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

Biography

He was born in Wheeling, Virginia, (now West Virginia), graduated from

Washington College Washington College is a private liberal arts college in Chestertown, Maryland. Maryland granted Washington College its charter in 1782. George Washington supported the founding of the college by consenting to have the "College at Chester" name ...

(Pa.) in 1862, and studied at the Protestant Episcopal Seminary, Gambier,

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

. Ordained a priest in 1868, he was rector successively at

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(1868–1871),

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(1871–1888), and

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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 Clergy are formal leaders within established religions. Their roles and functions vary in different religious traditions, but usually involve presiding over specific rituals and teaching their religion's doctrines and practices. Some of the ter ...

and

laymen In religious organizations, the laity () — individually a layperson, layman or laywoman — consists of all members who are not part of the clergy, usually including any non-ordained members of religious orders, e.g. a nun or a lay brother. ...

. In 1913, he celebrated a service for the

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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 The Metropolitan Museum of Art, colloquially referred to as the Met, is an Encyclopedic museum, encyclopedic art museum in New York City. By floor area, it is the List of largest museums, third-largest museum in the world and the List of larg ...

. In 1914, Bishop Greer was appointed president of the

Church Peace Union The Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs is a New York City–based 501(c)(3) public charity serving international affairs professionals, teachers and students, and the attentive public. Founded in 1914, and originally named ''Ch ...

.Snape, Michael. ''A Church Militant: Anglicans and the Armed Forces from Queen Victoria to the Vietnam War''.

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, 2022; (pg. 147) Prior to 1917, Greer caused controversy by expressing opposition to US involvement in

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. However, after the United States entered the war, Greer endorsed the war effort as a "great crusade against tyranny and aggression". On January 14, 1915, he officiated at the society wedding of a future bishop, the Rev.

G. Ashton Oldham George Ashton Oldham (August 15, 1877 – April 7, 1963David Walsh, "Independence Day", Blog at DA Words, se Retrieved January 8, 2009.) was the third bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Albany in the United States from 1929 to 1950, during the tu ...

, to debutante Emily Pierrepont Gould at the

Cathedral of St. John the Divine The Cathedral of St. John the Divine (sometimes referred to as St. John's and also nicknamed St. John the Unfinished) is the cathedral of the Episcopal Diocese of New York. It is at 1047 Amsterdam Avenue in the Morningside Heights neighborhoo ...

."Numerous Entertainments for the Debutantes", ''New-York Tribune'', December 20, 1914, pg. 8. Found a
Library of Congress website
Retrieved July 31, 2012. 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 Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the city of Poughkeepsie. The county was created in 1683, one of New York's first twelve counties, and later o ...

, was renamed "

Greer School Founded in 1906, Hope Farm was a home and school for disadvantaged children in Dutchess County, New York Dutchess County is a county in the U.S. state of New York. As of the 2020 census, the population was 295,911. The county seat is the ...

Publications

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

References

External links

Bibliographic directory
from

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 ...

Other sources

* Episcopal bishops of New York Religious leaders from New York City American religious writers 1844 births 1919 deaths Washington & Jefferson College alumni 19th-century American Episcopal priests Cathedral of St. John the Divine {{US-Anglican-bishop-stub