Morgan Dix (November 1, 1827 – April 29, 1908) was an American Episcopal Church priest,

theologian Theology is the study of religious belief from a religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of ...

, and religious author.

Early life

Dix was born on November 1, 1827, in New York City. He was the son of Catherine Morgan, the adopted daughter of Congressman John J. Morgan, and Major General

John Adams Dix John Adams Dix (July 24, 1798 – April 21, 1879) was an American politician and military officer who was Secretary of the Treasury, Governor of New York and Union major general during the Civil War. He was notable for arresting the pro-Southe ...

U.S. Senator The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

from

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

(from 1845 to 1849),

Secretary of the Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...

(from January–March 1861),

Governor of New York The governor of New York is the head of government of the U.S. state of New York. The governor is the head of the executive branch of New York's state government and the commander-in-chief of the state's military forces. The governor ...

(from 1873 to 1874) and Union major general during the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

. His father was notable for arresting six members of the pro-Southern Maryland legislature, preventing that divided border state from seceding, and for arranging a system for prisoner exchange via the Dix–Hill Cartel, concluded in partnership with Confederate Major General Daniel Harvey Hill. Dix was educated at Columbia College and the

General Theological Seminary The General Theological Seminary of the Episcopal Church (GTS) is an Episcopal Church (United States), Episcopal seminary in New York City. Founded in 1817, GTS is the oldest seminary of the Episcopal Church and the longest continuously operating ...

Career

For almost fifty-three years, he was identified with

Trinity Church, New York Trinity Church is a historic parish in the Episcopal Diocese of New York, whose church is located at 89 Broadway opposite Wall Street, in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan in New York City. Known for its centuries of history, promine ...

, of which he became assistant minister in 1855 and rector in 1862. As well as being a very active churchman, Dix also wrote widely about the practice of

Christianity Christianity is an Abrahamic monotheistic religion, which states that Jesus in Christianity, Jesus is the Son of God (Christianity), Son of God and Resurrection of Jesus, rose from the dead after his Crucifixion of Jesus, crucifixion, whose ...

. Among his major works are ''Commentaries on Romans and on Galatians and Colossians; The Calling of a Christian Woman; The

Seven Deadly Sins The seven deadly sins (also known as the capital vices or cardinal sins) function as a grouping of major vices within the teachings of Christianity. In the standard list, the seven deadly sins according to the Catholic Church are pride, greed ...

; The Sacramental System;'' and ''Lectures on the First Prayer-Book of Edward VI''. Louis Harmon Peet. He objected to the entrance of girls into universities, because it was not "proper for young women to be exposed to the gaze of young men, many of whom were less bent upon learning than upon amusement." He was an hereditary companion of the

Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States The Military Order of the Loyal Legion of the United States (MOLLUS), or, simply, the Loyal Legion, is a United States military order organized on April 15, 1865, by three veteran officers of the Union Army. The original membership was consisted ...

. In 1880, he was subject to a sinister hoax that stretched over several months and became the subject of much comment in the New York City newspapers of the time. The arrest of the hoaxer (who was subsequently given a prison sentence) ended the incident. NSRW Morgan Dix

Personal life

On June 3, 1874 at the residence of the bride's mother, 22 West Seventeenth street, New York City, New York, Dix married Emily Wolsey Soutter. Her parents were James Taylor Soutter Sr. and Agnes Gordon Knox formerly of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

. Horatio Potter, Bishop of the Diocese officiated the ceremony.The New York Times (New York, New York), 4 Jun 1874, Thursday, Page 8. Together they had the following children: *John Adams Dix, a 1902 graduate of

Harvard Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher lear ...

who married Sophie W. Townsend, the granddaughter of Howard Townsend and Justine Van Rensselaer *Emily Margaret Gordon Dix, who married Charles Lanier Lawrance (1882–1950) in 1910 *Catherine Morgan Dix, who married William H. Wheelock On the north side of the Trinity Church is the All Saints’ Chapel, added in 1913 in honor of Dix, Rector from 1862-1908. A cenotaph (or memorial) in the likeness of Dix is in the entry to the Chapel.

Works

* ''The Holy Communion: a Sense of Unworthiness no Ground for Keeping back from It.'' (1859), * ''May I Come to the Holy Communion?'' (1860), * ''The Way of God in the Storm.'' (1861), * ''An Exposition of the Epistle of Saint Paul to the Romans: According to the Analogy of the Catholic Faith.'' (1862), * ''The Duty and Office of the Priest'' (1865), * ''The Book of Hours: In which are Contained Offices for the Seven Canonical Hours, Litanies, and Other Devotions'' (1866), * ''Lectures on the Two Estates; That of the Wedded in the Lord, and That of the Single for the Kingdom of Heaven's Sake.'' (1872), * ''A Plea for Toleration.'' (1874), * ''Lectures on the First Prayer Book of King Edward VI.'' (1881), * ''Lectures on the Calling of a Christian Woman, and Her Training to Fulfil it, Delivered during the Season of Lent,'' (1883), * ''The Sacramental System Considered as the Extension of the Incarnation'' (1893), * ''Blessing and Ban from the Cross of Christ: Meditations on the Seven Words on the Cross'' (1894), * ''Three Guardians of Supernatural Religion'' (1901), * ''The Creed: A Full and Sufficient Statement of the Christian Faith.'' (1905).

References

Notes Bibliography * * Swanberg, W. A. (1968) ''The Rector and the Rogue'' New York: Charles Scribner's Sons.

External links

Bibliographic Directory on Morgan Dix
at

Project Canterbury Project Canterbury (sometimes abbreviated as PC) is an online archive of material related to the history of Anglicanism. It was founded by Richard Mammana, Jr. in 1999 with a grant from Episcopal Church Presiding Bishop Frank T. Griswold, and is ...

Morgan Dix records at Trinity Wall Street Archives
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dix, Morgan 1827 births 1908 deaths American Episcopal priests American religious writers American Episcopal theologians Columbia College (New York) alumni Place of birth missing General Theological Seminary alumni 19th-century American Episcopalians 19th-century American Christian clergy Sacramental theology American sermon writers 19th-century Anglican priests 19th-century Anglican theologians Episcopalians from New York (state) American Episcopal clergy 19th-century Anglican bishops in the United States