Charles Pettit McIlvaine
Encyclopedia
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...
, author
Author
An author is broadly defined as "the person who originates or gives existence to anything" and that authorship determines responsibility for what is created. Narrowly defined, an author is the originator of any written work.-Legal significance:...
, educator and twice Chaplain of the United States Senate
Chaplain of the United States Senate
The Chaplain of the United States Senate opens each session of the United States Senate with a prayer, and provides and coordinates religious programs and pastoral care support for Senators, their staffs, and their families. The Chaplain is appointed by a majority vote of the members of the Senate...
.
Early life and family
McIlvaine was born in 1799 in Burlington, New JerseyBurlington, 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....
to Joseph McIlvaine
Joseph McIlvaine
Joseph McIlvaine was a United States Senator from New Jersey from 1823 until his death.-Early life and career:McIlvaine was born in Bristol, Pennsylvania to Col. Joseph Mcllvaine and Catherine Swan...
(later United States Senator
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
from 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...
) and Maria Reed (daughter of Bowes Reed
Bowes Reed
Bowes Reed was a Revolutionary officer, politician, and public servant from New Jersey. He was the brother of Joseph Reed, a member of the Continental Congress and President of the Supreme Executive Council of Pennsylvania .-Early life and career:Reed was born in 1740 in Trenton, New Jersey to...
, the Secretary of State of New Jersey
Secretary of State of New Jersey
The Secretary of State of New Jersey is responsible for overseeing artistic, cultural, and historical programs within the U.S. state of New Jersey, as well as volunteerism and community service projects within the state....
, and niece of Joseph Reed
Joseph Reed (jurist)
Joseph Reed was a Pennsylvania lawyer, military officer, and statesman of the Revolutionary Era. He served as a delegate to the Continental Congress and, while in Congress, signed the Articles of Confederation...
, Continental Congress
Continental Congress
The Continental Congress was a convention of delegates called together from the Thirteen Colonies that became the governing body of the United States during the American Revolution....
man and Governor of Pennsylvania). His father was of Scottish origin, from the MacIlvaines of Ayrshire
Ayrshire
Ayrshire is a registration county, and former administrative county in south-west Scotland, United Kingdom, located on the shores of the Firth of Clyde. Its principal towns include Ayr, Kilmarnock and Irvine. The town of Troon on the coast has hosted the British Open Golf Championship twice in the...
.
McIlvaine was educated at Burlington Academy and entered the College of New Jersey (later Princeton University
Princeton University
Princeton University is a private research university located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The school is one of the eight universities of the Ivy League, and is one of the nine Colonial Colleges founded before the American Revolution....
), where he graduated in 1816. The following year, he entered the theological seminary attached to the First Presbyterian Church of Princeton
Nassau Presbyterian Church
The Nassau Presbyterian Church is located at 61 Nassau Street in the Borough of Princeton, New Jersey, United States. The church operates the Princeton Cemetery. The current pastor is The Reverend Dr. David A. Davis.-First church:...
.
Career
In 1820 he was ordained to the diaconate in Philadelphia, and was soon after called to Christ Church in Georgetown, Washington, D.C.Georgetown, Washington, D.C.
Georgetown is a neighborhood located in northwest Washington, D.C., situated along the Potomac River. Founded in 1751, the port of Georgetown predated the establishment of the federal district and the City of Washington by 40 years...
In 1822 he was appointed chaplain to the U.S. Senate.
From 1825 to 1827, McIlvaine served as chaplain and professor of ethics at the United States Military Academy
United States Military Academy
The United States Military Academy at West Point is a four-year coeducational federal service academy located at West Point, New York. The academy sits on scenic high ground overlooking the Hudson River, north of New York City...
at West Point, where his students included Robert E. Lee
Robert E. Lee
Robert Edward Lee was a career military officer who is best known for having commanded the Confederate Army of Northern Virginia in the American Civil War....
and Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis...
.
In 1827 McIlvaine declined the presidency of The College of William & Mary but accepted a call to St. Ann's Church
St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Church
St. Ann and the Holy Trinity Church is an historic Episcopal church located at the corner of Montague and Clinton streets in the Brooklyn Heights neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York City. The building was built as Church of the Holy Trinity, and opened in 1847. Following years of controversy, the...
in Brooklyn
Brooklyn
Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. In 1831 he was named professor of the evidences of revealed religion at the University of the City of New York
New York University
New York University is a private, nonsectarian research university based in New York City. NYU's main campus is situated in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan...
.
In 1832, he became the 2nd president of Kenyon College
Kenyon College
Kenyon College is a private liberal arts college in Gambier, Ohio, founded in 1824 by Bishop Philander Chase of The Episcopal Church, in parallel with the Bexley Hall seminary. It is the oldest private college in Ohio...
in Gambier, Ohio
Gambier, Ohio
Gambier is a village in Knox County, Ohio, United States. The population was 1,871 at the 2000 census.Gambier is the home of Kenyon College and was named after one of Kenyon College's early benefactors, Lord Gambier....
, and also the second Bishop of Ohio
Episcopal Diocese of Ohio
The Episcopal Diocese of Ohio is the diocese of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America in the northern half of the state of Ohio.The see city is Cleveland, home of Trinity Cathedral, the cathedral of the diocese. Mark Hollingsworth, Jr...
.
He was a leading advocate of Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism
Evangelicalism is a Protestant Christian movement which began in Great Britain in the 1730s and gained popularity in the United States during the series of Great Awakenings of the 18th and 19th century.Its key commitments are:...
, and wrote a noted rebuttal of 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...
, Oxford Divinity Compared with That of the Romish and Anglican Churches.
He was the 28th bishop consecrated
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:...
in The Episcopal Church.
Bishop McIlvaine was so highly respected internationally (for his opposition to the Catholic-leaning Oxford movement within the Episcopal Church) that, shortly after the outbreak of the Civil War, President Lincoln asked him to go to England to argue against British recognition of the Confederacy. He often had coffee at Buckingham Palace, lunched with faculty members at Oxford, conversed with cabinet members, and influenced debate in the House of Commons.