1869-75: The Coming of the Catholic Revival

 

he influence of the Catholic Revival on the parish began with the election of the Rev. Herman Griswold Batterson in March 1869, to succeed the Rev. Treadwell Walden who had resigned. Dr. Batterson was a well known figure in the Church previously to this because of his official connection with the ,Guild of the Holy Cross", a devotional guild which had as its aim the development of the Catholic life amongst the members of the church.

According to diocesan records, he was received into the Diocese of Pennsylvania in 1869 from the Diocese of Minnesota. In the same year, the Rev. William Henry Nassau Stewart, L, L. D. , a graduate of Trinity College, Dublin, was appointed to be Assistant Priest to Dr. Batterson. He was both an eloquent preacher and a great teacher.

Dr. Batterson began immediately upon his accession to teach the Catholic faith and by him were laid the foundation stones for all that St. Clement's has been able to accomplish in the past, and for which she bears witness to-day.

It was Dr. Batterson who initiated the parish magazine, The first issue is dated April 1869, under the name of "Parish Guide", with the motto:

"Be ye doers of the word and not hearers only!"

To the congregation this was a powerful means of instruction and information, and for posterity, a valuable source of historical data.

Our story can best be told by following the many references in the "Parish Guide" and subsequent parish magazines, and the records as they are set down in the minutes of the Vestry meetings.

Running through the files of the early issues of the "Parish Guide", one finds articles on:

"Relations of the Rector, Vestry and People"
"Fasting and Abstinence"
"Frequent Communion"

Soon the time was at hand for the first move in a controversy which was not to be settled finally for almost seventeen years. The first- indication of what was later to be referred to as the "ritual row", is found in a report of a Vestry meeting held in November, 1870. In later years, Dr. Batterson always claimed that the controversy actuaily started when he placed a plain wooden cross on the altar with two small wooden candlesticks, These created quite a disturbance. One Sunday morning these altar ornaments were missing. Someone had stolen them. Months later they were found buried in the old rear garden of the church, where the present Clergy House now stands.

At the meeting of the Vestry held on November 9th, 1870, three resolutions were presented, and the first two were adopted. The first was offered by Mr. P, Pemberton Mori-is, the Rector's Warden. It resolved:

"that in the opinion of the Vestry, the ritual of this church should conform to the use of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States of America."

The second was presented by another member of the Vestry and resolved:

"that no alterations or additions shall be made in the furniture or the fixtures of the chancel without fine consent of the Vestry. "

The third resolution centered around the "great and radical changes" lately made in the services and requested the Rector to dispense with:

"processional and recessional hymns;
changing stoles;
the use of lighted chandles in the chancel;
the invocation before the sermon;
the standing of the choir and congregation during the presentation of the offering and the changing of the furniture of the church."

Tht- next meeting of the Vestry, was held on St. Clement's Day, November 23rd, 1870. The Rector opened the business of the meeting by reading a prepared protest against the resolutions presented and voted on at the last meeting. When the Rector had finished his protest, Mr. Morris put three questions to him.

The first two had to do with the hearing of confession and prayers for the dead, the third with the mixed water and wine in the chalice. From this time on, the battle was waged mainly on the first two very fundamental matters, all other items coming into the discussion in a more or less incidental way.

Dr. Batterson did his best to be conciliatory and was willing to go far in order to keep the peace. Even so, the matter was referred to the Diocesan. The Bishop of Pennsylvania at this time was the Rt. Rev. William Bacon Stevens, a noted scholar, a good administrator - but an uncompromising Protestant and a militant low churchman. If there had been any doubt as to the Bishop's stand in the matters of this kind, his letter of February 6, 1871, addressed to Mr. Morris speedily dissolved it. In this letter the Bishop denounced:

"Sacramental confession
Prayers for the dead
Bowing to the altar
Mingling water with the wine in the chalice
Colored vestments of any kind including colored stoles"

The whole letter illustrated the sort of opposition which Catholic-minded priests of the century had to face.

This letter from the Bishop was duly read by Mr. Morris at the Vestry meeting of February 16, 1871, and the Rector was asked what he intended to do about it. In reply, Dr. Batterson said that the Vestry had nothing more to do with the matter and he refused to discuss it further in any Vestry meeting.

Dr. Batterson next presented the controversy to the parishioners by means of an open letter dated March 20th, 1871 . In this letter he gave a complete history of the matter followed by his decision, declaring,

"I therefore announce to you that I shall maintain those services, and no word of teaching which I have given you during my Rectorship, will I retract; on the contrary, I will maintain and defend it to the last. "Thus Dr. Batterson ended the first period of this very trying time, as he stood on his canonical rights as Rector of the Parish, and refused to submit to the dictates of a hostile Vestry which was very obviously being aided and abetted by the Diocesan.

By this time, the newspapers had scented a sensational story and, every day for some weeks, carried headlines on the subject. In going over the copious collection of pages the newspapers of the day, which are preserved in the parish archives, it can be seen that no single item of the controversy escaped the newspaper reporters!

While this was a sign of great efficiency on their part, we cannot fail to see an element in the situation which must have made it doubly hard for the faithful to bear.

On April 10th, 1871, the regular annual election of Vestrymen was held. It was obvious that Dr. Batterson would attempt to have a new Vestry elected, and it is clear from the records that the congregation was in well over a majority supporting the Rector. But, the charter provided that the only persons entitled to vote in Vestry elections were:

"such members of the Church as shall appear by the Vestry - books to have paid two successive years, immediately preceding the time of such election, for a pew sitting."

Thus the large majority of he members, who did not hold pew sittings, had no voice in the election.

The result of the election was the re-election of the old Vestry. At the meeting held May 3rd, 1871, with the Rector presiding, the Vestry offered a resolution dissolving the pastoral relation between the Rector (with his assistant, Dr. Stewart) and the Parish. The resolution contained the statement that the action was taken:

"with the concurrence of the Ecclesiastical Authority of the Diocese. "

Dr. Batterson having refused to put the motion, the secretary did so, and the resolution was passed unanimously

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At a meeting three days later, a letter from Bishop Stevens, dated May 4th, was ordered spread upon the minutes. This letter stated that:

"The Ecclesiastical Authority of the Diocese concurs with the action taken by the Vestry in dissolving the pastoral connection between it and the Minister and Assistant Minister of St . Clement's Church."

On May 4th, a Bill in Equity was filed in the Court of Common Pleas for the County of Philadelphia by the Rector and his assistant, praying:

"the restraint of the defendant vestrymen from interfering in any way with the exercise of their offices."

A temporary injunction against the Vestry was granted by the Court. At the Vestry meeting held June 6th it was reported that the Court had continued this injunction:

"until a regular and canonical dissolution of the connection then existing . . . shall take place in accordance with the constitution and canons of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Pennsylvania and in the United States."

It happened at this time that all the judges sitting in this court were members of the Episcopal Church. Since "party feeling" was running pretty high, they felt there was some impropriety in their hearing the case. Consequently, it was so arranged that a Presbyterian judge should hear the arguments.

The proceedings and the judgment are in a small volume entitled, "The St. Clement's Church Case. " This little volume must have enjoyed a large publication and a wide distribution for it can be found in the files of the public library even to this day!

The decision was handed down on Saturday, May 27th, 1871, the eve of Pentecost and it had been awaited with keen interest. The Vestry party were so sure of a decision in their favor, that they had already engaged another Priest to officiate in St. Clement's the next day - Pentecost Sunday. But the Presbyterian judge had sustained Dr. Batterson! Once again, it was a Presbyterian who came to the rescue!

Dr. Batterson had refrained from any discussion of the case. When he entered the pulpit on the Feast of Pentecost to address a congregation that packed the church to the doors, he did not refer to the matter by so much as a word. Dr. Batterson's chief interest was in the bearing of the case on the security of the Priest's tenure of office, and on the right of a seditious Vestry to turn out a Rector simply because they did not like his ceremonial, or for any other trivial reason.

Dr. Batterson had the saving grace of humor. Hearing that Bishop Stevens was about to sail for a holiday in Europe, he paid him a friendly call. Upon leaving, the Bishop went with him to the door and complimented Dr. Batterson on his policy of silence while the suit was pending. He added,

"Do you know we fully expected to win that case? We were assured to that effect by ---" and here the Bishop named several prominent legal lights. "Yes, " rejoined Dr. Batterson, "you had the opinions, but I got the decision."

The period at hand must have been a very difficult one for Dr. Batterson. With the duty before him of ministering faithfully to the congregation committed to his charge, he must preside month after month over a Vestry which was doing all in its power to hurt him and his ministry. So the situation continued until the next annual election on April 1st, 1872, when a new Vestry was elected and entered into office.

The newly elected Vestry convened on the following day. Its first action was to expunge from the minutes the resolution of May 3rd, 1871, which purported to:

"dissolve the pastoral connection, etc."

This action was taken chiefly because:

"the resolutions were at that time, have thence continued, and now are in direct opposition to the wishes of a large majority of the members of this Church."

A copy of this action was forwarded to the Diocesean.

When the routine business had been disposed of, Dr. Batterson tendered his resignation as Rector of St. Clement's Church, to take effect on April 10, 1872. He was broken in health by the long continued and bitter controversies. Having remained faithfully at his post until the Catholic future of the Parish was reasonable sure, he felt he could retire. The present Vestry was most devoted to the Rector and very reluctant to accept the resignation. Dr. Batterson was most warmly urged to reconsider the matter, but when the Vestry realized that the continued care of the Parish would seriously endanger his health, they accepted the resignation in a resolution which:

"Resolved that we tender our expressions of confidence in him as a Christian Priest and as a man, and that we record with thankfulness his patience in the midst of unusual trials, not only to the Parish but to himself. "

Before the end of 1872, the Rev. Theodore M. Riley of Winona, Minnesota, was elected, accepted the election, and arrived in Philadelphia in time for the First Sunday in Advent, December 1st, 1872.

Dr. Riley's Rectorate at St. Clement's was of short duration but it was not without disquietude. Bishop Stevens was again ready with his attack, and refused to accept Dr.Riley's letters of Dimissory from the Bishop of Minnesota until Dr. Riley would agree to make certain changes in the usages at St. Clement's.

The controversy dragged on for many months. Finally, the certificate was issued. Upon its receipt, Dr. Riley took up the matter of the Bishop's requests but "respectfully declined" to accede to them.

Dr. Riley resigned in November 1875. Although Dr. Riley's years at St. Clement's were few, the church went steadily forward. Financial matters took a turn for the better under the interested management of the Vestry, and the teaching and practice of the Catholic faith progressed.

It was well that the Parish had these few years of encouragement, for there was a still more bitter period ahead. But, loyal Priests and a faithful congregation were staunch in their defense of the faith once for all delivered to the Saints.