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 emba.s.sy returning from a sacred mission. An emba.s.sy 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 a.s.signed 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 emba.s.sy 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 princ.i.p.al 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 pa.s.sing reference to an enthusiastic meeting of the Scotch "Free and Open Church a.s.sociation" held in the evening as an accompaniment to, rather than as a part of, the day"s commemoration, he pa.s.sed on to speak of the second thing upon which an emba.s.sy 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 lat.i.tude of the place was that of the far north--it was opposite the northern part of Labrador--the lat.i.tude 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 emba.s.sy thanked the diocese for the welcome, all could before G.o.d"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 G.o.d 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 G.o.d"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 a.s.sisting 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 grat.i.tude 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 G.o.d"s favor as shown to both Churches, the reply used those words which G.o.d"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 n.o.bis, Domine, non n.o.bis, 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 a.s.sembled, 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 grat.i.tude to G.o.d, 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 a.s.sured them that we still cling to the ancient faith and order, and that we shall never forget our debt of grat.i.tude 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 G.o.d 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 n.o.ble 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 a.s.sembly 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 impa.s.sioned 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 G.o.d, 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 a.s.sisted in the service by the Bishop of Ma.s.sachusetts. 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 a.s.sisted 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 G.o.d, 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. Babc.o.c.k, New Haven; J. H. Barbour, Hartford; E. E.
Beardsley, D.D., LL.D., New Haven; A. E. Beeman, Unionville; J. H.
Betts, South Glas...o...b..ry; 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, Glas...o...b..ry; 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. Woodc.o.c.k, New Haven.
From other dioceses: The Rt. Rev. Bishop Niles, New Hampshire; the Rt. Rev. Bishop Paddock, Ma.s.sachusetts; 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, Ma.s.s.; 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 ma.n.u.script records of ordinations by Bishops Seabury and Jarvis; the ma.n.u.script records of the convocation of the clergy of Connecticut, open at the vote accepting the Prayer-Book of 1789; a ma.n.u.script 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 ma.n.u.script 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 ma.n.u.script 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 a.s.sisted 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.