Charles Chapman Grafton (April 12, 1830 – August 30, 1912) was the second
Episcopal Bishop of Fond du Lac, Wisconsin.
Early life and education
Born on April 12, 1830, in
Boston, Massachusetts,
[ ] he became an ardent supporter of the
Oxford Movement, an affiliation of
High Church
The term ''high church'' refers to beliefs and practices of Christian ecclesiology, liturgy, and theology that emphasize formality and resistance to modernisation. Although used in connection with various Christian traditions, the term originate ...
Anglicans
Anglicanism is a Western
Western may refer to:
Places
*Western, Nebraska, a village in the US
*Western, New York, a town in the US
*Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia
*Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia ...
that led to
Anglo-Catholicism
Anglo-Catholicism comprises beliefs and practices that emphasise the Catholic heritage and identity of the various Anglican churches.
The term was coined in the early 19th century, although movements emphasising the Catholic nature of Anglican ...
in
The Episcopal Church.
A graduate of
Phillips Academy, Andover in 1846, in 1853 Grafton graduated from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...
with a degree in law,
but he found himself drawn toward the ordained ministry. Grafton studied theology under
William Whittingham,
Bishop of Maryland, and was ordained deacon on Dec. 23, 1855.
Priesthood
Grafton began his ordained ministry as assistant at
Reisterstown, Maryland
Reisterstown is an unincorporated community and census-designated place in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. As of the 2010 census, it had a population of 25,968.
Founded by German immigrant John Reister in 1758, Reisterstown is located ...
.
On May 30, 1858, he was ordained priest.
He then served as curate at
St. Paul's Episcopal Church in Baltimore and chaplain of the deaconesses of the
Episcopal Diocese of Maryland
The Episcopal Diocese of Maryland forms part of Province 3 of the Episcopal Church in the United States of America. Having been divided twice, it no longer includes all of Maryland and now consists of the central, northern, and western Maryland c ...
.
At the close of the Civil War, Grafton went to Britain. With
Richard Meux Benson
Richard Meux Benson (6 July 1824 – 14 January 1915) was a priest in the Church of England and founder of the Society of St. John the Evangelist, the first religious order of monks in the Anglican Communion since the Reformation. He is commem ...
and
Simeon Wilberforce O'Neill he co-founded the
Society of St. John the Evangelist (SSJE), also known as the Cowley Fathers.
Grafton returned to the United States and, in 1872, became fourth rector of the
Church of the Advent in Boston. A jurisdictional dispute concerning Grafton's overseas religious superior led to his withdrawal from the SSJE. Grafton also helped establish the American Congregation of Saint Benedict; and in 1888 he was a founder of the
Sisterhood of the Holy Nativity, along with Mother Ruth Margaret.
Episcopate
Grafton was
consecrated bishop on April 25, 1889, at
the Cathedral Church of St. Paul the Apostle, Fond du Lac, Wisconsin by William E. McLaren,
Bishop of Chicago; Alexander Burgess,
Bishop of Quincy; and George F. Seymour,
Bishop of Springfield. During his tenure as bishop, Grafton spearheaded a great expansion the
Episcopal Diocese of Fond du Lac, much of it driven by contributing much of his own personal wealth and soliciting contributions from many of his wealthy friends back east. He also left behind a legacy of printed works, sermons and essays.
In 1900 Grafton was chief consecrator of
Reginald Heber Weller as
bishop coadjutor of Fond Du Lac. The liturgy of the consecration was controversial. The Russian Orthodox bishop of Alaska,
Saint Tikhon was present as well as of the
Polish National Catholic Church. Grafton was photographed with these other bishops wearing copes and miters (which was not widely accepted in the Episcopal Church at that time). The photo became known as the "
Fond du Lac Circus".
Bibliography
* C. C. Grafton, ''The Works of the Rt Rev Charles C. Grafton'', ed. B. T. Rogers (8 vols., 1914)
See also
*
List of Succession of Bishops for the Episcopal Church, USA
References
Sources
* ''A Sketch-book of the American Episcopate'', by Hermon Griswold Batterson (Philadelphia: J.P. Lippincott Company, 1891)
* ''The Episcopate in America'', by William Stevens Perry (New York: The Christian Literature Company, 1895)
* ''The Catholic Movement in the American Episcopal Church'' (2nd Ed) by George DeMille (Philadelphia: Church Historical Society, 1950)
* '' A History of the Episcopal Church'' by Robert Prichard (Harrisburg, PA: Morehouse Pub., 1999)
* E. C. Miller, 'Bishop Grafton of Fond du Lac and the Orthodox Church', in ''Sobornost''; 4:1 (1982), p. 38-48
External links
*
Documents by and about Graftonfrom
Project Canterbury
Fond Du Lac Circusfrom the
Episcopal Diocese of Fond du Lac
Bishop Grafton InstituteCharles Chapman Grafton, Second Bishop of Fond du Lacfrom
The Living Church
''The Living Church'' is a magazine based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, providing commentary and news on the Episcopal Church and the wider Anglican Communion. In continuous publication since 1878, it has generally been identified with the Anglo-Catho ...
, by Richard Mammana
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grafton, Charles Chapman
1830 births
1912 deaths
Clergy from Boston
People from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin
Anglo-Catholic bishops
Religious leaders from Wisconsin
19th-century Anglican bishops in the United States
20th-century Anglican bishops in the United States
Harvard University alumni
American Anglo-Catholics
Phillips Academy alumni
Episcopal bishops of Fond du Lac