This book - Centro de Estudos Anglicanos

268ONDERDONK, HENRY USTICKHenry U. Onderdonk, a theologically astute but controversial bishop, was bornin New York City, the son of a physician and the elder brother of Benjamin T.Onderdonk,* who also was an Episcopal bishop. After graduating from ColumbiaCollege in 1805, he studied medicine in Edinburgh and London, eventually receivingan M.D. from the University of Edinburgh. Returning to the United Statesin 1811, he briefly practiced medicine but then decided to pursue a career in theordained ministry of the Episcopal Church instead. He received theological instructionfrom John Henry Hobart,* the bishop of New York, and consequentlyhe strongly identified with the high church party of his denomination. Ordaineda deacon in 1815 and a priest in 1816, Onderdonk served as a missionary inCanandaigua in western New York from 1815 to 1820 and as the rector of St.Ann’s Church, Brooklyn, from 1820 to 1827. In a hotly contested election betweenthe high church and evangelical factions in the church, he was electedassistant bishop of Pennsylvania in 1827. He became the bishop of the diocesewhen William White* died in 1836, but the unpleasantness produced by his electionwas still present.Onderdonk was known as one of the outstanding ecclesiastical scholars of hisday. Beginning in 1818 with the publication of his An Appeal to the ReligiousPublic, he ably defended Episcopal theology and practice against the conversionorientedpiety of American evangelicalism. In the late 1820s, he engaged in adebate over the qualifications of Charles Pettit McIlvaine,* who succeeded himas rector of St. Ann’s in Brooklyn. Onderdonk charged that McIlvaine was a“promoter of schemes that would blend us with the Presbyterians,” meaning thathe was not sufficiently committed to the theological uniqueness of the EpiscopalChurch. In other books, Onderdonk articulated high church ideas about baptismalregeneration—An Essay on Regeneration (1835)—and examined the biblical originsof the office of bishop—Episcopacy Tested by Scripture (1831) and EpiscopacyExamined and Re-examined (1835). He also wrote poetry, composing anumber of hymns that were popular during the nineteenth century.Onderdonk’s high church sympathies led him to support the Oxford movementin the early 1840s, but that stance further exacerbated the partisan tensions alreadyexisting in his diocese. Unfortunately, because he was subject to chronic intestinalproblems, he had become addicted to the brandy that had been medically prescribedto relieve his pain. This situation created such a scandal that he was forcedto write to his fellow bishops in 1844 and confess his addiction. Because themajority of his evangelical critics were also temperance advocates, the issues ofalcoholism and churchmanship were closely related as they considered Onderdonk’scharacter. Whatever the exact reason for his troubles in Pennsylvania, theHouse of Bishops chose to suspend him indefinitely from his office as diocesanbishop. This sentence stayed in effect until 1856. However, despite being allowedto function again in a ministerial capacity, Onderdonk was never restored to theposition of episcopal leadership. He continued to reside in Philadelphia until hisdeath in 1858.