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.