LAKE JAMES

NORTH CAROLINA

Blessed John Henry Hobart, Bishop

John Henry Hobart was one of the leaders who revived the Episcopal Church after the American Revolution, a time during which the Church has been described as having been in “suspended animation.” A graduate of Princeton University, he was ordained to the priesthood in 1801. After serving in several parishes in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Long Island, he was consecrated Assistant Bishop of New York in 1811 and five years later became the Diocesan Bishop while also serving as Rector of Trinity Parish in Manhattan.

Within his first four years as bishop, he doubled the numbers of his clergy and quadrupled the number of missionaries. Before his death, he had planted a parish in almost every major town in New York State and also opened missionary work among the Oneida Indians. In addition, he was one of the founders of the General Theological Seminary in New York City, and was the reviver of the almost defunct Geneva College, later renamed Hobart College.

A strong and unbending upholder of Church standards, he established the Bible and Common Prayer Book Society of New York and was one of the first American Churchmen to produce theological and devotional manuals for the laity. His writings, and the personal impression he made on a visit to Oxford, were influential in the development of the Tractarian (Anglican Catholic) Movement in England. Both friends and foes respected him for his staunch faith, consuming energy, personal integrity, and missionary zeal. He died on September 12, 1830 (the date now kept as his feast day) and was buried beneath the chancel of Trinity Church in New York City.

Collect for Blessed John Henry Hobart

Revive your Church, Lord God of Hosts, whenever it falls into complacency and sloth, by raising up devoted leaders, like your servant John Henry Hobart whom we remember today; and grant that, aided by his prayers, their faith and vigor of mind may awaken your people to your message and their mission; through Jesus Christ our Lord, who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

[Based on “Lesser Feasts and Fasts” – A.T.K.Z.+]

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This page last modified on Friday, April 11, 2008 09:40 PM