THE

ELECTION

CONSECRATION

OF THE

I[EV.HEpCODMA[lPOTTEp,D.,LLD„

ASSISTANT BISHOP

NEW-YOEK :
JAMES POTT, CHURCH PUBLISHER,
No. 12 AsTOR Place.
1883.

HENRT BESSET, PRINTER,
No. 4T Cedar Slreei, New- York.

The One Hundredth Convention of the Diocese of
Nevir-York, which met in St. Augustine's Chapel, in the
City of New- York, on Wednesday, Thursday and Fri
day, the '26 th, 27th and 28th days of September, 1883,
directed the Secretary to print and send to the Parishes,
before the publication of the Journal, that part of the
proceedings which related to the illness of the Bishop of
the Diocese and his request for relief, and the election
of an Assistant Bishop.
The Secretary feels that he need not offer any apology
for transcending somewhat the limit of the instructions
which were given him, and adding to the official record
a brief account of the services at the Consecration of
Dr. Potter, together with the Sermon preached on that
occasion by the Right Reverend the Bishop of Connec
ticut.
Fkanois Lobdell,
Secretary of the Convention of tJie Protestant
Episcopal Ghurcli in the Diocese of New- York.
Festival of All Saints, 1883.

THE ELECTION.

In the absence of the Right Reverend the Bishop of
the Diocese, the Convention was called to order by the
Secretary, and the Senior Presbyter present entitled to
a seat, the Rev. A. Bloomer Hart, took the Chair, pur
suant to Canon II., Section 11 of the Diocese.
The Convention having been regularly organized for
business, the Rev. Cornelius E. Swope, D. D., an As
sistant Minister of Trinity Church, New- York, was
elected President.
Immediately after the President had taken the Chair,
the Rev. William F. Morgan, D. D., Rector of St.
Thomas' Church, New- York, addressed the Convention
in the following words :
Mr. President :
The first claim upon your attention and upon the
attention of this Convention, is a communication of the
gravest character from the beloved Bishop of the Dio
cese, whose absence we all deplore to-day.
As temporary Chairman of the Standing Committee,
and acting in their behalf, I suggest that all other busi
ness be deferred until thh letter of the Bishop, and the
action of the Standing Committee in relation to it, be
laid before this Convention. It is a question of privi
lege, which I presume will be unanimously allowed.
I therefore present the following communication from
the Standing Committee of the Diocese :

6
To the Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church
in the Diocese of New- Yorlc :
The members of the Standing Committee of the Dio
cese of New-York were notified to assemble on Friday,
September 21st, at Trinity Church, the Secretary intima
ting in his notice that very grave affairs, vital to the
welfare of the Diocese, would be brought forward for
the deliberation of the Committee. All but one were
present. After the usual and regular business had been
disposed of, the Chairman of the Committee, the Rev.
Dr. Dix, announced that he had received a message from
the venerable Bishop of New- York, which had tilled him
with surprise and the profoundest sorrow, and which he
had been desired to submit to the Committee for their
immediate action.
The letter of Bishop Potter was then read, of which
the following is a cojjy :
38 East 22d Street, N. Y.,
September 12, 1883.
The Rev. Morgan Dix, D. D.,
Chairman of the Standing Committee
of the Diocese of New- York :
Mt Dear Sir,— The approaching time for the meeting
of the Convention warns me that some action must be
taken in relation to the future discharge of the Episcopal
office in this Diocese.
It is now more than four months since, exhausted by
the great labors which usually accompany the spring
appointments, I was overtaken by a severe attack of
pneumonia. Although fully recovered from this attack,
I Iind myself at present greatly reduced in strength,
and unable, with the weight of so many years upon me,
to recover the health that was formerly vouchsafed lo
me. It is very evident to me, and it is, indeed, the
opinion of my physician, that, even if my life should be

considerably prolonged, I shall never have the physical
strength that is necessary to endure the fatigues and
exposures incident to the active duties of the office.
The extent of the work in this Diocese, and the mul
tiplicity of cares connected with it, are such as to require
the exercise of the free and untrammeled energies of one
in the full vigor of life. Such a condition can, in the
present instance, only be reached by my complete with
drawal from the administration of the Diocese.
It is, therefore, after mature deliberation, and with a
single desire to the best interests of the Diocese, in which
desire no personal consideration has place, that I address
the Standing Committee, through their Chairman, com
municating these facts to them, and requesting them to
make them knoAvn to the Diocese at the approaching
Convention, in whatever manner they may deem best
calculated to secure for me the entire relief from official
care and duty, which has become absolutely necessary,
and to promote the highest interests of the Church.
Most truly yours,
(Signed,) H. Potter,
Bishop of New- York.
Rev. Dr. Dix, Chairman.
The reading of this letter was followed by silence and
deep emotion. The request it contained, however,
although painful and unexpected, was perfectly clear,
and the necessity for decisive action equally so ; the
Committee accordingly addressed themselves to as
thorough a consideration of the subject in all its bear
ings as circumstances would allow, and adopted the fol
lowing resolutions :
Resolved., That the President of this Committee be
requested to communicate to the Rt. Rev. the Bishop of
the Diocese the very deep sense of regret with which we
have received his communication — the sincere affection

8
which we cherish towards him, and our appreciation of
the wisdom and efficiency which have distinguished his
administration of the Diocese, and that in its present pos
ture and necessity, we have adopted the following reso
lution, which, with his approval, we propose to report to
the Convention :
Resolved., That the members of the Standing Commit
tee be a Special Committee, with the Rev. Dr. Morgan as
the Chairman, to present to the Convention of the Dio
cese, about to occur, the communication received from
the Bishop, accompanied by a communication from this
Committee, informing the Convention that, in its view,
the wish of the Bishop, the requjuirements ofthe Canons,
and the exigencies of the work of the Diocese, demand
the early election of an Assistant Bishop.
It may add somewhat to the weight of the above reso
lution, if I read a letter addressed by the President of
the Standing Committee, the Rev. Dr. Dix, to the Sec
retary, the Rev. Dr. Eigenbrodt. It is as follows :
Trinity Rectory, September 22, 1883.
To the Rev. W. E. Eigenbrodt, D. D.,
Secretary of the Standing Committee of the
Diocese of New- York :
My Dear Doctor, — I received from you this morning
a paper containing the record of the action of the Stand
ing Committee, at their meeting yesterday, upon receiv
ing the communication from the Bishop of the Diocese,
and, in compliance with the instructions of the Commit
tee, I called upon the Bishop, and was favored with an
interview with him, at which I presented him with the
said record, certified by you. I have now to inform you
that the Bishop expressed himself as entirely satisfied
with the action of the Standing Committee, and gave
his consent and approval to the proposed method of

bringing his communication before the approaching
Convention. I remain very sincerely yours,
(Signed,) Morgan Dix,
President of the Standing Committee.
Having thus laid before the Convention the official
correspondence and action which ensued immediately
after the letter of Bishop Potter had been received, the
Standing Committee venture to set forth briefly, but
distinctly, and a little more in detail, the three princi
pal reasons which lead them to recommend the early
election of *an Assistant Bishop — reasons which they
believe will influence and govern the Convention. The
first and moving cause of a single step in the direction
of an Assistant Bishop is found in the strongly ex
pressed wish of our venerated chief Pastor. His letter
is before us. Prostrated a few months since by a terri
ble sickness, even in his convalescence and recovery he
feels, and his physician also feels, that he can never
again rally the forces of life and energy, so as to resume
his labors and serve his holy office in the Church of God.
He is disabled, the heavy weight of years is upon him,
and, although his life may be prolonged, he is conscious
that it can only be prolonged under the conditions of
feebleness and decline. These circumstances, which sug
gest so much that is tender and pathetic, lead him to ask
at our hands the privilege of retirement, and undisturbed
rest from care and toil. He does not propose to resign.
God forbid! Had he proposed to resign, our hearts
would have been more sorrowful, and the duties and diffi
culties of this hour would have assumed a graver aspect.
He remains our Bishop, cherished and beloved, our
Father in God, eveft to the end of his days ; and, as the
Head of the Diocese, retains the honors and emoluments
of his office, as he will surely retain the grateful devo
tion of his flock. The appeal, then, of our Bishop

10
being simply that he may be relieved from the fatigues
and exposures incident to the active duties of his
office, the question next to be met was, How can
such relief be supplied 1 The answer was instantly
found in the Digest of the Canons. But one method
exists, under the legislation of our Church, by which
an infirm and disabled Bishop can receive needful
help, and that is by the election of an Assistant.
The language of Canon XY., Title 1, Article V., is
explicit: "When a Bishop of a Diocese is unable, by
reason of old age, or other permanent cause of infirmity,
or by reason of the extent of his Diocese, to discharge
his Episcopal duties, one Assistant Bishop may be elected
by and for the said Diocese, who shall in all cases succeed
the Bishop, in case of surviving him ; provided, that
before the election of an Assistant Bishop, for the reason
of extent of Diocese, the consent of the General Conven
tion, or, during the recess thereof, the consent of a
majority of the Bishops and of the several Standing-
Committees, must be had and obtained. The Assistant
Bishop shall perform such Episcopal duties, and exercise
such Episcopal authority in the Diocese as the Bishop
shall assign to him ; and in case of the Bishop' s inability
to assign such duties, declared bythe Convention of the
Diocese, the AssistantBishop shall, during such inability,
perform all the duties aud exercise all the authorities
which appertain to the office of a Bishoj). No person
shall be elected or consecrated as a Suffragan Bishop,
nor shall there be more than one Assistant Bishop in a
Diocese at the same time."
The only relief, then, that we can extend to our Bishop
is here specified. There can be no other.
The last consideration, which, in the judgment of the
Standing Committee, called for an e,arly response to the
Bishop's application for relief, was the exigencies of
the work of the Diocese. It would be idle and a waste
of precious time were we to enter upon any estimate of
this work, or to attemjpt its measure. The Bishop, in

11
his letter, feelingly alludes to the multiplicity of cares
connected with it, and every intelligent mind in this
House can fully comprehend the extent, the importance.
the solemnity of those demands which make up the
administration of a Diocese like this. Were this ad
ministration to be relaxed, or its activities to lie fallow
for a month, an inconceivable injury might result. It
was with a clear perception of this that the Standing
Committee were ready to hope that, in case of prompt
and favorable action on our part, the great Council and
Convention of the Church, shortly to assemble in Phila
delphia, might conveniently facilitate our purpose, and
give us their ready help in bringing it to a speedy and
practical consummation.
Such, in brief, dear brethren of the Convention, were
the views which governed the Standing Committee, after
a careful survey of a subject so critical and profoundly
important. To deny the reasonable request of our aged
Diocesan, would not be possible. It has not been his
wont during the past years of his Episcopate to solicit
relief, or personal favors of any sort, at the hands of the
Diocese. His modesty in this respect has been proverbial.
On the contrary, he has pressed upon us, not his wants,
not his desire for easement — no — but his devotion, his
fidelity, his willingness to spend and be spent in the
service of Christ and the Church. Instead of self-seeking,
his whole spirit and life have found expression in the
highest forms of bestowment. He has given us, among
other tilings, an example of the most exalted character ;
and if we consider his wisdom, his moderation, his con
sideration for those who differed or opposed themselves,
his sound and calm judgment in the midst of perplexity,
no prelate ever deserved a more hearty, and tender and
grateful return from his people than the Bishop of New-
York ; and yet, in granting his desire, we cannot fail to
realize the solemnity of the act by which we transfer to
other and untried hands, the spiritual direction of this
Diocese, with all the dignity and authority which belong

12
to the office of Bishop. It is an hour in which we may
well address ourselves to prayer and serious thought.
May God Triune be with us ! May He so rule and govern
our hearts, and order our deliberations and crown our
work, that it shall redound to the glory of His great
Name, and the benefit of His Holy Church !
(Signed,) Wm. F. Morgan,
Morgan Dix,
Wm. E. Eigenbrodt,
Isaac H. Tuttle,
S. P. Nash,
Henry Drisler,
George Macculloch Miller,
Hamilton Fish,
Standing Committee of the Diocese of New- York.
New- York, Sept. 26, 1883.
On motion of the Hon. Erastus Brooks, it was
Resolved, That this Convention, in accepting the communi
cation just made by the Standing Committee, expresses its
concurrence in the views presented therein to this Convention.
Resolved, That this Convention will proceed to-morrow, at
12 o'clock, M., to the election of an Assistant Bishop for the
Diocese of New- York.
On motion of Charles Tracy, Esq., it was
Resolved, That during the proceedings for the election of an
Assistant Bishop, no debate or discussion shall be in order, but
that nominations, without further than the announcement of the
name of the'nominee, may be in order.
On motion of the Rev. Dr. Richey, it was
Resolved, That a Committee of five be appointed to express
the deep sense of regret of this Convention upon the receipt of
the communication read from the Bishop at this Convention.

13
The President appointed the following as such Committee :
The Rev. Thomas Richey, D. D., the Rev. Philander K. Cady,
D. D., the Rev. Heman Dyer, D. D., Charles Tracy, Esq., and
the Hon. Erastus Brooks, who subsequently presented the fol
lowing
Hep ort.
To the Right Reverend Horatio Potter, D. D., LL. D.,
D. C. L., Bishop of New- York :
Right Reverend Father in God :
It is with feelings of profound sorrow that your Con
vention, through the Standing Committee of the Diocese,
has received the sad intelligence that you feel con
strained, in consequence of continued physical pros
tration, to withdraw from the active duties of your
Episcopate. While deeply grateful to Almighty God
that he has enabled you so long to bear the burdens of
official care, they cannot look forward to your with
drawal without being overwhelmed with a sense of
grievous and irreparable loss. Never can they forget
the years of unbroken peace which the Diocese for more
than a quarter of a century has, under your administra
tion, been permitted to enjoy, and that, too, at a time
when the Church in America and the Mother Country
has been called upon to pass through one of the gravest
periods of her history. It is, under God, to the large
and liberal policy which has so notably characterized
your Episcopate, that the Church in the Metropolitan
Diocese of New- York has been enabled to preserve,
unstained, her honor before the world, and has grown
in the esteem and confidence of all thoughtful men. If
we are constrained to bow to the ordering of God's good
providence, it is our earnest hope, that release from the
burden of office will result in your being permitted, for

14
many years yet to come, to see the increasing fruits of
your labors.
In behalf of the Convention.
Thomas Richey,
Philander K. Cady,
Heman Dyer, [ Committee.
Erasttjs Brooks,
Charles Tracy,
New-York, September 28, 1683.
On Thursday, September 27, at 12 o'clock at noon, the Con
vention proceeded to the order of tbe day, which was the elec
tion of an Assistant Bishop of the Diocese.
The President appointed as Inspectors of Election, the Rev.
Clarence Buel and Mr. Henry L. Morris, for the Clergy, and
the Rev. H. B. Hitchings and Mr. Effingham H. Nichols, for
the Laity.
Before proceeding to ballot, the President called upon the
members to engage in silent prayer.
The following nominations were then made :
The Rev. Henet C. Pottee, D. D., by the Rev. Dr. Morgan.
The Rev. Moegan Dix, D. D., by the Rev. Dr. Cady.
The Rev. Henet Y. Satteelee, D. D., by the Rev. Thomas
R. Harris.
The Rev. Thomas F. Davies, D. D., by the Rev. Dr. Maury.
The Rev. N. H. Schenck, D. D., bythe Rev. Mr. Buckmaster.
The Rev. Thomas Gallaudet, D. D., by the Rev. Stephen F.
Holmes. The Rev. P. K. Cadt, D. D., by John A. Beall, Esq.
The Rev. C. E. Swope, D. D., by Mr. H. L. Clarke.

15
The Rt. Rev. Daniel S. Tuttle, D. D., by the Rev. Dr. Geer.
The Rev. William J. Seabuey, D. D., by the Rev. George
W. Ferguson.
The Rev. William R. Huntington, D. D., by the Rev. Dr.
Satterlee. The Rev. E. A. Hoffman, D. D., by the Rev. Dr. Applegate.
The Rev. E. Haewogd, D. D., by the Rev. Dr. Rylance.
The Rev. Geoege Leeds, D. D., by the Rev. Dr. Duffie.
The Inspectors of the Votes for Assistant Bishop presented
their Reports, as follows :

First Ballot : Clerical Vote.
The Inspectors of the Clerkal Vote for Assistant Bishop respectfully
report, that the

Whole number of votes cast was .
Necessary to a choice 
The Rev. Henry C. Potter, D. D., received
The Rev. Morgan Dix, D. D.,
The Rev. H. Y. Satterlee, D. D,,
The Rt. Eev. Daniel S. Tuttle, D. D., received
The Eev. C. E. Swope, D. D., ' "
The Rev. E. A. Hoffman, D. D.,
The Eev. T. P. Davies, D. D.,
The Rev. William J. Seabury, D. D., ¦"
The Rev. Thomas Gallaudet, D. D., "
The Eev. J. H. Rylance, D. D.,
The Eev. George Leeds, D. D., "
The Eev. G. H. Houghton, D. D.,
The Eev. Alfred B. Beach, D. D.,
The Rev. J. B. Gibson, D. D.,
The Eev. W. E. Huntington, D. D.,
The Eev. P. K. Cady, D. D.,
The Rev. James Haughton "
The Eev. Noah H. Schenck "

Claeence Buel, )
Henry L. Morms, )

168 '85 63 40 131310 9 4
4 333 11
1 1
1 1 1
Inspectors.

16

Lay Vote.
The Inspectors of the Lay Vote for Assistant Bishop respectfully report
that the

Whole number of votes cast was .
Necessary to a choice, ....
The Rev. Henry C. Potter, D. D. , received
The Eev. Morgan Dix, D. D.,
The Rev. H. Y. Satterlee, D. D., "
The Rt. Rev. D. S. Tuttle, D. D., "
The Eev. C. E. Swope, D. D.,
The Rev. E. A. Hoffman, D. D.,
The Rev. W. J. Seabury, D. D.,
The Rev. Thos. Gallaudet, D. D., "
The Rev. Thos. Richey, D. D., "
The Eev. T. P. Davies, D. D., "
The Eev. P. K. Cady, D. D.,
The Eev. G. H. Houghton, D. D., "
The Eev. Wm.E. Huntington, D.D., "
The Rev. E. Harwood, D. D.,
The Rev. George Leeds, D. D., "

113 57
50
3411 6
43 3
32
2 1
1 1
1 1

H. B. Hitchings,
Effingham: H. Nichols,
The Convention then proceeded to a second ballot.
Second Ballot : Clerical Vote.
The Inspectors of the Clej-ical Vote for Assistant Bishop respectfully
report, that the

Wliole number of votes cast was .
Necessary to a choice, ....
The Rev. Henry C. Potter, D. D., received
The Eev. Morgan Dix, D. D., "
The Eev. H. Y. Satterlee, D. D.,
The Eev. C. E. Swope, D. D.,
The Eev. E. A. Hoffman, D. D.,
The Rt. Rev. Daniel S. Tuttle, D.D., "
The Rev. T. P. Davies, D. D.,
The Eev. W. J. Seabury, D. D., "
The Eev. J. B. Gibson, D. D.,
The Eev. J. H. Rylance, D. D.,
The Eev. P. K. Cady, D. D.,
The Rev. William Paret, D. D.,

163 83
7445 10
10 5
8
3 31
1
1 1

Clarence Buel, ) ^
Henuy L. Morris, \ Inspectors.

17

Lay Vote.
The Inspectors of the Lay Vote for Assistant Bishop respectfully report,
that the

Whole number of votes cast was .
Necessary to a choice, ....
The Eev. H. C. Potter, D. D., received
The Rev. Morgan Dix, D. D.,
The Eev. H. Y. Satterlee, D. D.,
The Rt. Eev. D. S. Tuttle, D. D.,
The Eev. T. P. Davies, D. D.,
The Eev. C. E. Swope, D. D.,
The Eev. E. A. Hoffman, D. D.,
The Eev. P. K. Cady, D. D.,
The Eev. G. H. Houghton, D. D.,

H. B. Hitchings,
Effingham H. Nichols,

110 56 57
28 7
7
333
1 1
Inspectors.

The names of the ¦ Rev. Dr. Dix and the Rev. Dr. Satterlee
were then withdrawn, and the Convention proceeded to a third
ballot. TniED Ballot : Clerical Vote.

The Inspectors of the Clerical Vote for Assistant Bishop respectfully
report, that the

Whole number of votes cast was .
Necessary to a choice, ....
The Eev. Henry C. Potter, D. D., received
The Eev. C. E. Swope, D. D.,
The Et. Rev. D. S. Tuttle, D. D.,
The Eev. Morgan Dix, D. D. ,
The Eev. E. A. Hoffman, D. D.,
The Eev. T. F. Davies, D. D.,
The Eev. W. J. Seabury, D. D.,
The Eev. H, Y. Satterlee, D. D.,
The Eev. Thomas Eichey, D. D.,
The Eev. J. Tuttle Smith, D. D.,

161 81
87
49 65
53
3211

Clarence Boel, ) r
Henry L. Morris, \ ^"'P'"*"

18

Lay Vote.

The Inspectors of the Lay Vote for Assistant Bishop respectfully report,
that the

Whole number of votes cast was .
Necessary to a choice, .
The Eev. Henry C. Potter, D. D., received
The Rev. C. E. Swope, D. D.,
The Rev. T. P. Davies, D. D.,
The Rev. Morgan Dix, D. D.,
The Rt. Eev. D. S. Tuttle, D. D.,
The Rev. William J. Seabury, D. D.,
The Rev. E. A. Hoffman, D. D.,
The Eev. H. Y. Satterlee, D. D.,

108 55
76 17 5
4 3
11 1

H. B. Hitchings,
Effingham H. Nichols,

[¦ Inspectors.

Whereupon the President declared, that the Rov. Henry C.
Potter, D. D., by the concurrent votes of the Clergy and Laity,
was elected Assistant Bishop of the Diocese of New- York.
On motion of the Rev. Dr. Eigenbrodt, it was
Resolved, That this Convention unanimously declare that the
Rev. Dr. Potter is elected Assistant Bishop of the Diocese of
Nejv-York. Resolved, That a Committee, consisting of two Clergymen
and two Laymen, be appointed to wait on the Rev. Dr. Potter
and inform him of his election.

The President appointed the Rev. Drs. Morgan and Dix, Mr.
J. Pierrepont Morgan and the Hon. Hamilton Fish.
On motion of the Rev. Dr. Eigenbrodt, it was
Resolved^ That the President and Secretary of this Conven
tion be a Committee to communicate to the Bishop of the Dio
cese a certified copy of the proceedings of this Convention,
which resulted in the election of an Assistant Bishop.
Resolved, That the Standing Committee be authorized and
requested to take all necessary measures to obtain the conse-

19
oration of the Rev. H. C. Potter, D. D., this day elected
Assistant Bishop of the Diocese.
Resolved, That the testimonial for the consecration of the
Assistant Bishop-elect be signed by the Clergy and Laity im
mediately after the reading of the minutes to-morrow morning.
Resolved, That a public thanksgiving to Almighty God for
the happy termination of this important business be now made
by this Convention, under the direction of the Chair, after
which the Convention shall adjourn until to-morrow morning at
10 o'clock.
The Gloria in Exoelsis was then sung, and appropriate prayers
were read by the Rev. Dr. Satterlee,
The Convention then adjourned until Friday morning, at 10
o'clock.

20

Feidat, Septembee 28th, 1883, 10 o'clock, A. M.
The Convention met, pursuant to adjournment, at St. Augus
tine's Chapel, in the City of New- York.
Morning Prayer and the Litany having been said, the Presi
dent of the Convention took the Chair, and announced that the
Assistant Bishop-elect was in the House, and would be escorted
to the platform by the Committee appointed to wait upon him.
Ou his entrance, the members of the Convention rose and re
mained standing, while he addressed them as follows :
Mr. President and Brethren of the Clergy and
Laity : It has seemed proper that I should come here
this morning, and myself make answer to the communi
cation which reached me yesterday afternoon from this
Convention. I need not tell you how overwhelmed I have been by
the action of this body. My own words upon this floor
yesterday made plain, I think, with what unfeigned
reluctance I faced either the honors or the burdens of
the Episcopal office, and how resolute was my purpose
to refuse even the proffer of them. But your action in
this place, the manner of it, and most of all, the spirit
of it, has taught me somewhat sharply and sternly, that
in a question such as this I must have respect to
some other judgment than my own, and must consent
to see my duty in that wider vision of it whicli expresses
itself in the voices of my brethren and of the Church.
Your proceedings yesterday have seemed to take from
me in this matter the power of discretion, and to teach
me that here, at any rate, it is mine to obey.
And so I come here this morning to say that I ac
quiesce in your decision, and submit to that call whicli
is, I trust, the call of God, as it has come to me by your
voices. Dear brethren, judge me gently in this new

21
and strange relation ! How can I bear such burdens as
loom up before me, save as you shall give me your sym
pathy and your prayers, and oftentimes your generous
forbearance ?
I am here to-day to throw myself upon your compas
sion, and to ask for your counsel and co-operation.
Singularly inexperienced in matters of Diocesan ad
ministration, of which the youngest presbyter in the
Diocese could scarcelv have less knowledge than I —
with a record of service so wise, so unwearied and so
self-forgetful behind me, that, kinsman though I am of
him who has made it, I may not refuse, here, to remem
ber or to speak of ^t — how can I confront the burden
that is before me in following in the footsteps of him
who for nearly thirty years has gone to and fro upon
his Master's errands in this Diocese, without a feeling
of profound dismay ? At such a moment, one must
needs cry out, "Who is sufficient for these things?"
and we must needs remember that ''our sufficiency,"
yours and mine, "is," and is alone, "of God."
One word more, Mr. President, and I have done. It
will not be incongruous, I trust, with this occasion, and
with the duty which I have come here to discharge, if I
ask your permission, in the presence of this Convention,
to express to the Committee of your body who have ac
companied me here this morning, my grateful sense of
the cordial and helpful terms in which they brought to
me, yesterday, the intelligence of your action. To my
friend and father, (as he has long permitted me to call
him,) the venerable and beloved Rector of St. Thomas'
Church, as to the eminent laymen who accompanied
him, I desire here to make my public acknowledgments
for words of encouragement which have made this try
ing task somewhat more easy. And, especially and
preeminently, to my distinguished brother, the Rector
of Trinity Parish, I wish, here and in your presence, to
express my profound gratitude for words privately
spoken to me, of such chivalrous kindness and cor-

22
diality, and for assurances of such singular nobleness
and generosity, as I can never forget ! And now, sir,
with your permission, I will resume my seat.
The Secretary then read the testimonial for the Consecration
of the Assistant Bishop-elect, and it was signed by a constitu
tional majority of the Clergy and Lay Delegates composing the
Convention.

Testimony from the Members of the Convention of the
Diocese of New- York, in behalf of the Rev. Henet C.
Potter, D. D., LL. D., Rector of Grace Church, New-
YoEK :
We, whose names are underwritten, fully sensible how im
portant it is that the sacred office of a Bishop should not be un
worthily conferred, and firmly persuaded that it is our duty to
bear testimony, on this solemn occasion, without partiality or
affection, do, in the presence of Almighty God, testify that the
Rev. Henry C. Potter, D. D., is not, so far as we are informed,
justly liable to evil report, either for error in religion, or for
viciousness in life ; and that we do not know or believe there is
any impediment, on account of which he ought not to be Conse
crated to that holy office. We do, moreover, jointly and seve
rally, declare that we do, in our conscience, believe him to be
of such sufficiency in good learning, such soundness in the
faith, and of such virtuous and pure manners, and Godly con
versation, that he is apt and meet to exercise the office of a Bishop
to the honor of God, and the edifying of His Church, and to be
a wholesome examjjle to the flock of Christ.
(Signed,) CLERGY.
C. E. Swope, D. D., President of the Convention.
Francis Loedkll, 8. T. D., Secretary of the Convention.
Stueges Allen, Assistant Minister of St. George's Church,
Newburgh.
Octavius Applegate, S. T. D., Rector of St. George's Church
Newburgh.

23
Louis A. Aethue, Assistant Priest of Trinity Church, New- York.
Amos Tuenee Ashton, Rector of Trinity Church, Haverstraw.
Harry F. Auld, Priest in charge of St. Mary's Church, Mott
Haven.
G. W. Sinclair Atees, Priest in charge of St. Margaret's
Church, Staatsburgh.
Matthew A. Bailey, Rector of St. John Baptist's Church, Kent
Cliff.
Joseph N. Blanchaed, Rector of St. James' Church, Fordham,
New- York.
Aethue Beooks, Rector of the Church of the Incarnation, New-
York.
Philip A. H. Brown, Assistant Minister of Trinity Parish, New-
York.
MoEGAN Dix, D. D., Rector of the Parish of Trinity Church,
New- York.
William F. Moegan, D. D., Rector of St. Thomas' Church,
New-York.
William E. Eigenbeodt, D. D., Professor of Pastoral Theology,
General Theological Seminary, New-York.
Isaac H. Tuttle, D. D., Rector of St. Luke's Church, New-York.
John W. Buckmastee, Rector of Christ Church, Marlborough.
Clarence Buel, Assistant Minister of St. Luke's Church, New-
York.
Samuel Buel, D. D., Professor of Systematic Divinity in Gen
eral Theological Seminary, New-York.
Edmund Guilbeet, Rector of the Church of the Holy Spirit,
New- York.
Philandee K. Cady, Rector of St. James' Church, Hyde Park.
Edwaed H. Kettell, Rector of St. Ann's Church, Morrisania,
New- York.
C. William Camp, Rector of St. John's Church, Kingston.
Chaeles F. Canedy, Rector of Trinity Church, New-Rochelle.
E. Winchester Donald, Rector of the Church of the Ascension,
New- York.
Alexander Capeon, Rector of Holy Trinity Church, Highlands.
W. H. Cooke, Assistant Minister of Trinity Church, New-York.
C. K. Capron, Rector of St. John's Church, EUenville.
Feancis Chase, Rector of the Church of St. James the Less,
Scarsdale.

24
GouvEENEUE Ceugee, Rcctor at Montrose.
John W. Keamee, M. D., Rector of the Church of the Holy Faith,
New- York.
William B. Coopee, Assistant Minister of the Church of the
Epijjhany, New- York.
John Chamberlain, Assistant Minister of St. Ann's Church,
New-York.
Thomas Cole, Rector of Trinity Church, Saugerties.
N. E. Cornwall, A. M., Assistant Minister of St. John the
Evangelist's Church, New-York.
Robert Fulton Ceaet, Rector of the Holy Comforter Church,
Poughkeepsie.
Lewis P. Clovee, D. D., Rector of Grace Church, Port Jervis.
T. A. Hyland, Rector of the Church of the Holy Comforter, New-
' York.
George H. Houghton, D. D., Rector of the Church of the
Transfiguration, New- York.
Petee P. Haeeower, Rector of Grace Church, Middletown.
John M. Windsor, Rector of St. John's Church, Monticello.
Robert J. Walkbe, Rector of Floating Church of Our Saviour,
New- York.
George Dudley Wildes, D. D., Rector of Christ Church,
Riverdale.
Heney Ammi Dows, A. M., Assistant Minister of the Church
of the Redeemer, New-York.
G. Hepburn, Missionary.
Chaeles C. Tiffany, D. D., Rector of Zion Church, New- York.
John F. Steen, Assistant Minister of Ascension Church, New-
York.
E. H. C. Goodwin, A. M., Officiating Minister, Trinity Parish,
New- York.
W. S. Rainsfoed, B. a.. Rector of St. George's Church, New-
York.
J. W. Shackelford, D. D., Rector of the Church of the Re
deemer, New-York.
William T. Egbeet, Assistant Minister of Grace Church, New-
York.
J. Tuttle Smith, D. D., Rector of the Church of the Holy
Sepulchre, New- York.
Joshua Morsell, D. D., Rector of Grace Church, City Island.

25
J. H. Hobaet, D. D., Rector of Trinity Church, Fishkill.
Joseph H. Johnson, Rector of St. Peter's Church, Westchester,
New- York.
Randolph H. McKim, D. D., Rector of Holy Trinity Church,
Harlem, New- York.
Isaac Maguiee, Missionary.
Stephen F. Holmes, M. A., Rector of Trinity Church, New-
Rochelle.
James Mulchahey, D. D., Assistant Minister of Trinity Parish,
New- York.
George Bickham Reese, A. M,, Rector of Zion Church, Green-
burgh.
Eugene Aug. Hoffman, D. D., Dean of the General Theologi
cal Seminary, New- York.
CoENF.Lius B. Smith, Rector of St. James' Church, New-York.
Alfebd V. Wittmeyee, Rector of French Church du St. Esprit,
New-York.
William H. Mills, D. D., Rector of St. Paul's Church, Yonkers.
Edwaed Octavius Flagg, D. D., Assistant Minister of Grace
Church, New- York.
William Reed Thomas, M. A., Rector of the Church of the
Holy Innocents, Highland Falls.
George Jarvis Geee, D. D., Rector of St. Timothy's Church,
New-York.
A. B. Hart, Rector of St. Stephen's Church, New-Y^ork.
Isaac Yan Winkle, A. M., Rector of St. Mary's Church in the
Highlands, Cold Spring.
Frank Hkartfield, M. A., Assistant Minister of St. Peter's
Church, New- York.
G. F. Nelson, Assistant Minister of Grace Church, New-Y^ork.
H. Y. Sattbelee, D. D., Rector of Calvary Church, New- York.
William J. Seabury, D. D., Rector of the Church of the An
nunciation, New-York.
J. J. Rowan Spong, B. A., B. C. L., LL. B., Assistant Minister
of the Church of the Annunciation, New-Y^ork.
Arthur C. Kimbee, M. A., B. D., in charge of St. Augustine's
Chapel, Trinity Parish, New-Y^'ork.
R. M. Hayden, M. A., New-Y''ork.
Edwaed Kennby, B. D., Rector of St. Peter's Church, Port-
chester.

26
John P. Peters, Ph. D., Assistant Minister of St. Michael's
Church, NewY'ork.
Romaine S. Mansfield, Rector of Christ Church, Ramapo.
A. F. Tenney, A. B., Rector of All Saints' Church, Briar Cliff.
Mytton Maury, D. D., Rector pf St. James' Church, Goshen.
Thomas Gallaudet, D. D., Rector of St. Ann's Church, Nevv-
Y''oi-k.
Bishop Falkner, Rector of the Church of the Intercession,
New- York.
Samuel B. Moore, Rector of St. John's Church, Tuckahoe.
William E. Sxowden, Rector of St. John's Church, Canterbury.
Henry St. George Y''oung, Assistant Minister of the Church of
the Nativity, New-Y^ork.
Curtiss F. Woodruff, Superintendent of City Mission Society,
New- York.
Thomas McKee Brown, Church of St. Mary the Yirgin, New-
Y''ork.
Wm. B. Hooper, M. A., officiating in Trinity Parish, New- York.
A. F. Olmsted, D. D., Rector of the Church of the Messiah,
Rhinebeck.
George D. Johnson, M. A., Rector of Christ Church, New-
Brighton.
S. Seymour Lewis, Rector of St. Thomas' Church, Amenia.
Charles T. Olmsted, Assistant Minister of Trinity Parish,
New- York.
William N. Dunnell, Rector of All Saints' Church, New- Y'ork.
WiLBUE F. Watkins, D. D., Rector of the Church of the Holy
Trinity, Forty-second Street, New-York.
Joseph W. Hill, Assistant Minister of Trinity Church, New-
Y^ork.
J. Nevett Steele, Rector of Zion Church, Wappinger's Falls.
Beady E. Backus, D. D., Rector of the Church of the Holy
Apostles, New-York.
Thomas Richey, D. D., Professor of Ecclesiastical History in
the General Theological Seminary, New-Y"ork.
William W. Montgomeey, M. A., Rector of St. Thomas'
Church, Mamaroneck.
Lea Luqukr, Rector of St. Matthew's Church, Bedford.
Theodoeh B. Foster, B. A., Assistant Minister of St. James'
Cliurch, New-York.

27
William Waedlaw, Rector of St. Luke's Church, Rossville.
Caleb L Ward, M. A., Assistant Minister of St. Michael's
Church, New- York.
A. H. Gesnee, St. Mary's Church, Beeohwood.
B. F. De Costa, D. D., Rector of St. John the Evangelist's
Church, New-York.
William W. Olssen, S. T. D., Professor in St. Stephen's Col
lege, Annandale.
Randall C. Hall, Professor in General Theological Seminary,
New- York.
J. Bloomfield Wetheeill, Rector of the Church of St. Am
brose, New- York.
Chaeles Higbee, M. A., Rector of Christ Church, Pelham.
Theodoee A. Eaton, S. T. D., Rector of St. Clement's Church,
New-Y''ork.
Horace B. Hitchings, M. A., Assistant Minister of St. Andrew's
Church, New-York.
Aethur H. Warner, Rector of the Church of the Beloved
Disciple, New-Y''ork.
Thomas Heney Sill, M. A,, Priest in charge of St. Chrysos-
tom's Chapel, New-Y''ork.
Heney C. Mayee, M. A., City Mission, New-York.
William D. Walkee, M. A., Assistant Minister of Calvary
Church, New- York.
Feedeeick B. Yan Kleeok, M. A., Rector of Grace Church,
White Plains.
Robeet B. Yan Kleeck, LL. B., Missionary at Glenham.
Thos. R. Haeris, A. B., Rector of St. Paul's Church, Morrisania.
F. WAgHBUEN, Rector of the Church of the Holy Spirit, Ron-
dout.
John F. Heeelich, A. M., LL. B., Rector of St. Mark's
Church, Mount Pleasant.
A. J. Thompson, Assistant Priest, Trinity Parish, New-York.
Geoege Wilson Ferguson, A. M., Rector of Trinity Church,
Sing Sing.
William Samuel Coffey, A. M., Rector of St. Paul's Church,
Eastchester.
Jerome B. Morse, A. M., City Missions, New-Y'ork.
Jame.s Millett, Rector of the Church of the Holy Martyrs,
New-York.

28
Henrv L. Ziegenfuss, Rector of Christ Church, Poughkeepsie.
George William Douglas, an Assistant Minister of Trinity
Church, New-Y''ork.
JoAQuiM DB Palma, Rector of Iglesia de Santiago, New York.
the laity.
Stephen Payne Nash, Trinity Parish, New-York.
Henry Drisler, LL. D., Trinity Parish, New- York.
George Macculloch Millee, St. Thomas' Church, New-York.
Hamilton Fish, LL. D., St. Philip's in the Highlands.
Edward Schell, Church of the Ascension, New-York.
Edward Schell, Christ Church, Rye.
Sidney Morehouse, St. Thomas' Church, Amenia.
Sylvester Pier, St. Margaret's Church, Staatsburgh.
William B. Nelson, B. A., St. Thomas' Church, Amenia.
Charles E. Bartow, Church of St. John the Baptist, Glenham.
John Sloane, Church of St. John the Baptist, Glenham.
F. S. Winston, Calvary Church, New-Y''ork.
John D, Jones, Church of the Annunciation, New- York.
George Shea, Church of the Annunciation, New- York.
Isaac E. Cotheal, Trinity Church, Fiskhill.
Winthrop Sargent, St. Luke's Church, Matteawan.
Douglas W. Burnham, St. Luke's Church, Matteawan.
Richard Payne, All Saints' Church, New- York.
Elbridge T. Gerry, Church of the Heavenly Rest, New- Y'ork.
Andrew J. Todd, Church of the Heavenly Rest, New-Y^ork.
T. B. CoDDiNGTON, Grace Church, New-York.
W. A. Ogden Hegeman, LL. M.* Grace Church, New-Y^ork.
James B. Warner, Church of the Beloved Disciple, New-Y''ork.
Richard C. Green, Church of the Beloved Disciple, New- Y'ork.
S. D. Babcock, Calvary Church, New- York.
William Henry Lee, St. Thomas' Church, New-York.
Julien Botts, St. Luke's Church, New- York.
William G. Davies, Christ Church, New-Y'ork.
Geo. W. Cass, Christ Church, New-York.
Coetlandt De P. Field, St. INlary's Church, Yorktown.
Seaman J. Mallabv, St. Paul's Chui-ch, Edgewater, S. I.
Benjamin Drake, Church of the Redeemer, Now-York.
Charles A. Acton, Church of the Redeemer, New-Y'ork.

29
John E. Atkins, Church of St. Mary the Virgin, New- York.
George S. Jones, Church of St. Mary the Yirgin, New-York.
J. R. Morewood, St. Ignatius' Church, New-Y'ork.
Joshua Reese, St. Ignatius' Church, New-York.
Edward H. Jacot, St. Andrew's Church, New- York.
Miln P. Dayton, St. Andrew's Church, New-York.
Charles Congdon, Christ Church, New-Brighton, Staten Island.
Ezekiel Dias, St. Philip's Church, New-York.
Heney Lewis Moeeis, St. Bartholomew's Church, New-York.
C. Yanderbilt, St. Bartholomew's Church, New- York.
Thomas Hall Faile, St. Ann's Church, Morrisania.
PoMEEOY P. Dickinson, St. Ann's Church, New-York.
GuLiAN L. Dashwood, St. James' Church, Fordham.
Erastus Brooks, Church of the Ascension, Staten Island.
Thomas B. Langdon, Church of St. John the Baptist, New- York.
John W. Burke, Church of St. John the Baptist, New-Y''ork.
Auguste A. Entz, Trinity Church, Morrisania, New- York.
John B. Beown, St. Mary's Church, Mott Haven, New-York.
E. Nichols, Church of the Holy Trinity, New- York.
S. H. HuED, Church of the Holy Trinity, New- York.
G. Montague, St. Timothy's Church, New- York.
Byeon S. Cotes, St. Michael's Church, New-York.
Allen S. Church, St. Timothy's Church, New- York.
HuBBAED G. Stone, St. Timotliy's Church, New-York.
Robert Sanfoed, Church of the Holy Comforter, Poughkeepsie.
Robeet Sanfoed, St. Paul's Church, Poughkeepsie.
Albert R. Seaeles, St. Paul's Church, Morrisania, New-York.
Robert S. Hart, St. Mark's Church, New-Castle.
Charles E. Hemming, St. Stephen's Church, New- York.
RiniARD Henry Mitchell, Grace Church, Millbrook.
Gerrit H. Van Wagenen, Christ Church, Rye,
David Clarkson, Zion Church, New-Y''ork.
William Graydon, Zion Church, New-Y''ork.
George L. Jewett, Zion Church, New- York.
M. Taylor Pyne, Christ Church, Riverdale.
James Emott, Calvary Church, New- York.
Charles F. Hoffman, Jr., Church of All Angels, New- York.
Robeet A. Livingston, Church, of All Angels, New-York.
J. Van Vechten Olcott, Church of All Angels, New- York.
William Mulligan, Christ Church, Piermout.

30
Thomas P. Cummings, St. John's Church, Canterbury.
William F. Schirman, Church of St. John the Evangelist,
New- York.
John B. Cooper, Zion Church, Greenburgh.
Edwaed A. Satterlee, Zion Church, Greenburgh.
John Jay, St. Matthew's Church, Bedford.
Joseph W. Deexel, Church of the Transfiguration, New- York.
Petee Gardinee, Church of the Transfiguration, New- York.
Henry L. Clarke, Church of the Transfiguration, New-Y''ork.
W. Heney Reese, Zion Church, Wappinger's Falls.
H. R. Searles, Church of St. John the Evangelist, New- York.
Thomas Butler, St. James' Church, New-Y''ork.
C. D. Bruyn, St. John's Church, Kingston.
Homer Ramsdell, St. George's Church, Newburgh.
D. B. St. John, St. George's Church, Newburgh.
Geo. S. Scofield, St. John's Church, Clifton, Staten Island.
J. H. F. Mayo, St. John's Church, Clifton, Staten Island.
E. HoLBROOK Cushman, St. Peter's Church, New- York.
Joseph I. Bicknell, Christ Church, Riverdale.
R. Geissler, St. Ambrose Church, New- York.
Theodore Haff, Christ Church, Ramapo.
Hezekiah Watkins, Grace Church, Middletown.
John Baker, St. Mark's Church, Mount Pleasant.
CiiAS. W. Gordon, Trinity Church, Haverstraw.
John Waller, St. John's Church, Monticello.
Geo. T. Davis, St. John's Church, Wilmot.
S. H. Thayke, Jr., St. John's Church, Y^onkers.
Douglas Meeritt, Church of the Messiah, Rhinebeck.
James Bleecker, Church of St. James the Less, Scarsdale.
Gouv. Kemble, St. Mary's Church, Cold Spring.
Thomas Hale, St. Paul's Church, Y'onkers.
Bowie Dash, Church of the Mediator, South Y''onkers.
J. Pierrepont Morgan, St. George's Church, New-Y^ork.
J. Pierrepont Morgan, Church of the Holy Innocents, Hio-hland
Falls. °
Charles Tracy, St. George's Church, New- York.
Charles Tracy, Church of the Holy Innocents, Highland Falls.
Phineas H. Kingsland, Churth of the Intercession, New-Y^ork.
Richard Lathers, Trinity Church, New-Rochelle.
J. A. Beall, Church of the Holy Trinity, Highland.

31
Hugh N. Camp, St. James'. Church, Fordham.
Joshua R. Walker, Church of the Holy Apostles, New-Y''ork
Harvey Spencer, St. George's Church, New-York.
George H. Wooster, Church of the Ascension, West Brighton.
Robert C. Fisher, Trinity Church, New-Rochelle.
John Buckley, Christ Church, Marlborough.
Chaeles D. Dickey, St. Peter's Church, Westchester.
B. T. Harrington, St. Peter's Church, Westchester.
Charles D. Buerill, St. Peter's Church, Westchester.
Jno. Ogden Smith, St. James' Church, Goshen.
Chaeles Clum, Trinity Church, Saugerties.
Chaeles H. Tibbitt, Grace Church, White Plains.
James Buet, Church of St. Mary the Virgin, New-Y^ork.
Thomas B. Stueges, Zion Church, Greenburgh.
S. Bayaed Fish, Church of St. James the Less, Scarsdale.
William W. Hunt, Trinity Church, Mount Vernon.
Carlisle Noewood, Church of the Incarnation, New-York.
Ido hereby certify that the above is a true copy of the testimony
in behalf of the Rev. Henry C. Potter, D. D., Assistant Bishop-
elect of the Diocese of New-York, as signed by a constitutional
majority of the members of the One Hundredth Convention of
that Diocese, both Clerical and Lay.
Done in Convention, in the City of New-York, on the 28th
day of September, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight
hundred and eighty-three.
Attest : Feancis Lobdell,
Secretar'y ofthe Convention of the Protestant Episcopal
Church of the Diocese of New- York.

CERTIFICATE AND REQUEST

STANDIf^G COIiJMITTEE OF THE DtOCESE OF fVEW-YORK.

To the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church
in the United States of America :
This certifies, that the Standing Committee of the Convention
of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of New-Y'ork,
by order of the Convention of said Diocese, does hereby present
to the House of Bishops and the House of Lay Deputies of the
General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the
United States of America the Canonical testimony in behalf of
the Reverend Henry C. Potter, D. D., Assistant Bishop-elect, of
the Diocese of New- York, together with the evidence of his elec
tion as Assistant Bishop of said Diocese. And that because of
the inability, " by reason of old age and other permanent cause
of infirmity," of the Bishop of New-Y''ork, " to discharge his
Episcopal duties," the Standing Committee of the Diocese of
New-York does hereby respectfully ask such prompt action on
these papers as may result in the Consecration of the Assistant
Bishop-elect at the earliest time practicable.
In behalf of the Standing Committee of the Diocese of New-
York. r
Morgan Dix, President,
William E. Eigenbeodt, Secretary,
ofthe Standing Conmiittee of tlie Diocese of New- York.
Dated at the City of New- York, September 29, 1883.

33

To the Bishops and Clerical and Lay Deputies assembled in
the General Convention of the Protestant Episcopal Church
in the United States of America:
I do hereby certify you, that the Rev. Henry C. Potter, D. D.,
LL. D., Presbyter of the Diocese of New-York, and Rector of
Grace Church in the City of New- York, was duly chosen and
elected to be the Assistant Bishop of the Diocese of New-York,
by the concurrent vote of both Orders of the Convention of that
Diocese, assembled in the City of New- York.
Done by the concurrent vote of the Clergy and Laity, on the
2'7th day of September, 1883.
Attest : Francis Lobdell,
Secretary ofthe Convention ofthe Protestant Episcopal
Church in the Diocese of New- York.
The Standing Committee of the Diocese appointed the fol
lowing Committee of Arrangements for the Consecration of the
Assistant Bishop-elect :
Rev. C. E. Swope, D. D., Chairman.
Rev. J. W. Shackelfoed, D. D.
Rev. H. Y. Satterlee, D. D.
Rev. C. C. Tiffany, D. D.
Rev. Feancis Lobdell, D. D., Secretary.
John McL. Nash, Esq.
Cornelius Yanderbilt, Esq.
H. A. C. Taylor, Esq.
T. B. Coddington, Esq.
T. K. Gibbs, Esq.
C, G. Langdon, Esq.

THE CONSECRATION.

OEDER FOR THE CONSECBATION BY THE PEKSIDING BISHOP.
The House of Deputies, and also the House of Bishops, in
General Convention assembled, having unanimously consented
to tho consecration of the Rev. Heney Codman Pottee, D. D.,
LL. D., as Assistant Bishop of New- York, order therefor is
hereby taken as foUu ivs :
Time, October 20, Saturday.
Place, Grace Church, New-York.
Consecrator, The Presiding Bishop.
Preacher, Rt. Rev. Dr. Williams, Bishop of Connecticut.*
Presenters, Rt. Rev. Dr. Lay, Bishop of Easton.
Rt. Rev. Dr. Howe, Bishop of Central Pennsyl
vania.
Present and assisting :
Rt. Rev. Dr. Williams, Bishop of Connecticut.
Rt. Rev. Dr. Claek, Bishop of Rhode Island.
Rt. Rev. Dr. Whipple, Bishop of Minnesota.
Rt. Rev. Dr. Stevens, Bishop of Pennsylvania.
Rt. Rev. Dr. Littlejohn, Bishop of Long Island.
Rt. Rev. Dr. Doane, Bishop of Albany.
Rt. Rev. Dr. Huntington, Bishop of Central New-Y'ork.
B. B. Smith, Presiding Rishop.
Philadelphia, Pa., October 10, 1883.
The order of services was as follows :
1. The Lord's Prayer and Collect following
The Ten Commandments, and [¦ Bishop Stevens.
The Collect for the Day,

* See page 40.

35
2. The Epistle,  Bishop Lay.
3. The Gospel  Bishop Whipple.
4. The Nicene Creed,  Bishop Neely.
5. The Sermon,  Bishop Williams.
6. The Presentation of the ) . . . . Bishop Lay.
Candidate, . . [ Bishop M. A. De Wolfe Howe.
V. Exhortation, moving the Con- ) Bishop Claek (for Presiding
gregation to Prayer, [ Bishop.)
8. Litany, with Prayer following, . . Bishop Seymoue.
9. Examination of the Candi- ) Bishop Claek (for Presiding
date, . . . \ Bishop.)
10. The Veni Creator, . Bishop Neely (for Presiding Bishop.)
11. Prayer before Laying on | Bishop Clark (for 1 lesidino;
of Hands, . . [ Bishop.)
12. Laying on of Hands and Consecra- ) mi t> ¦ t tt ,
^Jqj, ^ Ihe Presiding Bishop.
13. Delivery of Holy Scrip- ) Bishop Clark (for Presiding
tures, ... I Bishop.)
14. Offertory and Prayer for whole state ) t)- i t
of Christ's Church Militant, . } ^'^^°P Littlejohn.
15. Exhortation to Prayer of ) n- i t%
Humble Access, inclusive, f " ' • ^'^^«P ^o^'^^'
16. Prayer of Consecration, . . . Bishop Williams.
17. Post-Communion to the F' al Col- ) t^- i tt
1 J. y Bishop HuNTIX(iTON.
18. Final Collect and Benediction, . . Bishop Williams.
The Testimony from the members of the Convention of the
Diocese of Nevv- York was read by the Rev. William F. Morgan,
D. D. (See page 22.)
The Testimony from the House of Clerical and Lay Deputies in
General Convention was read bythe Rev. William E. Eigenbrodt,
D. D., as follows :
We, whose names are underwritten, fully sensible how im
portant it is that the sacred office of a Bishop should not be
unworthily conferred, and firmly persuaded that it is our duty
to bear testimony, on this solemn occasion, without partiality or
affection, do, in the presence of Almighty God, testify that the
Rev. Henry Codman Potter, D. D., LL. D., is not, so far as we
are informed, justly liable to evil report, either for error in

36
religion or for viciousness of life ; and that we do not know or
believe there is any impediment, on account of which he ought
not to be consecrated to that holy office, but that he hath, as we
believe, led his life, for three years last past, piously, soberly
and honestly.
Signed by the Clerical and Lay Deputies from the following
Dioceses :

Arkansas, California,
Centeal New-York,
Central Pennsylvania,
Connecticut,
Delaavare,Easton, Florida,Fond du Lac,
Georgia,
Illinois, Indiana,
Iowa,
Kansas,Kentucky,
Long Island,
Louisiana, Maine,
Maryland,
Massachusetts,Michigan,
Minnesota,
Mississippi,

Missouri,
Nebraska, New-Jersey, New-York,
New-Hampshire, North Carolina,
NOETHEEN NeW-JeESEY,
Ohio,
Pennsylvania,Pittsburgh,
Quincy,
Rhode Island,
South Carolina,
Southern Ohio,
Springfield,
Tennessee, Texas,
Veesiont,ViEGINIA,
Westeen Michigan,
Westeen New-Y''oek,
West Vieginia.

General Convention,
House op Deputies, Oct. 15, 1883.
I hereby certify that the foregoing Testimonials have been
signed by a constitutional majority of both orders of the House
of Deputies. Attest : Chaeles L. Hutchins, Secretary.

37
The Consent of the Bishops was read by the Rev. YVilliam
Tatlock, D. D., Acting Secretary of the House of Bishops, as
follows :
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost. Amen.
I, Benjamin Boswoeth Smith, D. D., LL. D., by Divine
permission. Bishop of Kentucky, and Presiding Bishop in the
Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America,
do hereby certify, that a majority of the Bishops of said Church
have, in accordance with the requirements of sub-section [1] of
Section III. of Canon 15 of Title I. of the Canons of said Church,
given their consent to the consecration of the Reverend Henry
Codman Potter, D. D., LL. D., Presbyter and Rector of Grace
Church, New- York, in the Diocese of New-York, as Assistant
Bishop of the Diocese of New-York.
In testimony whereof, I have hereunto affixed my hand and
seal as Presiding Bishop aforesaid, in the City of Philadelphia,
on this thirteenth day of October, in the year of our Lord 1883,
and in the 51st year of my Consecration.
B. B. Smith,
Presiding Bishop.
Attest :
William Tatlock, [sigil.J
Acting Secretary of the House of Bishops.
CERTIFICATE OF CONSECBATION.
In the Name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy
Ghost. Amen.
To all the Faithful in Christ Jesus throughout the World,
Greeting :
Be it known unto you and unto all men, by these presents,
that we, Benjamin Bosworth Smith, D. D., LL. D., Bishop of
Kentucky, and presiding ; John Williams, D. D., LL. D., Bishop
of Connecticut ; Thomas March Clark, D. D.,'LL. D., Bishop of
Rhode Island; Henry Benjamin Whipple, D. D., Bishop of
Minnesota ; William Bacon Stevens, D. D., LL. D., Bishop of
Pennsylvania ; Abram Newkirk Littlejohn, D. D., Bishop of

38
Long Island ; William Croswell Doane, D. D., Bishop of Albany ;
and Frederick Dan Huntington, D. D., Bishop of Central New-
York ; and ministering under the protection of Almighty God,
in Grace Church, New-York, in the State of New- York, and
in the Diocese of New-York, on Saturday, October 20th, in the
year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and eighty-three,
did then and there, in the presence of divers of the Clergy and a
congregation ofthe faithful, according to the due and prescribed
order of the Church, and in conformity with the Canons thereof,
consecrate our beloved in Christ, Henry Codman Potter, D. D.,
LL. D., Priest of the Diocese of New-York, and Rector of Grace
Church, New- York, of whose sufficiency in good learning,
soundness in the faith and purity of manners we were fully
ascertained, unto the sacred office of a Bishop in the Church of
God, he having been duly and canonically elected by unanimous
action of the Convention of the Diocese thereof. Assistant Bishop
of New- York.
In testimony whereof, we have hereunto set our hands and
seals, in Grace Church, New-York, as aforesaid, and on the day
and in the year herein above written.
(Signed,) Benjamin Bosworth Smith, [l. s.]
Bishop of Kentucky, Presiding Bishop.
John Williams, [l. s.J
Bishop of Connecticut.
Thomas March Clark, [l. s.]
Bishop of Rhode Island.
Henry Benjamin Whipple, [l. s.]
Bishojy of Minnesota.
William Bacon Stevens, [l. s.]
Bishop) of Pennsylvania.
Abram Newkirk Littlejohn, [l. s.J
Bishop of Bong Island.
William Croswell Doane, [l. s.]
Bishop of Albany.
Frederick Dax Huntington, [l. s.J
Bishop of Central New- York-

THE FRUIT BEARER CHOSEN AND SENT.

A SERMON

PREACHED AT THE

Consecration ofthe Assistant Bistiop of New-Yorlt,

by the

BISHOP OF CONNECTICUT.

SERMON

" Te Jiavenot chosen Me, but I have chosenyou, and ordained you, that ye
ahonld go and bring forth fruit, and that your fruit should remain." -^i:.
John, xv. 16.

These words of our Divine Master are among the
latest utterances of His earthly life, and they, there
fore, come to us with a very deep solemnity. Up to the
da.y when the three selected apostles "were with Him
in the Holy Mount,"* His teachings were directed to all
the multitudes which gathered round Him. After that
wonderful prevision of the glory with which the Son of
Man was to be glorified,t the glory that shone from, if
not upon, the Cross, that lighted up the Sepulchre, that
deepened into the transcendent radiance of the Ascen
sion, and that will shine upon the world when tlie Son
of Man "shall come in His glory, and all His holy
angels with Him," in the final "manifestation of the
great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ;" after tliis
prevision, which was not to be revealed save to the
apostles until " the Son of Man was risen from the
dead," His teachings were mainly to the twelve alone.
Tiiey culminated, on the dark and doleful night of His
betrayal, in that marvellous Eucharistic prayer, in
which He consecrated His body about to be broken, and
His blood about to be shed, upon the Cross, to be the
• II. Peter, i. 18. t H- St. John, xvii. 5.

42
one c>I)lation and sacrifice for. the sins of the whole
world. As they were gathered in the upper room, where
Passover and Eucharist met in such wondrous union,
the Lord had taught the apostles, by rendering to them
a menial service, the true dignity and grandeur of the
humblest ministrations in His Church ; He had promised
to them the abiding presence of the eternal Comforter ;
He had spoken to them of the many mansions of His
Father's house ; He had left with them His peace ; He
had given them the new commandment of fraternal love.
And then, before He went on to speak of the coming
struggle, trial, tribulation, and the final conquest, He
said, " Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you,
and ordained you, that ye should go and bring forth
fruit, and that your fruit should remain." Great
words 1 How full of meaning ! How full of teaching
bearing directly on the purpose that gathers us here
to-day !
"Ye have not chosen Me, but I have chosen you."
This declaration of the Lord scatters to the winds all
theories of the origin of the ministry and the Church of
God, which make the one an after- thought, and find
the beginnings of the other in human attempts to meet
the surrounding necessities of a given age. Some men
are saying of the Church to-day that it was a man-made
organization, to provide for the manifold ills and suffer
ings that the grinding poverty of the period in which it
appears carried in its train, and that it thus takes its
place as one ofthe many "guilds of the Roman Empire,"
which came into being at the time. The same men are
saying that the ministry in the Church gi'ew up out of
the necessary appointment, at first, of some persons,
and then of more, to distribute the alms by which
members of this "guild" endeavored to meet the wants
of their destitute and starving brethren. Tliere is just
enough of truth in these statements to catch the unwary
and float the mass of error they contain. There was

43
poverty, deep poverty in the world then, and the Church
did come in contact with it, to relieve it, just as she was
intended to come in contact with all human woes and
wants. The ministry in the Church were the almoners
to the poor, as they have always been. But to twist
tliose undisputed facts into the theory that we find in
them the origin of (Jhurch and ministry is a process as
unhistorical as it is contrary to right reason and the
teaching of the Word of God. When we seek the
foundation of that New Jerusalem, which is from
above, and the mother of us all, we find it only in "the
Christ, the Son of the living God." When we seek the
origin of the ministry in the Church, we pass down
the long vista of tlie ages, until we stand beneath the
right hand of Him who walks among the candlesticks,
and holds in that right hand the stars which are the
angels of the Churches. As we stand there, the dis
cordant janglings of discordant theories are for the
moment hushed, and on the silence breaks the calm,
clear voice of the Incarnate God : "Ye have not chosen
Me, but I have chosen you."
Does any one ask. Why do you insist on this, why
do you make so much of these passing, and possibly
personal, words of our Lord— spoken indeed to the
twelve, but ending with them ? Then I answer. Simply
because they are words neither passing nor personal,
nor yet ending with the twelve. In all their quiet
ma.jesty they have come down the Christian ages, always
real, always full of meaning, and they, with other
words, which can never be dissociated from them, are
what make the awful service of this day something
more than an imposing pageant or even a decent and
orderly solemnity. Nay, there is more, I think, to be
said than that. "Did I not believe my ofiice to be of
God," exclaimed good Bishop Hall, "I would soon
strip off this rochet." Even so. If we are not, here
and now, handing on a deposit that has been given us ;
if we are not acting by His authority on whose "shoul-

44
der" is laid "the key of the House of David ;" if we
are not speaking in the name of that Holy Ghost who
makes men overseers of the flock, our act is one of aw
ful presumption, our words are simply a fearful
mockery. Are we honoring a man ? In one sense yes,
and with the highest honor that can be given man ; to
hold an office in which he is to be "esteemed very
highly in love for his works sake ;" but in another sense
no, a thousand times no ! because in the great office we
forget the man, and while the office is magnified as the
very stewardship of "the mysteries of God," he who
holds it becomes as nothing.
" That ye should go and bring forth fruit." These
words bind together privilege and duty, law and life,
the work to be done and the measure of what is done ;
the lowly service and the blessed issue of the service, in
a word, they present to us what has just been named,
"the stewardship) of the mysteries of God." The mys
teries of God ; the mystery of the preached Word, to
some a savor of life and to others a savor of death ; the
mysteries of the ministered sacraments, of the baptism
by the one Spirit into the one Body, the cup of blessing
and the broken bread, the Communion of the Body and
the Blood of Christ ; the mystery of the seal of the
Lord in the laying on of hands ; the mysteries, in short,
of the entire ministry of reconciliation, carrying on and
forward to their final consummation, the grand myste
ries of redemption, made possible upon the Cross, made
actual in the Resurrection and Ascension, and in the
coming of the Comforter ; these are the agencies by
which they whom the Lord has chosen and sent are
" to bring forth fruit."
Not that the bringing forth fruit is the test of the
reality of the commission, althougli it is the test of
the proper and faithful administration of the steward
ship. The fig tree that bore no fruit, but only cumbered
the ground, was a fig tree still. The apostle of whom the
Lord spoke as the "son of perdition," was an apostle to

45
the end. Let no man fall into the confusion here which
is so common and misleading. But, on the other hand,
let no man find in the reality of the commission, however
it may be administered, excuse for carelessness or neg
ligence. Rather let it be to him his highest incentive,
his most awful warning, the warrant of his work, the
warrant, too, of his "horrible punishment" if his work
is left undone. And all this Avill be accomplished, if he
keeps ever in his mind and on his heart his Master's
words, " That ye should go and bring forth fruit."
How the field of duty, to which those pregnant words
introduce us, widens as we dwell upon it ! How its
activities and responsibilities multiply and deepen !
How the sympathies and contacts with human needs
which it entails reach out in all directions ! How its
perils — not such, indeed, as those of which the Apostle to
the gentiles speaks, but perils still — start into appalling
life ! until the failing heart and trembling lips cry out,
almost in despair, " Besides those things that are
without, that which cometh upon me daily, the care of
all the Churches. Who is weak and I am not weak,
who is oifended and I burn not ? " And then the fearful
possibility, " lest when I preach to others I myself
should be a castaway." So, as the way lengthens the
burden grows ; as the years increase the cares increase
with them ; as the strength fails the labors press with
heavier weight. I touch, dear brethren, only here and
there a salient point, for time would fail me if I tried
for more.
As to all Christ's ministers, so especially to the'
Episcopate, each age brings its own special trials as
well as dangers. One age forgets one part of a Bishop's
duty, another age forgets another, and each line of
forgetfulness carries with it not a few risks and evils.
There is no danger, in this age and land, that the
Episcopate will be taken from its proper functions to
mingle in affairs of State or the intrigues of diplomacy,
or any of those merely secular employments which once

46
caused so many of its members to leave their fiocks
unfed. Camjjs and courts make little call on prelates of
the Church to-day. Worldly occupations of any sort
are little likely to absorb them. Even the world, to say
nothing of the Church, demands that they should be
about their Master's business. Sloth, or inactivity, or
literary leisure, or any thing that takes them from their
proper duties, is not likely to be tolerated now. But
does it follow that what is called public opinion, even
within theChurch, grasps their whole f unction,recognizes
all its varying duties, keeps them in due balance, and as
signs to eacli its proper place ? He will be more rash than
wise who shall say Yes to this suggestive quesDion.
I open the Pastoral Epistles, and almost the first
charge that I read to Timothy is, that "he is to hold
faith," the faith ; and then, as I read on, I find that he
is to "take heed" not only to himself, but to "the
doctrine ;" that he is "to hold fast the form of sound
words ;" that he is to keep " that good thing whicli was
committed to him by the Holy Ghost ;" and, to quote
no more, that the things which he had heard of St.
Paul "among many witnesses" he was to commit to
faithful men who should be able to teach others also.
What do these words mean ? If they mean anything,
they inculcate, they impose, the dutj^ of holding and
transmitting the Faith, whole and undefiled. They bind
on the Ephesian Bishop, and therefore on all who hold
like ofiice, the obligation to do that very thing which
was in the great apostle's mind in the solitude of his
Roman dungeon ; nay, which he made the climax of his
review of life when the time of his departure was at
hand, as it had been the grand motive power of that
whole life, when he said : "I have fought a good fight,
I have finished my course, I have kept the faith.'"
Is this aspect of a Bishop's work and duty, this part
of the fruit he is to bear, much in men's minds today \
Are there not many into whose account it never comes
at all, and in whose reckoning it finds no place % Would

47
it not be thought, by not a few, that brilliant theories
and attractive speculations were better things than the
simple and homely keeping of the Faith? Depend
upon It, in an age of utter intellectual unrest, when the
caldron of human thought is seething and boiling as it
IS now, when the settled beliefs of all the Christian ages
are regarded as no more settled than the most epheme
ral theories and opinions of the hour, it is no light or
easy thing to pull against the current and hold fast the
faith. Let me not be misunderstood. I do not mean— God
forbid — that they to whom especially this charge has
been committed are to be involved in perpetual contro
versy. I do not mean that the range of thought and
opinion is to be cramped and narrowed l)y the perpetual
addition of fresh articles to the old historic creeds, as
was done at Trent and Westminster, and by Roman
satraps in 1854 and 1870. I do not mean that human
theories about the great facts which make up the Cath
olic creeds are to be placed on a level with the facts
which those creeds contain, just as unproved theories in
science are sometimes confounded with discovered facts.
I mean, my bretliren, nothing of the sort. But I do
mean that he who is to be a standard-bearer in the army
of God must not only have his own personal shield of
personal faith, "in whicli shall be quenched the fiery
darts of the wicked one,'' but that he must also bear in
his right hand this banner of the Lord's sacramental
host, stained with the blood of martyrs and radiant
with the blazonry of heaven. I mean that he must de
fend his colors with his life. "Stand," said the brave
old martyr of Antioch— and his counsel falls in right
here— "stand like a beaten anvil. It is the part of a
great champion to be stricken and to conquer."
And all that the old creeds teach, let us uot forget it,
centres in the living Christ the King, and the gospel of
the kingdom. Just this is what men want, and yearn
for, and are looking for to-day, a living king and a liv-

48
ing kingdom. And this too, as was just said, is the
centre toward which all the earlier portions of the
ancient Faith converge, and from which all its later
parts flow out. There, at that centre, stands the Incar
nate God ; not a mere historic Christ coming out from
the background of the historic canvass, in bright color
ing, it may be, but still a lifeless figure ; not merely an
ideal man, the consummate flower of manhood evolved
from circumstances, conditions and surroundings ; not
a mere prophet delivering his awful message and then
"going the way of all the earth;" not merely a
Saviour once dying on the Cross and nothing more, so
that faith in that tremendous sacrifice becomes simply a
belief in an abstract doctrine of the atonement ; not a
divinely-gifted man whose life was lived so gloriously
that it made Him more than man at last ; not one nor
all of these things is the Lord and King whom we are to
present to men. No 1 but He is the Son of God Incar
nate, born into the world, dying on the Cross, rising
from the dead, ascending into heaven, and coming to us,
to the Church and to its ministers by the mighty power
of the Holy Ghost, to hold us in His arm of strength, to
talie us to His heart of love, in a presence that is nearer
and more real than when apostles held His mortal hand
or the beloved disciple rested on His bosom.
At His right hand, in her golden vesture, stands His
bride, the New Jerusalem, the City of God, the Church
which He has purchased with His own most blessed
blood ; not an abstraction, not a human contrivance, not
a poetic dream, not something to theorize about in vain
shows of words, but, if I may somewhat abruptly change
the figure, God's house and man's home for which, in
His deep love, Christ "gave himself, that He might
sanctify and cleanse it with the washing of water by the
Word, that He might present it to Himself a glorious
Church, not having spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing ;
but that it should be holy and without blemish."
It was the preaching of this living King and living

49
kingdom, carrying with it, each in its proper place and
sequence, Incarnation and Nativity, Cross and Passion,
mighty Resurrection and glorious Ascension, as apos
tles taught them and the Word of God declares them,
that won the earliest, noblest triumphs of the Faith ; it
is this which will win such triumphs still. These things
proclaimed by lips that have been touched with a live
coal from off the altar will have power, living power
against all the "opposition of science falsely so called,"
against all dreams of man's development by dreary evo
lutions and outworkings in which dead force usurps the
place of living love, and equally dead law, supplants
the vital energies of a spiritual life.
Just here, too, we must not forget that the Word In
carnate and the Word Inspired, the Revealer and the
Revelation must stand or fall together. Give up, forget,
the Word Incarnate, and the golden clue is gone that
interprets the Word Inspired, and it, ceasing then to be
the Word of God, becomes only one of the world's
sacred books. Give up, abandon, the Word Inspired,
as the Word of God, and the Word Incarnate becomes
one among many teachers, and the Faith once, and once
for all, "given to the saints" sinks into a school of
thought, or philosophy or what you will.
No doubt the whole ministry is set for the defence of
those vital things. But, surely, at all times, and espe
cially in an age when a subtle rationalism takes on the
guise of sentiment ; when the phraseology of revela
tion is on the lip without one particle of its meaning in
the mind ; when the Word of God is patronized and the
Son of God is condescendingly applauded, as men ap
plaud the work of a skillful artist, the Episcopate, if it be
any thing, must stand in the forefront ; must — to change
the figure— not forget that though they who hold it
are to build as wise master builders, they must build
with one hand, while in the other they hold, " the sword
of the Spirit, which is the Word of God."
I turn once more to the Pastoral Epistles. I find

50
there the injunction to give "attendance to reading"
as well as to "exhortation and doctrine;" I read the
charge, "meditate on. these things;" and I remember
that the first words addressed to the newly consecrated
Bishop, after he has received the laying on of the hands,
and when the Holy Scriptures are delivered to him, are
the solemn echo, repeated and re-repeated, of the words
of the great apostle : " Give heed unto reading, exhor
tation and doctrine. Think upon the things contained
in this Book. Be diligent in them, that the increase
coming thereby may be made manifest unto all men."
The voice then, of the Scriptures and the voice of the
Church, urge these duties of study and meditation, part
of the true work, as of all Christ's ministers, so specially
of the Episcopate, and find a place for them in its fruit-
bearing labors.
Is this age, dear brethren, altogether appreciative, is
it even patient of these things \ Is it willing to give
them the place which Holy Scripture and the Church
have given them ? It is an age of large and manifold
activities, and unless those activities are visible in the
glare of the world' s trampled and dusty highways, they
are hardly counted activities at all. It is an age too in
whicli glittering successions of startling paradoxes
carry oftentimes more weight than solid lines of well
compacted thought ; and brilliant speculation goes for
more than soberer teaching which is "good for the use
of edifying." With many, nothing is work that men
do not see before them in the face of day, nothing is
effective work that is not followed on the instant by
flutter and sensation.
Under such circumstances, time for the things which
are thus enjoined on those whom the Lord has bade to
"go and bring forth fruit" is frequently begrudged.
It is counted as lost time. Men are willing enough that
the Bishop should send for the " cloke " in which he is
to travel on his round of duty, but they would prefer
that he should take no thought for the ' ' books and

51
parchments." This is a great wrong and a great mis
take. If our Lord Him.elf. in Hi^ assumption of a
human soul as a part of His perfect Manhood in the
niysterious union of the Incarnation, " increased in wis
dom as well as in •• stature," are ther whom He sends
as the Father sent Him, but with only the ordinary
powers and opportunities of men, to be debarred from
these needful things ; If the same Lord, ' ' in whom dwelt
all the fullness of the Godhead bodily," and on whose
human nature the unction of the Spirit was poured with
out measure, still sought streniithening for the soul as
well as refreshment for the body, in days of retirement
and nights of prayer, shall they on whom rests the bur
den of the Episcopate be nothing but men of affairs, per
petually in the sight of the multitude, vnth no time for
thought or meditation on the things committed to them,
no time to take account, with themselves and before God,
of their stewardship, no opportunity for laying up those
stores out of which, as wise householders, they are to
" bring forth things new and old '; "
I am not undervaluing — ^Tod forbid! — the active
work of the Episcopate. I only plead against its being
overvalued, and filling the field of vision to the exclu
sion of other and ec^ually important things. I only
ask that with whatever serving its members may be
burdened, they may be permitted, from time to time,
to sit at the Lord's feet, and liear His voice, and
learn His doctrine, and commune with Him in silence,
and thus become, spiritually and intellectually, better
furnished for the varied activities that crowd upon them.
The saintlj- Leighton held that to be the truest life which
followed the Lord into the mountain and the desert, to
gain knowledge in study and strength in prayer, and
then went out among men in mini^tries of teaching and
loving, humble service. If the people, misled by false
or imj)erfect estimates of life, will compel theu- Chief
Pastor to become "like unto a wheel," the power of
which is measured only by the number and rapidity of

52
its revolutions, they must not wonder if at last they also
see them " as the stubble before the wind."
I have spoken of some aspects of a Bishop's work in
bringing forth fruit that are in danger of being under
valued, if not entirely passed by in the age in which we
live. It would be a great mistake, however, to suppose
that it is intended to shut up his duty to those two
things. • Par from it. They have been dwelt on simply
because they are thus undervalued ; because if this
under estimation leads to their abandonment, spiritual
life is weakened, spiritual power is lessened, the minis
try is maimed, and the Church of God suffers.- Nor
need I speak in this place and presence of the wide
range of their service — so wide that it sweeps out from
the possibilities of human vision, and seems lost in the
far-off distance. How thought upon thought, charge
upon charge, warning upon warning, crowd upon us in
collect, exhortation, epistle, gospel, prayer, in the con
secration office ! Each one enough to fill one' s heart to
fullness and task his powers to their uttermost, while all
together are a crushing burden that can only be borne
by the help of His uplifting hand, who said, ' ' As My
Father hath sent Me, so send I you " — sent to the lost
and outcast, sent to the wayward and the wandering,
sent to feed the sheep and lambs, with no ministry too
humble, so it be done for the humblest of the Lord's
children ; no service too lowly, so it be done for souls
and bodies for which He shed His blood — strong in
weakness, rich in poverty ; unknown, and yet well
known ; having nothing, and yet possessing all things ;
through good report and evil report, the apostolic line
moves on toward the great consummation and the com
pleted kingdom.
"And that your fruit should remain." Glorious
words of cheer and promise! And how marvellously
have they been fulfilled ! Sometimes the fruit seems
long in ripening, but it comes at last, even if it comes
not always in the very place where the work was done.

53
Stephen falls in the dew of his youth, but his work re
vives and bears abounding fruit in the great Apostle of
tne Gentiles. Paul dies a martyr in the imperial city,
but his fruit outlasts the empire and lives in worlds of
which neither he nor his persecutors knew. Latimer
and Ridley light a candle that shines for other lands
than England. Mackenzie and Pattison count not their
lives dear unto themselves, and though the one fell on
sleep in the African jungle, and the other yielded up his
hfe amid the coral islands of the southern sea, their
fruit remains, and it remains forever.
I speak only of these illustrious instances, but the
law is the same for the most secluded life and the
humblest field of labor ; provided, for here we meet
the one condition that underlies the promise, provided
the work is done for Christ, and done, too, by His
methods. This alone gives permanence. Work done
for another than the living Christ, the Incarnate One,
work done by methods other than His own, may make
fair show at first, and seem, as men measure time, to be
permanent and abiding. But such permanency ought
to be measured not by one, or two, or three, generations,
but by accumulating centuries. Children plant what
they call gardens by filling some plot of ground with
flowers in bloom, the stems of which they thrust into
the earth. Those plots of theirs outshine, for the
moment, in color and in beauty, real gardens where
germs are -bursting from the earth, or buds are just
beginning to unfold. But ere long the one is withered
and disappears, while the other grows on to flower and
fruitage, and renews itself because it springs from a
root, and advances by a true law of life. 0 how much
fruit has come to nothing because it had no root in the
living Lord, and was pushed to a ripening which it
never reached, by methods of which He never knew.
But let the underlying condition be fulfilled, and
then this promise holds, and brings its comfort to
weary, burdened, breaking hearts. For, let me ask

54
yo'^, is there a sorer burden which Christ's ministers
have to bear, than the burden of patient continuance in
labor without the cheer of joroportionate result ? Is
there a truer test of real heroism than this 1 How the
spirit sometimes flags, aud the heart dies down within
us, when the question rises, as it must rise. Can my
work be true work when it all seems to come to naught,
and no permanent, abiding result appears ? Then come
the blessed words, "That your fruit may remain."
Cheer up, then, doubtful, trembling soul. If your
work has been done for Christ, in Christ, with Christ,
it shall remain. The seed you have sown may seem to
die, but it shall one day spring up in a golden harvest,
and that harvest ^shall be stored at last in the eternal
granary of God. And so I end these poor words of
mine with the great words of the Eternal King from
which they have come forth : "Ye have not chosen Me,
but I have chosen you, and ordained you, that ye should
go and bring forth fruil, and that your fruit should
remain." My dear Brother : As I turn to welcome you, in the
name of those who surround you here, to the awful
trust, the weighty charge, the tremendous responsibility
of the Episcopate, more thoughts and memories are
present to mind and heart than I can utter now. I re
member years, long past for you and me, when in that
old Church which I am sure must be almost as dear to
you as it will ever be to me, you in your early youth,
and your venerated father in his strong manhood, were
among those to whom it was my privilege to minister.
I think of those who have gone before you in this great
Diocese, the mother of other Dioceses strong and flour
ishing, and still, notwithstanding all that has been
taken from her, foremost in this western world. I think
of him, with us in spirit if not in bodily presence — may
abounding blessing and comfort from the eternal Com
forter be shed on his latest years ! — to Avhom, after his
long period of earnest labor you are to be a stay and

55
help, gaining the aid of old experience, giving the aid
ot active service. And then I look on this great City
tnat spreads around us : gigantic now, but which you,
It God spares you to threescore vears and ten, will see
gigantic beyond our powers to fancy ; with its mighty
possibilities for good, its fearful possibilities for evil ;
Its magnificent opportunities ; its wealth and its poverty ;
its luxury and its destitution ; its rejoicing spirits and
its broken hearts ; its Christian homes and its haunts
of sin, and all its teeming, throbbing life. 0 my
brother, as you kneel to-day to have the Mastei-'s hand
laid on you by the laying on of the hands of His servants,
with all those voices in your ears and those thoughts in
your heart, how full of meaning and responsibility wiR
come to you the words, "Hold up the weak, heal the
sick, bind up the broken, bring again the outcasts, seek
the lost."
I thank God that I can say in no words of empty com
pliment, which this place and this service sternly forbid,
that this will be no new work for you. The manifold
and well- organized charities of your parochial charge,
wrought out so silently and unostentatiously that tliey
are better known to God than they are to men, warrant
us in forecasting for your Episcopate that you will con
tinue as a Bishop what you have begun as a Priest.
Nor would I forget that in this most touching and
Christ-like aspect of your future life you have and will
have sympathy and prayers from many who see not as
we see, but who desire as earnestly as human hearts can
desire that men shall be brought into subjection to the
law of Christ. Said St. Paul, speaking of a Bishop,
" He must have a good report of them thatare without."
As we repeat those words, we do not, cannot, mean just
what the apostle did. He thought of those who believed
not in the Lord nor counted the blood of the everlasting
covenant a holy thing. We think of thr.se who are the
very opposite of this, and iu thinking of whom we say

66
in the quaint, loving words of the grand ordination
hymn :
" Of strife and of dissension,
Dissolve 0 Lord tlie bands.
And knit the knots of peace and love,
Througliout all Christian lands." ,
How much may be done by meeting such sympathy —
and that without sacrificing one principle, or compro
mising one essential truth — to help on the fulfilment of
the Redeemer's loving, yearning words, " That they all
may be one, as Thou, Father, art in Me and I in Thee,
that they also may be one in us, that the world may
know that Thou hast sent Me."
My dear brother, it were easier to go on than it is to
stop ; but our solemn service may not be interrupted
longer. May God grant to you length of days, and
strength accordant ; opportunity well used, and there
fore ever increasing; "the word of wisdom" and the
"word of knowledge;" the power in the Holy Ghost,
to "holdfast the form of sound words," and to keep
" the good thing committed unto thee;" readiness to
"endure hardness," and a will to "strive lawfully for
masteries." And when busy brain and loving heart
are stilled, and laboring hands are folded in the blessed
rest, may all men say of you what no man would dare
to say of himself, He was "faithful unto death."

CORRECTIONS.
Page 32, 9th line from top, before " Lay Deputies," insert " Clerical and.'
Page 36, before "Arkansas," insert
"Alabama."" ALBASr."

YALE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY

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