William Croswell Doane
Encyclopedia
The Right Reverend William Croswell Doane (born Boston March 2, 1832 - died New York City
May 17, 1913) was the 1st Bishop
of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany
in the United States
. He was bishop from 1869 until his death in 1913. As a student at Burlington College
, New Jersey
(where his family had moved in 1833), he was a founding member of a chapter of the college society St. Anthony Hall
. He served about 60 years in ordained ministry, a huge span for those times. Doane is probably best known today for his Anglican hymn, Ancient of Days
.
of Trinity Church, Boston
, a prominent church. Within a year, his father was elected Bishop of New Jersey
. While he was raised in Burlington, New Jersey
, and attended St. Mary's School there, the place had little effect on him. In addition to also becoming an Episcopal priest like his father, he was also attached to the Oxford Movement
like the elder Doane. He was ordained a Deacon
on March 6, 1853, by his father at his home parish. Shortly thereafter, he married the former Sarah Katharine Condit; they had two children. He was ordained a priest
in 1856 in the same church, and served at St. Barnabas Free Church
in Burlington until 1860.
In 1863, he accepted a call
to St. John's Church, Hartford, Connecticut
, and he served there during the American Civil War
. While there, parishioner Mark Twain
pulled a joke on Doane, claiming "I have ... a book at home containing every word" of Doane's sermon that Sunday, then sent him an unabridged dictionary.
He moved to Albany, New York
in 1867 to serve "the venerable parish of St. Peter's, Albany."
At the General Convention of 1868, in New York City
, a new diocese of Albany
was created, and Doane was elected the first bishop at the organizational convention of the diocese in St. Peter's Church. His election had "strong opposition," because he was a "young rector," but also because "the evangelical element ... looked upon Mr. Doane as a high churchman, [with] his ritualistic practices...."
William Croswell Doane was the 92nd
bishop
consecrated in the Episcopal Church.
Doane's biggest project, for many years, was the building of the Cathedral of All Saints, his major legacy. He got the land donated by the wealthy Erastus Corning
, and set about building the edifice starting with its incorporation in 1873, and the laying of its cornerstone, on June 3, 1884, "with impressive ceremony." The Cathedral of All Saints was dedicated in 1888. Until that time, smaller Episcopal churches served as seats of the bishop, and the "cathedral idea" -- the concept that a bishops' main church is more than merely a parish church, but the "Mother church
" -- had not yet taken hold in the United States
. Much of the building was paid for a gift by his unlikely friend, J. Pierpont Morgan.
He died in New York City while travelling in 1913, at the then ripe old age of 81. He was replaced by his Coadjutor, Richard Henry Nelson
.
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
May 17, 1913) was the 1st Bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany
Episcopal Diocese of Albany
The Episcopal Diocese of Albany is part of Province 2 of the Episcopal Church.-History:The Church of Englandarrived in 1674 with a chaplain assigned to the British military garrison at Albany, New York. In 1704 the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel sent two missionaries to the Mohawk...
in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He was bishop from 1869 until his death in 1913. As a student at Burlington College
Burlington County College
Burlington County College is an accredited, co-educational, two-year, public, community college located in Burlington County, New Jersey...
, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
(where his family had moved in 1833), he was a founding member of a chapter of the college society St. Anthony Hall
St. Anthony Hall
St. Anthony Hall, also known as Saint Anthony Hall and The Order of St. Anthony, is a national college literary society also known as the Fraternity of Delta Psi at colleges in the United States of America. St...
. He served about 60 years in ordained ministry, a huge span for those times. Doane is probably best known today for his Anglican hymn, Ancient of Days
Ancient of Days
Ancient of Days is a name for God in Aramaic: Atik Yomin; in the Greek Septuagint: Palaios Hemeron; and in the Vulgate: Antiquus Dierum....
.
Early life
Doane was born in Boston, and named for his father's best friend, the Rev. William Croswell. When he was born, his father, the Rev. George Doane, was RectorRector
The word rector has a number of different meanings; it is widely used to refer to an academic, religious or political administrator...
of Trinity Church, Boston
Trinity Church, Boston
Trinity Church in the City of Boston, located in the Back Bay of Boston, Massachusetts, is a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. The congregation, currently standing at approximately 3,000 households, was founded in 1733. The current rector is The Reverend Anne Bonnyman...
, a prominent church. Within a year, his father was elected Bishop of New Jersey
Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey
The Episcopal Diocese of New Jersey forms part of Province II of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. It is made up of the southern and central New Jersey counties of Union, Middlesex, Somerset, Hunterdon, Mercer, Monmouth, Ocean, Burlington, Camden, Atlantic, Gloucester, Salem,...
. While he was raised in Burlington, New Jersey
Burlington, New Jersey
Burlington is a city in Burlington County, New Jersey, United States and a suburb of Philadelphia. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 9,920....
, and attended St. Mary's School there, the place had little effect on him. In addition to also becoming an Episcopal priest like his father, he was also attached to the Oxford Movement
Oxford Movement
The Oxford Movement was a movement of High Church Anglicans, eventually developing into Anglo-Catholicism. The movement, whose members were often associated with the University of Oxford, argued for the reinstatement of lost Christian traditions of faith and their inclusion into Anglican liturgy...
like the elder Doane. He was ordained a Deacon
Deacon
Deacon is a ministry in the Christian Church that is generally associated with service of some kind, but which varies among theological and denominational traditions...
on March 6, 1853, by his father at his home parish. Shortly thereafter, he married the former Sarah Katharine Condit; they had two children. He was ordained a priest
Priest
A priest is a person authorized to perform the sacred rites of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in particular, rites of sacrifice to, and propitiation of, a deity or deities...
in 1856 in the same church, and served at St. Barnabas Free Church
Free Church
The proper noun Free Church may refer to:Europe-wide:* Evangelical Lutheran Free Churchin Germany:* Evangelical Lutheran Free Church * Independent Evangelical-Lutheran Churchin Iceland:*Reykjavík Free Churchin Norway:...
in Burlington until 1860.
In 1863, he accepted a call
Calling (religious)
A calling, in the religious sense of the word, is a religious vocation that may be professional or voluntary and, idiosyncratic to different religions, may come from another person, from a divine messenger, or from within oneself.-History:The idea of a vocation or "calling" has played a...
to St. John's Church, Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital of the U.S. state of Connecticut. The seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960, it is the second most populous city on New England's largest river, the Connecticut River. As of the 2010 Census, Hartford's population was 124,775, making...
, and he served there during the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. While there, parishioner Mark Twain
Mark Twain
Samuel Langhorne Clemens , better known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American author and humorist...
pulled a joke on Doane, claiming "I have ... a book at home containing every word" of Doane's sermon that Sunday, then sent him an unabridged dictionary.
He moved to Albany, New York
Albany, New York
Albany is the capital city of the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Albany County, and the central city of New York's Capital District. Roughly north of New York City, Albany sits on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River...
in 1867 to serve "the venerable parish of St. Peter's, Albany."
At the General Convention of 1868, in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, a new diocese of Albany
Episcopal Diocese of Albany
The Episcopal Diocese of Albany is part of Province 2 of the Episcopal Church.-History:The Church of Englandarrived in 1674 with a chaplain assigned to the British military garrison at Albany, New York. In 1704 the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel sent two missionaries to the Mohawk...
was created, and Doane was elected the first bishop at the organizational convention of the diocese in St. Peter's Church. His election had "strong opposition," because he was a "young rector," but also because "the evangelical element ... looked upon Mr. Doane as a high churchman, [with] his ritualistic practices...."
Consecration as the First Bishop of Albany
His consecrators were:- Right Reverend Horatio PotterHoratio PotterThe Right Reverend Horatio Potter , was an Episcopal Bishop in the Diocese of New York.The youngest brother of Bishop Alonzo Potter, he was born near Beekman , Dutchess County, New York on 9 February 1802, to Quaker farmers Joseph and Anne Potter...
, BishopBishopA bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
of New YorkEpiscopal Diocese of New YorkThe Episcopal Diocese of New York is a diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, encompassing the boroughs of Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island in New York City, and the New York state counties of Westchester, Rockland, Dutchess, Orange, Putnam, Sullivan, and... - The Right Reverend William H. Odenheimer
- The Right Reverend Henry A. Neely.
William Croswell Doane was the 92nd
Succession of Bishops of the Episcopal Church in the United States
This list consists of the bishops in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, an independent province of the Anglican Communion. This shows the historic succession of the episcopate within this denomination.-Key to chart:...
bishop
Bishop
A bishop is an ordained or consecrated member of the Christian clergy who is generally entrusted with a position of authority and oversight. Within the Catholic Church, Eastern Orthodox, Oriental Orthodox Churches, in the Assyrian Church of the East, in the Independent Catholic Churches, and in the...
consecrated in the Episcopal Church.
Work as Bishop
Doane had a large diocese, and spent many years in visitation, establishing churches, and confirming persons.Doane's biggest project, for many years, was the building of the Cathedral of All Saints, his major legacy. He got the land donated by the wealthy Erastus Corning
Erastus Corning
Erastus Corning I , American businessman and politician, was born in Norwich, Connecticut. Corning moved to Troy, New York at the age of 13 to clerk in the hardware store of an uncle; six years later he moved to Albany, New York, where he joined the mercantile business under James Spencer...
, and set about building the edifice starting with its incorporation in 1873, and the laying of its cornerstone, on June 3, 1884, "with impressive ceremony." The Cathedral of All Saints was dedicated in 1888. Until that time, smaller Episcopal churches served as seats of the bishop, and the "cathedral idea" -- the concept that a bishops' main church is more than merely a parish church, but the "Mother church
Mother Church
In Christianity, the term mother church or Mother Church may have one of the following meanings:# The first mission church in an area, or a pioneer cathedral# A basilica or cathedral# The main chapel of a province of a religious order...
" -- had not yet taken hold in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. Much of the building was paid for a gift by his unlikely friend, J. Pierpont Morgan.
He died in New York City while travelling in 1913, at the then ripe old age of 81. He was replaced by his Coadjutor, Richard Henry Nelson
Richard Henry Nelson
The Right Reverend Richard Henry Nelson was the second Bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany in the United States from 1913 to 1929, as well as being Coadjutor from 1904 to 1913 under the first Bishop, William Croswell Doane....
.
See also
- List of Bishop Succession in the Episcopal ChurchSuccession of Bishops of the Episcopal Church in the United StatesThis list consists of the bishops in the Episcopal Church in the United States of America, an independent province of the Anglican Communion. This shows the historic succession of the episcopate within this denomination.-Key to chart:...
External links
- William C. Doane Page on Project CanterburyProject CanterburyProject Canterbury is an online archive of material related to the history of Anglicanism. It was founded by Richard Mammana, Jr. in 1999, and is hosted by the non-profit Society of Archbishop Justus...