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John Henry Hobart D.D. | |
|---|---|
| 3rd Bishop of New York | |
 | |
| Church | Episcopal Church |
| Diocese | New York |
| Elected | February 27, 1816 |
| In office | 1816–1830 |
| Predecessor | Benjamin Moore |
| Successor | Benjamin T. Onderdonk |
| Previous post | Assistant Bishop of New York(1811-1816) |
| Orders | |
| Ordination | April 5, 1801 (priest) by Samuel Provoost |
| Consecration | May 29, 1811 by William White |
| Personal details | |
| Born | (1775-09-14)September 14, 1775 |
| Died | September 12, 1830(1830-09-12) (aged 54) |
| Buried | Trinity Church Cemetery |
| Nationality | American |
| Denomination | Anglican |
| Parents | Enoch Hobart & Hannah Pratt |
| Spouse | Mary Goodwin Chandler |
| Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania (1790 - 1791) andCollege of New Jersey (1792 - 1796) |
| Sainthood | |
| Feast day | September 12 |
| Venerated in | Episcopal Church |
John Henry Hobart (September 14, 1775 – September 12, 1830) was the thirdEpiscopalbishop of New York (1816–1830). He vigorously promoted the extension of the Episcopal Church in upstate New York, as well as founded both theGeneral Theological Seminary inNew York City and Geneva College inGeneva in theFinger Lakes area (in 1852 renamed Hobart Free College after him and now operating asHobart and William Smith Colleges). He was the beloved pastor ofElizabeth Seton before her conversion toCatholicism.
John Henry Hobart was born inPhiladelphia, Pennsylvania, Sept. 14, 1775; the son of Capt. Enoch and Hannah (Pratt) Hobart. His grandfather John Hobart had moved fromHingham, Massachusetts to Philadelphia, where he married a Swedish woman and became a member of theAnglican Church. His great-grandfather Peter Hobart was a graduate of theUniversity of Cambridge, England, 1629, and teacher and pastor inSuffolk; he emigrated to America in 1635.[1]
Captain Hobart died when the future bishop was an infant, and was buried in the family tomb atChrist Church Burial Ground. At age nine, John was a pupil in the Episcopal Academy. He studied classics under professorJohn Andrews, 1785–90, and followed when his mentor became vice-provost of theUniversity of Pennsylvania, which Hobart attended, 1790–91.[citation needed] He transferred to the junior class of theCollege of New Jersey (Princeton) and graduated, A.B., 1793, A.M., 1796. Hobart worked as a tutor at Princeton, 1797–98, while pursuing his studies in theology under the direction of BishopWilliam White.[citation needed]
Hobart was ordaineddeacon by Bishop White in Philadelphia on June 3, 1798, and as a priest by Bishop Provoost on April 5, 1801, inTrinity Church. He then served as pastor of Trinity Church inOxford and All Saints inPerkiomen Township, Pennsylvania before moving to New Jersey to serve at Christ Church,New Brunswick, New Jersey.
Trinity Church in New York hired Hobart as its assistant minister in 1803. Hobart showed his zeal for the historic episcopacy,An Apology for Apostolic Order and its Advocates in 1807, a series of letters to John M. Mason, who, inThe Christian's Magazine, of which he was editor, had attacked the Episcopacy in general and in particular Hobart's collection ofEssays on the Subject of Episcopacy (1806).[2]
In 1811, Hobart was elected assistant bishop of New York, with the right of succession. The ill-health of BishopBenjamin Moore led Hobart to effectively run the diocese for several years before formally succeeding on the latter's death in February 1816. As bishop, Hobart worked to build up his diocese, attempting to visit every parish annually. He was able, impetuous, frank, perfectly fearless in controversy, a speaker and preacher of mucheloquence. A supporter of missions to theOneida Indians, Hobart helped relocate many of theOneida from New York State to Wisconsin.[citation needed]
Hobart was elected a member of theAmerican Antiquarian Society in 1814.[3] The AAS holds numerous books and pamphlets authored by or related to Hobart, including many sermons and other theologically related texts.[citation needed]
One of the founders of theGeneral Theological Seminary, Hobart became its professor of Pastoral Theology in 1821, served as its first dean and governed the seminary as bishop. He opposed the plan ofPhilander Chase, Bishop ofOhio, for an Episcopal seminary in that diocese; but when theOhio seminary was made directly responsible to theHouse of Bishops, Hobart withdrew his opposition.[citation needed]
Bishop Hobart supported theHigh Church Movement within the Episcopal Church. A predecessor of theAnglo-Catholic Movement deriving from theOxford Movement in the 1830s and 40s, the High Church movement, like the Anglo-Catholic, stressed continuity with the pre-Protestant Reformation church, while at the same time strongly opposed certain Roman Catholic doctrines. The movement emphasized the Apostolic Succession and Anglican Covenantal Theology. In contrast to the later Anglo-Catholic movement, Hobart's High Churchmanship did not have a significant liturgical character. Hobart emphasized the significance ofbaptism and apostolic succession, and how the apostolic succession affected Episcopal ecumenical relationships and ministry with "non-apostolic" churches. The seminary became a center for the High Church Movement and later for the Oxford Movement in America. Through General Seminary, Hobart in particular influenced two future bishops:Benjamin Onderdonk andJackson Kemper.[citation needed]
Hobart also opposed theAmerican Bible Society, perhaps part of his strong opposition to dissenting churches. In 1816 he published a pamphlet to dissuade Episcopalians from joining the new movement, which he thought theProtestant Episcopal Church had not the numerical or the financial strength to control.[citation needed]
Instead, in 1818, to counterbalance theBible Society's influence and especially of Scott'sCommentaries, Hobart began to edit theFamily Bible of theSociety for Promoting Christian Knowledge. He also delivered episcopal charges to the clergy ofConnecticut and New York entitledThe Churchman (1819) andThe High Churchman Vindicated (1826), in which Hobart accepted the label high churchman, explaining his principles to distinguish them from the corruptions of theChurch of Rome and from the Errors of Certain Protestant Sects.[citation needed]
By 1818, Hobart had also become convinced that an institution of higher education was needed in the western reaches of the state of New York. Though he had visited many areas as a bishop, he selected the small village of Geneva on Seneca Lake for his new outpost of learning. The site for the newGeneva College was selected in 1820, and the first building erected in 1822. Geneva College became Hobart Free College, later renamed Hobart College in 1852 in honor of its founder, and which becameHobart and William Smith Colleges.[citation needed]
In failing health, Hobart visitedEurope from 1823 to 1825. Upon his return, he preached a sermon entitledThe United States of America compared with some European Countries, particularly England (published 1826). Hobart so criticized the establishment, state patronage, cabinet appointment of bishops, low discipline, and the low requirements of theological education, as to rouse much hostility in England, where he had been highly praised for two volumes ofSermons on the Principal Events and Truths of Redemption (1824).[citation needed]
Bishop Hobart died atAuburn, New York, on September 12, 1830, and is buried atTrinity Churchyard near his beloved General Theological Seminary in Manhattan. The Episcopal Church remembers Bishop Hobart annually on the anniversary of his death, September 12.[4]
Robert Pritchard notes that "Hobart's powerful personality, his skill as a writer and polemicist , the pervasive influence of his former assistants, and his influence on the General Theological Seminary combined to make his theological stance the standard for the high-church party in the first half of the nineteenth century."[5] High church theology before theAmerican Civil War is now known as the "Hobartian Synthesis"[6] or "Hobartian High-Churchmanship".[5]
The village ofHobart, New York was named after him in 1828. TheChurch of the Holy Apostles inOneida, Wisconsin was dedicated in his memory, and nearbyHobart, inBrown County, Wisconsin, was named for him in 1908.[7]
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| Preceded by | 3rd Bishop of New York 1816–1830 | Succeeded by |
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