Leighton Parks

Last updated

Leighton Parks (10 February 1852-21 March 1938) [1] was a liberal American Protestant Episcopal clergyman. He was born in New York City and graduated from the General Theological Seminary in 1876. Ordained a priest the next year, from 1878 to 1904 he was the third rector of Emmanuel Church, Boston. He then became rector of St. Bartholomew's Church, New York, succeeding David H. Greer, who had been elected Bishop of the diocese. He was "a militant defender of theological modernism who denied the Virgin birth and defied the Bishops of his church to unfrock him for heresy". [1] Dr. Parks, who became noted for his direct and uncompromising preaching to one of the wealthiest congregations in the country, published The Winning of the Soul and Other Sermons (1893) and Moral Leadership and Other Sermons (1914). He first came to widespread attention when he "made a spirited attack" on the Roman Catholic Church, claiming it sought "political domination and a war with Great Britain". [1] Mrs. Cornelius Vanderbilt Sr. ceased to worship at St. Bartholomew's following Parks's attacks on conservative elements within his own church. On the more-diplomatic side, in 1908, Parks convened a dinner meeting of New York church musicians, which continues to this day as St. Wilfrid Club, a longstanding organization of prominent organists. [2]

In 1878, Parks married Margaret Alden Haven, an expatriate then living in Geneva, Switzerland, and they became the parents of at least three daughters. He was living with his daughter Alice Margareta Parks, wife of Sir John Nicholson Barran, 2nd Bt, in London at the time of his death.

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Phillips Brooks</span> American clergyman and author

Phillips Brooks was an American Episcopal clergyman and author, long the Rector of Boston's Trinity Church and briefly Bishop of Massachusetts. He wrote the lyrics of the Christmas hymn, "O Little Town of Bethlehem".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright (bishop)</span> English bishop

Jonathan Mayhew Wainwright I was a provisional Episcopal bishop in Manhattan, New York City.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harry Lee Doll</span>

Harry Lee Doll, was bishop of the Episcopal diocese of Maryland during the turmoil concerning civil rights for minorities and women in the 1960s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">David H. Greer</span>

David Hummell Greer was an American Protestant Episcopal bishop.

The St. Wilfrid Club is a dining club for organists of recognized standing in the greater New York City and tri-state area. The object of the club is to promote social discourse among its members and to further the interests of organists.

Bartholomew Joseph Eustace was an American prelate of the Catholic Church. He served as the first bishop of the Diocese of Camden in New Jersey from 1938 until his death.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Alfred Lee (bishop)</span> American Episcopal bishop

Alfred Lee was an American Episcopal bishop. He was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts, graduated from Harvard in 1827, and after three years practicing law in New London, Connecticut, he studied for the ministry, graduating from the General Theological Seminary, New York, in 1837. He was rector of Calvary Church, in Rockdale, Pa., from 1838 to 1841, when he was chosen as the first Bishop of Delaware. In 1842 he also became rector of St. Andrew's, Wilmington. He was a member of the American Committee for the Revision of the New Testament (1881). In 1884 he succeeded Bishop Smith as presiding bishop of the Episcopal church.

John Heylyn was an Anglican divine, who had a major influence on religious thought in eighteenth century England. Because of his interest in mysticism he was known as the Mystic Doctor.

Thomas Westfield was an English churchman, Bishop of Bristol and member of the Westminster Assembly.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">St. Bartholomew's Episcopal Church (Atlanta)</span> Church in Atlanta, Georgia

St. Bartholomew's is an Episcopal parish in Atlanta, Georgia, which is notable for its ministries, choral music, and architecture.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">George Zabriskie Gray</span>

George Zabriskie Gray was a notable clergyman, educator and theologian of the Episcopal Church in the United States.

Lauriston Livingston Scaife was bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Western New York from 1948 to 1970.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cameron Mann (bishop)</span>

Cameron Mann was the third bishop of North Dakota and the first bishop of South Florida in The Episcopal Church. He was the author of The Comments at the Cross: Six Lent Sermons.

Dean Elliott Wolfe is the rector of the historic St. Bartholomew's Church in New York City. Previously, he served as the ninth Bishop of Kansas between 2004 and 2017.

Warren Lincoln Rogers was bishop of the Episcopal Diocese of Ohio from 1930 to 1938; he had served previously as coadjutor from 1925 to 1930. The Wa-Li-Ro Episcopal Choir Camp was named for him.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hutchens Chew Bishop</span> American theologian

The Reverend Dr. Hutchens Chew (H.C.) Bishop was an Episcopal priest who spent most of his career in New York City. He was rector of St. Philip's Episcopal Church in Harlem for 47 years. The church is the oldest black Episcopal parish in New York. The church was founded by abolitionists who laid the first stone in 1819.

The Reverend Arthur Buxton was a clergyman of the Church of England, Rector of All Souls Church, Langham Place, Marylebone, after serving as Chaplain to the Forces during the First World War.

William Ambrose Brown was an American bishop who served as the fourth Bishop of Southern Virginia between 1938 and 1950.

George Herbert Moffett was a prominent American Anglo-Catholic priest and Ritualist leader. Born in Cincinnati, he was graduated from Trinity College, Hartford and the General Theological Seminary in New York (1881) before ordination to the diaconate on June 12, 1881, by Bishop Horatio Potter of the Episcopal Diocese of New York.

References

  1. 1 2 3 "Dr. Leighton Parks Dead in London, 86", The New York Times, New York, 22 March 1938
  2. Smith, Rollin. "The History of the St. Wilfrid Club", The American Organist 42 (10), October 2008