Henry Yates Satterlee

Background

He was born on January 11, 1843, in New York City, New York, United States, the second of eight children. The Satterlees were an old English county family of Suffolk and Devonshire. Benedict, the founder of the American line, emigrated to New London, Connecticut, in 1685.

Edward, Henry's grandfather, settled in Albany; his son, another Edward, the bishop's father, a well educated and cultivated man, had marked artistic and literary tastes. His wife, Jane Yates, came of ancestry noted for public service. Her grandfather, Christopher Yates, served on General Schuyler's staff in the Revolution. One of his sons, Joseph Christopher, was governor of New York from 1823 to 1825. Another, Henry, the bishop's grandfather, served as state senator and as mayor of Schenectady, N. Y.

To his mother the bishop chiefly owed his spiritual sensitiveness and strong convictions. His young boyhood was passed in Albany.

Education

In 1856 he attended the Columbia Grammar School, and, in 1863, received the degree of B. A. from Columbia College.

He received an honorary degree of D. D. from Union College in 1882 and from Princeton University in 1896; and that of LL. D from Columbia University in 1897.

Career

After a serious inclination to a military career, he decided on the ministry, and was prepared at the General Theological Seminary in New York. Ordained deacon on Nov. 21, 1865, he was appointed assistant minister in Zion Parish, Wappinger Falls, the following September.

On Jan. 11, 1867, he was ordained priest. Eight years later, he succeeded to the rectorship of the parish. In 1882 he accepted the rectorship of Calvary Parish, New York City. He rapidly became a power in the community and in the counsels of the Church, giving early proof of that capacity for leadership which marked his later years. Twice he declined elections to the episcopate, in Ohio (1887) and in Michigan (1889).

In 1895, he issued the most important of his several books: A Creedless Gospel and the Gospel Creed. A few years later he published New Testament Churchmanship and the Principles upon Which It Was Founded (1899).

In 1896, he was elected bishop of the newly formed diocese of Washington. His parochial ministry of twenty years, almost equally divided between a country town and the metropolis, had brought him into close touch with every stratum of American life. This experience proved an admirable equipment for his new work. In organizing his diocese, he kept in mind the potential influence which the Episcopal Church in Washington, if fully equipped and wisely led, might wield in the nation's spiritual life. This ideal led to his vision of a national cathedral, fully furnished for its mission by the beauty and majesty of its architecture and the appeal of its spiritual ministrations.

At his death, every development of Washington Cathedral, material and spiritual alike, has been in line with his far-seeing plans. His body now lies beneath the altar of the Bethlehem Chapel, which forms the crypt of the choir and apse of the cathedral and was built in his memory by loving friends.

Achievements

• He established the Cathedral Church of Saint Peter and Saint Paul, popularly known as Washington National Cathedral. He was responsible for acquiring its land atop Mt. Saint Alban in Northwest Washington and overseeing its construction in the 14th century English Gothic style, envisioning the role of the cathedral in state and world affairs. He had been active in mission work to the poor in the city's Lower East Side. Satterlee gained international respect for his integrity and leadership and he also worked hard to promote the black clergy of the diocese. His famous works: A Creedless Gospel and the Gospel Creed.

Works

More photos

• book

  • A Master Builder, Being the Life and Letters of Henry Yates Satterlee, First Bishop of Washington (Classic Reprint)

    (Excerpt from A Master Builder, Being the Life and Letters...)

  • New Testament Churchmanship and the Principles Upon Which It Was Founded (Classic Reprint)

    (Excerpt from New Testament Churchmanship and the Principl...)

  • The Building of a Cathedral

    (This work has been selected by scholars as being cultural...)

  • A Creedless Gospel and the Gospel Creed (Classic Reprint)

    (Excerpt from A Creedless Gospel and the Gospel Creed The...)

  • The Fundamental Principles Of Christian Unity (1902)

    (This scarce antiquarian book is a facsimile reprint of th...)

Religion

He thought, that Christianity is not a mere human aspiration, but a dramatic self-revealing of God, in the person of Jesus Christ, not only in past history, but in present experience. This creed was the center of his faith and the source of his spiritual power.

Personality

He was no visionary; practical wisdom marked each step.

Quotes from others about the person

• President Theodore Roosevelt, who came into close contact with the bishop, wrote of him: "To an unusual degree, he combined spiritual-mindedness with the purpose to do efficient, practical work and I do not think any one came in contact with him without becoming conscious of a certain elevation of thought and temper, and the power of inspiring others".

Connections

On June 30, 1866, he was married to Jane Lawrence Churchill of New York. At Wappinger Falls were born his two children. Their son, the Rev. Churchill Satterlee, was a clergyman of the Episcopal Church. Their daughter, Constance Satterlee, married Frederick W. Rhinelander, the brother of Philip M. Rhinelander, the seventh Episcopal Bishop of Pennsylvania.

Father:

Edward Satterlee

Mother:

Jane Anna Yates

Spouse:

Jane Lawrence Churchill

son :

the Rev. Churchill Satterlee

Grandfather:

Henry Christopher Yates

Daughter:

Constance Satterlee

Uncle:

Charles Yates