Trinity Church, New York City

“ Among the Congregational churches is the Tabernacle, whose trustees, having sold the old church building at Broadway and Thirty-fourth Street, are now building at Broadway and Fifty-sixth Street. All Souls', at Fourth Avenue and Thirty-fourth Street, is the oldest of the Unitarian churches, while the Divine Paternity, at Central Park West and Seventy-sixth Street, holds a similar position among the Universalist churches. There are 114 parishes of the Roman Catholic faith, the Cathedral of Saint Patrick, at Fifth Avenue and Fiftieth Street, being one of the finest church buildings of the city. ”

“ The good estate of the Church in the State of New York, not a little owing to the vast endowment which it possesses there, in consequence of the business district of the city being in a great measure owned by the corporation of Trinity Church, is, of course, a material consideration tending to influence our judgment. ”

“ There are many places in New York where Sunday services are conducted more or less in conformity with the practices of the ritualists; and antiphonal chanting and other popish abominations have been introduced, even into sober old Trinity Church itself. The number of those who believe that divine service ought to be conducted with a more elaborate ceremonial than any Protestant sect has thus far admitted is rapidly increasing, and among them are many of the most distinguished and influential of the Episcopal clergy. ”

“ At the southwest corner of Broadway and Rector Street, where a sky-scraper is now, Grace Church once stood with a graveyard about it. The church was completed in 1808, and was there until 1846, when the present structure was erected at Broadway and Tenth Street. Upon the Rector Street site, the Trinity Lutheran Church, a log structure, was built in 1671. It was rebuilt in 1741, and was burned in the great fire of 1776.
Trinity Churchyard
Trinity churchyard is part of a large tract of land, granted to the [Pg 59] Trinity Corporation in 1705, that was once the Queen's Farm. ”

“ The Prytania Presbyterian Church, where George W. Cable worshipped and sang in the choir, was founded in 1846.
Episcopal services began in a room on the corner of Washington and Laurel streets in 1847. Later that year, construction started for the Church of the Holy Trinity at the corner of Live Oak (now Constance) and Second streets. In 1851, the Rev. Alexander F. Dobb, a dynamic churchman, began working for the construction of a handsome new edifice at Jackson and Coliseum Streets. Trinity Church, as its name was shortened, was occupied in 1853. Unfortunately, Mr. ”

“ John the Divine is a Protestant Episcopal Cathedral, its ministrations are not restricted. “Our democratic age,” said Bishop Henry C. Potter, “demands a place of worship that will not disregard the teachings of the Founder of Christianity. In this Cathedral there will be no pews, no locked doors, no pre-payment for sittings, no reserved rights of caste or rank, but one and the same welcome for all.” And what Bishop Potter prophesied when the Cathedral was first planned is literally true to-day. ”

“ The wealth of the parish is immense. It is variously stated at from sixty to one hundred millions of dollars. It is chiefly in real estate, the leases of which yield an immense revenue.
TRINITY CHURCH. [Illustration: Trinity Church.]
Trinity Church, the Cathedral, is situated on Broadway, at the head of Wall street. It is built of brown stone, and is the most beautiful and magnificent church building in America. It is very large, and is capable of containing an immense throng. Its services are very beautiful and attractive. ”

“ As New-York was the first maritime city that built a chapel expressly for seamen, so it was the first to build a floating church, for although there had been previously in London and Liverpool old hulks fitted up as chapels, and moored in the docks for the use of sailors, there had never been an actual church edifice put afloat before the Floating Church of Our Saviour, which now lies moored at the foot of Pike-street, in the East River. ”

“ And it is a task which seems to grow harder and harder every year. The congregations increase much faster than the churches. Children multiply faster than the schools. With all the unremitting labors of our successive bishops and archbishops, and all the untiring exertions of our zealous priests, there are not yet churches enough in New York City.
We must remember this peculiar condition of our Church when we undertake to compare Catholic with Protestant charities. The noblest work of benevolence is that which assists our neighbor to save his soul ”

“ John the Divine first impresses by its size. Its magnitude is not only becoming to its rank as the chief church of the great Diocese of New York and necessary for the accommodation of large congregations, but it also has a spiritual purpose, for it gives one the feeling of something bigger than one’s self and of a Power greater than one’s own. “The Cathedral gives me a feeling of humility,” said a man to Bishop Greer one day. ”

“ Many of these old dwellings still stand. You may see them [Pg 235] on Hudson Street, on Laight Street, on Vestry Street, with their dormer windows, their fanlight doorways, and high porches, flanked by tall iron posts. In those days, St. John’s vied with Trinity itself, and with St. Paul’s.
In 1839, when Trinity Church, deemed unsafe, was pulled down and work on the present structure was begun, many communicants of that church came to St. John’s, following their great organist, Dr. Hodges, who played here during the seven years occupied in the building of the new Trinity. ”

“ SKETCH OF THE "OLD ROUND CHURCH," 1805-1825, THE ORIGINAL EDIFICE OF TRINITY CHURCH, PITTSBURGH.
BY OLIVER ORMSBY PAGE.
"Nothing is so really new as that which is old," and it were not strange if many who are familiar with the present beautiful edifice of Trinity Church, and even with its predecessor, the embodiment of Bishop Hopkins's genius, were yet ignorant, or at best vague, regarding the first edifice commonly known as the "Old Round Church." ”

“ The present Trinity church, New York, certainly not more than a third class European church, if as much, compared with its village-like predecessor, may supply a practical homily of the same degree of usefulness. There may be those among us, however, who fancy it patriotism to maintain that the old Treasury Buildings were quite equal to the new, and of these intense Americans we cry their mercy! ”

“ The mass of the people of this city are neglected by the clergy. Possibly the fault is with the people. Indeed, it is highly probable, considering the carelessness which New Yorkers manifest on the subject of church going. During the summer months a large part of New York is left to do without the Gospel. Very many of the churches are closed. The ministers are, many of them, delicate men, and they cannot bear the strain of an unbroken year of preaching. So they shut up their churches during the warm season, go off to Long Branch, Saratoga, or the mountains, or cross the ocean. ”

“ Nearly all the churches of the city are above Fourth street, and in some localities they crowd each other too greatly. A few are very wealthy and are well supported, but the majority are poor and struggling. Pew-rent is very high in New York, and only those who are well off can afford to have seats in a thriving church. Besides this, people seem to care little for churches in New York. There are thousands of respectable people in the great city who never see the inside of a church, unless some special attraction draws them there. ”

“ The Choir School (C. on Plan) has a special interest for everyone who goes to the Cathedral, for here are educated and trained the boys who sing in the Cathedral services. The school was founded by Bishop H. C. Potter in 1901 and was formerly located in the Old Synod House. The present building, erected in 1912 and built of the same kind of stone as the Bishop’s House and Deanery, is in the English Collegiate Gothic style of architecture; is three stories high, and has extreme outside dimensions of 83 by 150 feet. ”

“ The truth is that as the foreigners have moved into down-town New York the old-time Protestant churches have moved out, in great measure abandoning the field, on the assumption that there was no constituency to maintain an American church. It did not seem to dawn upon the rich churches which moved up town that the new population needed evangelization and could be evangelized. The result is that the immigrant accustomed to imposing churches and splendid architecture and impressive ritual, sees little to impress him with the existence of Protestant Christianity. ”

“ On Christmas Eve, at midnight, the chimes of the church ring in the blessed morning, thus continuing an old custom which is observed now only in some parts of Europe.
The church is kept open from early morning until sunset. In the winter season it is always well heated, and hundreds of the poor find warmth and shelter within its holy walls. It is the only church in New York in which there is no distinction made between the rich and the poor. The writer has frequently seen beggars in tatters conducted, by the sexton and his assistants, to the best seats in the church. ”

“ He was born in Liverpool, England, of American parentage. He graduated at Harvard College (1812) ; became rector of Christ Church, Hartford, Conn. (1816) ; assistant minister of Trinity Church, New York (1819) ; rector of Grace Church (1821) , and of Trinity Church, Boston (1834) ; took charge of Saint John's Chapel, Trinity Parish, New York (1838) ; and was elected provisional bishop of the diocese of New York, and consecrated in 1852. Among his published writings are: There Cannot be a Church Without a Bishop (1844) ”

“ One or more families drawn to a locality by the prospect of employment, clinging to the faith of their fathers in the land of their birth,—clinging to it all the more if the hand of oppression for conscience's sake weighed heavily on them at home, journeyed many miles, sometimes hundreds of miles, to New York City or to some other city equally fortunate in having a church and priest, to obtain the succors of religion. ”

“ We have often wondered what does make the success of some men in this city. They have done well, and they have no merit as pulpit orators. In other cities a good pastor need not of necessity be a good preacher. He may endear himself to his congregation in a thousand ways, and they may make his other good qualities atone for his oratorical deficiencies. In New York, however, pastoral duties are almost entirely confined to the ministrations in the church. The city is so immense, the flock so widely scattered, that few clergymen can visit all their people. ”

“ His life is one desperate effort to escape the ills he has and fly to others that he knows well enough. The sailor has no respect for Hamlet's philosophy.
CHAPTER XLVI. THE CHURCHES AND THE CLERGY. The churches of New York are models of architectural beauty. Trinity, Grace, the Temple EMANUEL, and the new Cathedral on Fifth Avenue, are the handsomest religious edifices in America. Catholics and Episcopalians no longer have all the magnificent churches, for the other denominations are following hard in their footsteps. ”

“ Indeed this is not only possible, but probable, for New York shows little regard for the Sabbath and the Gospel.
A man of real talent will always, if he has a church conveniently and fashionably located, draw a large congregation to hear him; but the location and the prestige of the church often do more than the minister, for some of our poor churches have men of genius in their pulpits, while some of the wealthiest and most fashionable are called on every Sunday to listen to the merest platitudes. ”

“ I believe that for the carrying forward towards completion of such a building as this, of which the whole country may be proud, and for the upholding of the spiritual, social and civic ideals which it embodies, not only the people of our own Church but many others in this metropolis and elsewhere will be glad to make their gifts and to have their part and share with us. ”

“ Notwithstanding the fact, however, that 20.6 per cent. of the pastors in New York city are giving attention to the church families in the district canvassed, 768 families out of 4,800 families have no church home, and 1,353 families have no church members.
It is evident that the families without members and places of worship are not Roman Catholic, for 97.5 per cent. of the Irish church families are Roman Catholic, and 96.4 per cent. of the Irish families of the entire district have a church home; while 76.9 per cent. of the American church families are Romanist, and 82.8 per cent. ”

“ The Church would rather countenance vice, as it has in the past, than disband. In New York City we now have the spectacle of the Church operating a saloon and selling strong drink. In all country towns, religion, failing in being attractive, has, to keep churches alive, resorted to raffles, lotteries, concerts, chicken-pie socials, and lectures and exhortations by strange men in curious and unique garb, and singers of reputation.
The Church, being a part of society, evolves as society evolves. Christianity is a totally different [Pg 159] thing now from what it was in Humboldt's time ”

“ Its appeal to the latter was particularly contemplated when Bishop Potter said: “The person in the period of suspense as to certain fundamental beliefs needs something larger, higher, wider and roomier, more impersonal for the time being, than the parish church.” It is hardly necessary to add as a corollary of the foregoing that there are no “strangers’ pews” in the Cathedral; and nobody, however unaccustomed to the Cathedral service, needs to feel any timidity or hesitation about attending. The large proportion of men in the Cathedral congregations is particularly noticeable. ”