maintenance of the clergy. What little property he had acquired had all been expended in his two years' absence from his family and his residence in England; and the question whether or not the Venerable Society for the Propagation of the Gospel would or could continue the stipends hitherto appropriated to the clergy in Connecticut was a very pressing one. His admirable letter to the secretary of the society--a letter which thoroughly reveals the man--is too long to be given here, while it cannot be adequately represented by any quotations. He does not attempt to conceal the fact that the continuance of his own stipend would be a great relief to his anxieties, but he frankly adds that if it is "not continued" he "can have no right to complain." And then putting himself, as he always did, entirely to one side, and saying, what seems to have been ever in his mind, that "the fate of individuals is of inferior moment when compared with that of the whole Church," he draws attention to the calamity it will be "if proper steps be not taken to secure to the Church various property of lands, etc., in the different States (now indeed of small value, but gradually increasing), to which the society alone has a legal claim."

Under the terms of their charter, the society could employ missionaries only in "the plantations, colonies, and factories belonging to the kingdom of Great Britain"; while they seem not to have been ready to consider the question touching the lands. The timidity or the lack of appreciation of the purely spiritual and ecclesiastical character of the Episcopate as such, which then prevailed, is painfully noticeable in the fact that, in the letter which communicated the decision of the society, the secretary addressed the bishop as he would have done before his consecration-- "the Rev. Dr. Seabury."

On other trials and difficulties which he met in London I do not care to dwell. They all grew out of political jealousies, confused notions concerning connections of Church and State, or fears, which proved to be groundless, that the consecration sermon, to say nothing of the consecration itself, might somehow be disadvantageous to the Scottish Episcopate. One charge alleged is to us in this day simply amusing; namely, that the bishop had been "precipitate" in his application to Scotland. A precipitancy which patiently waits and labors for more than thirteen months to obtain the Episcopate in England, and only when all hope of so obtaining it is at an end applies for it in Scotland, is, to say the least, a very deliberate sort of precipitancy. And now we may pass from the old world to the new.

"Bishop Seabury landed at Newport, R. I."--where Berkeley had landed more than half a century before--"after a voyage of three months,[Footnote: This period, however, includes some stay in Nova Scotia.] on Monday, June 20th, 1785, and the next Sunday he preached in Trinity Church the first sermon of an American bishop in this country." [Footnote: The text was Heb. xii. 1, 2. The sermon was afterwards published in the Bishop's _Discourses on Several Subjects_, vol. ii., serm. xvi., "The Christian Race." ] On the 29th he reached New London, which from that time was to be his home. While he was still at sea a Boston newspaper, which had received the intelligence of his consecration, exclaimed: "Two wonders of the world, a Stamp Act in Boston and a Bishop in Connecticut!" [Footnote: _Boston Gazette_, May 30, 1785. ]

Two things instantly demanded the most careful attention and most earnest efforts of the one American bishop: the condition and needs of his own diocese, and the all-important question as to the future of the scattered congregations of what had been the Church of England in the thirteen colonies. The stoutest heart might well quail before the difficulties that rose up before him on every side. But Seabury's principle of action was ever found in the twofold rule always to "do the next thing," and when all cannot be done that one fain would do, then to do the best one can. And that twofold rule will enable any man who acts under it, in the fear and strength of God, to overcome difficulties by patient perseverance or to accept disappointments in unrepining submission. Faith and patience may not make their voice heard much in the streets, but they accomplish results at last.

Did he look at his own diocese? There he saw many obstacles and few, very few, encouragements. Five, at least, of the small number of the clergy and considerable numbers of the laity had "emigrated, or were soon to emigrate, to Nova Scotia and the adjoining territory." Aside, then, from those whom he might ordain, not more than eleven clergymen, and with them not more than two hundred and eighty families, composed the diocese. It is due to this ancient State, and it should ever be remembered to her praise, that the loyalists within her borders suffered no political oppression after the war of the Revolution had ended. Nor can we forget that she sent as a delegate to the Continental Congress in 1784, and afterwards, in 1787, to the convention which framed our federal constitution, one who in 1779 had been, however unreasonably, arrested for treason to the United Colonies, William Samuel Johnson. Still it is none the less true, and it can occasion little wonder, that loyalists, and therefore Churchmen, "were not in good repute with the public authorities, and scorn was likely to attend many of them for years to come."

To these diminished numbers of clergy and people must be added the loss of the stipends hitherto allowed by the Society in England, and the poverty which made it next to impossible to replace them. Add, moreover, to these things the doubts and uncertainties, the break-up of old associations and habitudes, the manifold perplexities of which we now know nothing, and which we could not enumerate if we did know them, and what a troubled scene was that on which our first bishop, who stood alone in his order in these United States, cast an anxious eye! "The children were come to the birth," but would there be "strength to bring them forth"?

One discouragement--and that would have been greater than all the others--Seabury was not called to meet. He did not come to a disunited and divided body. His diocese stood together as a unit. They stood where they did because of convictions, than which none could be stronger or more abiding. When they said: "I believe in the Holy Catholic Church," they uttered no unreal words, no words that habits of careless utterance had made unmeaning. They meant just what they said. And that strong and united conviction gave hope and comfort for the future. Clouds and darkness were about them. But on those clouds there was seen the bow of promise, while beyond them stood--what they might obscure but could not remove-- the "city which hath foundations, whose builder and maker is God."

On Wednesday, the third day of August, the bishop met his clergy at Middletown, received their address of congratulation and recognition, and made his reply to it. On this day was also held the first ordination administered by a bishop within the limits of the United States. On the day following, the Rev. Samuel Parker, who came as the appointed representative of the clergy in Massachusetts, [Footnote: The Rev. Dr. Moore of New York was also present, but not, apparently, in any representative capacity.] made a communication which, we are told, "was received with the warmest expressions of welcome," setting forth his instructions "to collect the sentiments of the Connecticut clergy in respect of Dr. Seabury's episcopal consecration and the regulation of his episcopal jurisdiction," and intimating the intention of those who sent him to connect themselves with their brethren here by coming under the charge of their bishop.

On this day, also, Bishop Seabury delivered his first charge. In it, after rehearsing with earnest expressions of gratitude to the bishops of Scotland the steps which he had taken to secure the Episcopate, and modestly referring to his own new position, declaring that next to the grace of God he relies, in carrying on the work committed to him, on the "advice and assistance" of his brethren, he dwells on three important topics. First, he urges on himself and them the duty of taking "heed unto the doctrine" as well as to themselves, saying, in words which are not unneeded how: "The first instance of fidelity is, that the pure doctrines of the Gospel be fairly, earnestly, and affectionately proposed, explained, and inculcated, and that we suffer nothing else to usurp their place and become the subject of our preaching." Next, he presses carefulness in recommending persons for ordination, enlarging not so much on "literary accomplishments, though these are not to be neglected, as aptitude for the work of the ministry." And, lastly, for obvious reasons, he treats, at length, "of the old and sacred rite, handed down to us from the apostolic age by the primitive Church--the laying-on of hands." The document shows, so far as a document can, that its writer possessed in himself the qualifications which he regarded as necessary "to make a useful clergyman--good temper, prudence, diligence, capacity, and aptitude to teach."

On the third day of its session, the convocation appointed a "committee to consider of and make with the bishop some alterations in the Liturgy needful for the present use of the Church." [Footnote: Mr. Parker of Massachusetts was appointed on this committee.] The matter was entered on with caution, and the only changes then and there ordered were those which changed political relations made necessary in the State prayers and services. These were immediately set forth by the bishop in an "injunction," by which he "authorized and required" the clergy to follow them. Some other changes were proposed and reserved for future consideration; but as nothing seems to have been done about them in this diocese, they need no special mention.

The bishop, however, was not unmindful of his promise given in the Concordate, and in the year following (1786) published his adaptation of the Scottish Communion-office. This he did not, as in the case of the alterations agreed to in convocation, "enjoin" or "require." He simply "_recommended_ it to the Episcopal congregations in Connecticut."

I am quite conscious that this is a very brief summary, a very meagre outline, of acts and events each one of which is most important and suggestive. It is all, however, that time and space allow, and it brings into strong relief some things which ought not to be forgotten.

The reverent care and caution with which the offices of sacred worship are approached are apparent. These are no signs of a hesitancy which is doubtful of its position. They indicate rather the strength of assurance which hesitates to touch the gift entrusted to it lest touching may end in tampering. In the same year in which these careful steps were taken, another convention, in six days, revised the entire Book of Common Prayer, with all its Offices and with the "Articles of Religion"; the result being a book which underwent amendments in four States, had its ratification postponed in another, was rejected in still another, and was not considered at all in five. The contrast in results is quite as striking as that in spirit and methods of action.