Bishop White

July 20^th, 2008

In 1763, the Treaty of Paris brought peace to Europe and to the colonies. France was left with a few small islands well above Nova Scotia. Spain was far away across the Mississippi. Canada and Florida were now English. Other than the continuing skirmishes with the native Indians there was peace. Now grew the discontent with the Mother Nation – England. The Pilgrims, Puritans, and Quakers had always viewed England with suspicion. After all they had fled England to get away from the King and the Anglican Church. The large emigration of Scots and Northern Irish added to those seeking a changed relationship with England. Only the Anglican Church wanted the status quo.

In 1774, England allowed freedom of worship for the Roman Catholics in Canada with the continuation of Bishops in that nation. The protestant dissenters feared that the growing Anglican strength would also result in Anglican Bishops being sent to the colonies. Newspapers of the era usually had an article a week about this threat of the English Church taking over the colonies. The radical opposition writings of John Milton had a greater following in America than in England. The rights of man and the changing views of God, the state and the Enlightenment were leading to the confrontation that would be the American Revolution.

England itself set the basis for the Declaration of Independence. Parliament beheaded Charles the First for failing to protect his people and waging war on them. Fifty two years later, in 1701 Parliament deposed James the Second and invited his daughter and her husband, William of Orange to be King and Queen.

The spirit of revolution and separation from England was fostered by a home grown clergy in the Presbyterian, Congregational and Methodists churches. But most of the Anglican clergy were English imports and the Revolution tore the Church apart. Two thirds of the Anglican clergy in Virginia left with the British armies. Only five clergy were left in New Jersey; one in New Hampshire; none in Maine or Rhode Island. The Anglican clergy of occupied New York and Connecticut were openly for the King and England. Samuel Seabury was a chaplain with the British Army. The Rev. Jacob Duche, Rector of Old Christ Church, gave the stirring invocation at the first meeting of the Continental Congress, and was its chaplain. But later when the British army left Philadelphia he left with them. For a time William White, born in Philadelphia, ordained in England, was the only Anglican clergyman in all of Pennsylvania. He served as chaplain of the Continental Congress from 1777 to 1789 and then of the United States Senate until 1800.

At wars end over 70,000 people, mostly Anglicans, fled and went to other English colonies. To give a perspective to that number at the time Philadelphia was the largest English speaking city outside London. It had fewer than 10,000 people. Another example of this loyalty: the coat of arms of George the Third are still at the peak of the front of Old Christ Church on Second Street.

The Church of England in the colonies was devastated. Kings College – to become Columbia - and the College at Philadelphia –University of Pennsylvania- gave up their connection to the Anglican Church. The Old Stone Church in Boston was taken over by the Unitarians. What was to happen to the Church?

After the war, loyalist Connecticut clergy acted first. Fourteen of the twenty in that little state met and formed the beginning of a revised American Church. Later a group of them would meet and ask Samuel Seabury to go to England to be consecrated a Bishop for Connecticut. The clergy of Maryland met and declared the formation of the Protestant Episcopal Church. They nominated Dr. William Smith, formerly of the College of Philadelphia to be their Bishop. A year later in 1784, William White convened a meeting in Philadelphia of the two other clergy now back in Pennsylvania and the group from New Jersey. This group called for a national church. A year later clergy from all the former colonies met in Philadelphia and started the revision of the English Book of Common Prayer. New York, Pennsylvania and Virginia now nominated men to become Bishops.

But there was no way for these men to become Bishops. England required allegiance to the King. Samuel Seabury waited for a year for the laws to be changed and finally went to Scotland where three ‘nonjuring’ Bishops ordained him. America now had a Bishop who was despised by most of the clergy and people.

To prevent the total loss of the Churches in America the laws in England were changed and of the four nominated men only two – William White and Samuel Provost of Trinity Church, New York actually went to England. The importance of this action is noted that they were consecrated by the Archbishops of Canterbury and of York and the Bishops of Bath and Wells and of Peterborough. But there was no unity. Bishop Provost hated Bishop Seabury. How was there to be a continuing Church? Massachusetts presented a nominee. Seabury compromised and allowed laity to be part of the governing of the Church on a federalist system as William White demanded The Communion Service moved far away from the English book with the influence of the Scottish Church via Seabury and Provost accepted being in the same building with Seabury just long enough to consecrate the fourth American Bishop. The Protestant Episcopal Church in America would continue.

In 1789, Bishop William White presided over the First General Convention of the American Church. From 1795 until 1835 he presided over every General Convention. His firm hand and belief in the American Federalist system of governing; and his gifts of statesmanship and reconciling moderation helped the Church to recover from the devastation of the Revolutionary War. As Bishop of the entire State of Pennsylvania he rode horseback and spent most of each year visiting the parishes throughout the city and out into the westward growing frontier areas. He was still doing this when he was 86 years old.

I must tell you some of the lighter things about this Bishop. When Jim Sox was being ordained at Old Christ Church, it was a very elaborate ceremony. Jim was very High Church. I was Deacon and Bishop Ogilby pointed to William White’s grave at our feet and said, ‘William is spinning down there.’ We used Bishop’s White’s Communion Table; it had disappeared during the late 1800’s. For the Bicentennial, Christ Church was restored from the Victorian additions to its Colonial Splendor. The stained glass was removed and the marble altar was removed and there was the Communion table. For Bishop Turner’s consecration I got to handle Bishop White’s Communion Set. Bishop White’s house is open for tours by the Park Service; it is very worth while seeing. The American Church is the product of William White’s insistence on a more democratic governance than known in the Church of England.

William White deserves to be known as the Venerable Bishop William White