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David H. Greer

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The Right Reverend

David H. Greer

D.D., LL.D.
8th Bishop of New York
ChurchEpiscopal Church
DioceseNew York
In office1908–1919
PredecessorHenry C. Potter
SuccessorCharles Sumner Burch
Previous post(s)Coadjutor Bishop of New York (1904-1908)
Orders
OrdinationMay 19, 1868
by John Johns
ConsecrationJanuary 26, 1904
by Henry C. Potter
Personal details
BornMarch 20, 1844
DiedMay 19, 1919(1919-05-19) (aged 75)
New York City, New York, United States
NationalityAmerican
DenominationAnglican
ParentsJacob Rickard Greer and Elisabeth Yellott Armstrong
SpouseCaroline Augusta Keith (November 19, 1845 – June 17, 1919)
(m. 1869)
Children3
SignatureDavid H. Greer's signature

David Hummell Greer (March 20, 1844 – May 19, 1919) was an American Protestant Episcopal bishop.

Biography

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He was born in Wheeling, Virginia, (now West Virginia), graduated from Washington College (Pa.) in 1862, and studied at the Protestant Episcopal Seminary, Gambier, Ohio. Ordained a priest in 1868, he was rector successively at Covington, Kentucky (1868–1871), Providence, Rhode Island (1871–1888), and New York City at St. Bartholomew's Church, 1888–1904.

In 1903, he was elected Bishop Coadjutor for the New York diocese and in 1908 succeeded Bishop Potter upon the latter's decease. He was replaced as rector of St. Bartholomew's Church by Dr. Leighton Parks.

Bishop Greer made himself known as an untiring personal worker in his parishes and his diocese, and as a believer in direct and unceremonious relationship between clergy and laymen. In 1913, he celebrated a service for the General Convention at St. John the Divine, at which an offering of $500,000 was collected, requiring three clergymen to bring it to the altar, and all night for expert bank tellers to count the funds. The service was followed by a reception for 5,000 at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.[1] In 1914, Bishop Greer was appointed president of the Church Peace Union.[2]

Prior to 1917, Greer caused controversy by expressing opposition to US involvement in World War I. However, after the United States entered the war, Greer endorsed the war effort as a "great crusade against tyranny and aggression".[2]

On January 14, 1915, he officiated at the society wedding of a future bishop, the Rev. G. Ashton Oldham, to debutante Emily Pierrepont Gould at the Cathedral of St. John the Divine.[3]

In 1869, Greer wed Caroline Augusta Keith, with whom he had three children. David and Caroline Greer died one month apart, in May and June 1919, respectively. Following his death, the Hope Farm School in Dutchess County, New York, was renamed "Greer School".

Publications

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  • Moral Power of History (1890)
  • From Things to God (1893)
  • The Preacher and his Place (1895)
  • Visions (1898)

References

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  1. ^ "PUT DIVORCE PUZZLE TO CHURCH RULERS; Resolutions at General Convention of Episcopalians Bring Up Disputed Questions". The New York Times. October 10, 1913. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved June 16, 2024.
  2. ^ a b Snape, Michael. A Church Militant: Anglicans and the Armed Forces from Queen Victoria to the Vietnam War. Oxford University Press, 2022; ISBN 9780192664440 (pg. 147)
  3. ^ "Numerous Entertainments for the Debutantes", New-York Tribune, December 20, 1914, pg. 8. Found at Library of Congress website. Retrieved July 31, 2012.
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Other sources

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Episcopal Church (USA) titles
Preceded by Bishop of New York
1908–1919
Succeeded by