strong preacher and vigorous personality, was consecrated
bishop of Virginia in 1814. Both Hobart and Moore became
interested in theological education; and their efforts to train
clergymen resulted in the establishment of the General Theological
Seminary in New York in 1819, and the Theological
Seminary in Virginia, opened in Alexandria in 1824. The
Churchman’s Magazine was started. Another evidence of
expansion was the consecration in 1819 of Philander Chase
(1775–1852), who became pioneer bishop of the West, first in
Ohio where he laid the foundations (1824) of the “Theological
Seminary of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the Diocese of
Ohio,” afterward called Kenyon College, at Gambier, and then
in Illinois where he organized a church and founded Jubilee
College. The Domestic and Foreign Missionary Society was
started in 1821. This centralized the mission work, and became
the great agency in the growth and extension of the Church.
Bishop Jackson Kemper (1789–1870) in the North-west, and
Bishop James Hervey Otey (1800–1863) in the South-west,
did important pioneer work.
The period between 1835 and 1865 was characterized by further expansion of the episcopate and the formation of new dioceses. Bishop William Ingraham Kip (1811–1893) went to the miners of California in 1853. The dioceses of Oregon and Iowa were founded in 1854; and Bishop Henry- Benjamin Whipple (1822–1901) was sent to Minnesota in 1859. The Church found its way into Indiana, Texas, Arkansas, Florida, Nebraska and Colorado. In 1835 there were 763 clergymen; in 1850 the number had increased to 1558; and even in 1865 there were 2450. The number of communicants also grew from 1835, when there were 36,000; to 1850, when there were 80,000; and to 1865, when there were 150,000. During this period some beautiful church buildings were erected, notably Trinity church and Grace church, New York. The services were richer; stained glass was used; stalls for the clergy and choir were introduced, and the lectern was substituted for the old-time reading-desk. Other educational institutions were founded: Nashotah, Wisconsin, in 1842; Bexley Hall at Gambier in 1839; Racine College, at Racine, Wisconsin; and Griswold College in Iowa. When the Civil War broke out in 1861 the Church in the South met and formed a separate organization called “The Protestant Episcopal Church in the Confederate States,” but the Church in the North did not recognize the secession; at the meeting of the general convention in New York in 1862, the roll of the Southern dioceses was called, and though absent, they were still considered a part of the Church in the United States. This brotherliness was an important factor in bringing about a complete union between the Northern and Southern Churches after the Civil War; so the Church in the Confederate States had but a temporary existence.
Since the Civil War the Church has grown with the expansion of national life. It has become strong in great centres, and has reached out into every part of the United States and its dependencies, and has maintained missionary stations in foreign lands. There are bishops and missionary dioceses in Alaska, Hawaii, the Philippine Islands, Porto Rico and Cuba; two bishops in China and two in Japan; and bishops in Liberia, Haiti, and Brazil. Institutions of learning, schools, colleges -and theological seminaries, have been founded. Prominent among the schools are St Paul’s, at Concord, New Hampshire; St Mark’s, at Southboro, Massachusetts; Groton School, at Groton, Massachusetts; St Mary’s, at Garden City, Long Island; St Agnes’s, at Albany, New York; St Mary’s, at Burlington, New Jersey; the Cathedral School, at Washington D.C.; and St. George’s School, at Newport, Rhode Island. In addition to the colleges already referred to, there should be included: Trinity College, at Hartford, Connecticut; St Stephen’s, at Annandale, New York; the University of the South, at Sewanee, Tennessee; and Hobart College, at Geneva, New York. The theological seminaries, besides the general seminary in New York and the Virginia Seminary, are: the Divinity School, in Philadelphia; the Berkeley Divinity School, at Middletown, Connecticut; the Seabury Divinity School, at Faribault, Minnesota; Western Theological Seminary, in Chicago; Nashotah House, at Nashotah, Wisconsin; Bexley Hall, Gambier. Ohio; the Church Divinity School of the Pacific, San Mateo, California; and the Episcopal Theological School in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Cathedrals have been built or were in process of construction in 1910 in many cities. Among them are: All Saints Cathedral, Milwaukee; the Cathedral of All Saints, Albany; the Cathedral of the Incarnation, Garden City, Long Island; the Cathedral Church of St Luke, Portland, Maine; St John the Divine, New York; and also those in Dallas, Texas, Washington, D.C., Davenport, Iowa, and Cleveland, Ohio.
The institutional life of the Church is constantly increasing. Among the numerous organizations founded for distinct purposes are: the Woman’s Auxiliary to the Board of Missions; the American Church Building Fund Commission; the American Church Missionary Society; the General Clergy Relief Fund; the Assyrian Mission Committee; the American Church Institute for Negroes; the Brotherhood of St Andrew; the Girls' Friendly Society; the Church Students Missionary Association; the Church Laymen’s Union; the Seabury Society of New York; the Church Mission to Deaf Mutes; the Conference of Church Workers among the Colored People; the Society for the Increase of the Ministry; the Church Association for the Advancement of the Interests of Labor; the Church Temperance Society; the Church Unity Society; the Confraternity of the Blessed Sacrament; the Guild of the Holy Cross; the Guild of St Barnabas for Nurses; the Church Congress in the United States. In addition there are Sunday School commissions and institutes in almost every diocese. Among the religious orders may be mentioned the Society of Mission Priests of St John the Evangelist; the Order of the Holy Cross: the Community of St Mary; the Sisterhood of St Margaret; the All Saints Sisters of the Poor; the Sisterhood of St John Baptist; and others. There are also training schools for deaconesses, including the New York Training School for Deaconesses; and the Church Training and Deaconess House of the Diocese of Pennsylvania.
The Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States is governed according to the constitutions and canons adopted in 1789, and from time to time amended by the General Convention, which meets every three years. The General Convention consists of the House of Bishops, having asGovernment. members all the bishops of the Church, and a House of Deputies, composed of four presbyters and four laymen elected by each diocese in union with the Convention; also one clerical and one lay deputy from each missionary district within the boundaries of the United States, and one clerical and one lay deputy chosen by the Convocation of the American Churches in Europe. The voting is by both houses acting separately and concurring. In the House of Deputies the vote is taken by orders, the clerical and lay deputies voting separately; and they must concur for a resolution to pass. This representative body legislates for the whole Church. Each diocese also has its own constitution and canons, by which it regulates its internal affairs, having also an annual diocesan convention, in which the clergy and laity are represented. A bishop is elected by the diocese, subject to confirmation by a majority of the bishops and standing committees of the different dioceses. Missionary bishops are elected by the House of Bishops and confirmed by the House of Deputies if the General Convention is in session; if not in session, by a majority of the standing committees. The presiding bishop of the Church was the senior bishop in order of consecration, until 1910, when an amendment to the constitution was adopted providing for his election by the General Convention. A special feature of the government of the Church is the power given to the laymen. In the parishes they elect their own clergyman; and they have votes in the diocesan convention and in the General Convention, and are thus an integral part of the legislative machinery of the Church.
The worship of the Church is conducted in accordance with the Book of Common Prayer, set forth in 1789, but changed from time to time as need has arisen. The preface states that “this Church is far from intending to depart from the Church of England in any essential part of doctrine, discipline or worship, or further than local circumstances require.” This principle guided the Church in the early days, and continues in force. However, changes have been made in the direction of omission and addition. The Athanasian Creed is omitted, as well as all reference to the king and royal family. The Commination Service has been dropped. In the Te Deum, in place of “Thou didst not abhor the Virgin’s womb,” is substituted “Thou didst humble Thyself to be born of a Virgin.” Many verbal
