Papers of Phillips Brooks

Phillips Brooks was a prominent Episcopal clergyman. He was rector of Trinity Church, Boston (1868-1893), Bishop of Massachusetts (1891-1893), and had a long association with Harvard University.

Brooks was born on December 13, 1835 in Boston, Massachusetts to William Gray Brooks and Mary A. (Phillips) Brooks. Brooks was the second of six sons, four of whom entered the ministry. Brooks's family had settled in New England in the 1630s and had taken an active interest in the religious and educational interests of Massachusetts. Both sides of Brooks's family had produced Puritan clergymen. He was baptized in the First Church of Boston but at his mother's urging the Brooks's family became identified with the St. Paul's Episcopal Church.

After graduating from the Boston Latin School (1850), Brooks was admitted to Harvard College in 1851 at the age of sixteen. He excelled in languages, logic, and philosophy, graduating 13th out of a class of 66 in 1855. Brooks immediately accepted a post at the Boston Latin School in 1856 but soon became disenchanted with teaching and left after only six months. Urged by his former teachers at Harvard to enter the ministry, Brooks enrolled in the Virginia Theological Seminary in Alexandria, Virginia. Here he discovered his spiritual passion and a need to convey to others the life, spirit, and power of Jesus Christ.

Brooks began his religious ministry in Philadelphia in 1859 as a deacon for the Church of the Advent. He was an impressive preacher and his sermons and writings were noted for their power of thought and poetic expression. In 1862 Brooks became the rector for the Church of the Holy Trinity, again in Philadelphia. Here he voiced his support for the Union cause during the Civil War and his sermon in 1865 in honor of the martyred Abraham Lincoln attracted wide attention. Shortly after, Brooks was invited to present a prayer at Harvard University's commencement exercises in honor of those Harvard community members who had fought in the war. Brooks's presentation impressed the Harvard audience and further cemented his reputation as a prominent preacher. Growing in stature, Brooks returned to Boston in 1869 as rector of Trinity Church. There he was to remain for the next twenty-five years.

Brooks was a prominent member of the Broad Church Movement in the Episcopal Church. His sermons, poetic rather than analytical, promised a full and joyous life to those who accepted Jesus Christ. Moreover, Brooks hoped to make the Christian faith relevant to the changing conditions of the modern world. His Trinity Church sermons attracted large audiences and were noted for their evangelical spirit. People flocked to hear Brooks speak and he lectured around the country. His sermons Lectures on Preaching (Yale Divinity School, 1877) and The Influence of Jesus (Philadelphia, 1879) were well received. In 1880, Brooks became the first American to preach at Westminster Abbey and to the Queen of England at the Royal Chapel at Windsor. In 1890, he gave a series of sermons during the Lenten season in the Trinity Church of New York. Brooks saw religion as a part of the natural life of humans and he inspired men and women to apply the moral principles that he sermonized about in his preaching to their own lives. At the height of his influence in 1891, Brooks was elected Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church in Massachusetts. He held this post until his death two years later.

Alongside his religious activities, Brooks continued his relationship with the Harvard community. As a member of the Board of Overseers (1870-1891), Brooks supported the establishment of volunteer religious worship on campus, simplified school regulations, and acted as a councilor and mentor to many members of the student body. He served as an Episcopal preacher to Harvard University (1881-1891) and was a member of the Board of University Preachers (1886-1891). Every three weeks in the early spring and autumn, Brooks would deliver prayers in the morning and on Sunday evenings.

Phillips Brooks died in Boston on January 23, 1893.

Conclusion

Phillips Brooks was considered the most outstanding American preacher of Harvard's Victorian Age. An imposing figure at 6 feet four inches and 300 pounds, Brooks was recognized for his clear thinking, energetic presentations, and for the sincerity of his convictions. His compelling sermons were described as full of humanity, broad, tender, and helpful to those seeking religious direction.

On the day of his funeral, thousands of people flocked to Trinity Church to pay their last respects to Brooks, the Boston Stock Exchange and Boston shops closed in the morning, and the City of Boston held a special memorial service in his honor. In the following weeks, sermons of commemoration were given around the country and in England.

The ensuing years saw several more honors bestowed upon Phillips Brooks. In 1900, the Harvard community opened the Phillips Brooks House, named in honor of their departed preacher, dedicated to piety, charity, and hospitality. A wooden pulpit inscribed with his name was placed in Memorial Church. In later years, a bronze statue was erected near Trinity Church in Boston, a memorial window was placed in Saint Margaret's Church in Westminster, England, and in 1905 a tablet in memory of Brooks was given to the Virginia Theological Seminary. Finally, in January 1961, almost 70 years after his death, Brooks passing was recognized and mourned by 20,000 people outside of Trinity Church.

Brooks easily wrote verse and may best be remembered as the author of the Christmas carol (1868), O Little Town of Bethlehem, written after a trip to the Holy Land, and held by his church in perpetual possession.