1865-1916
| 1865 | Philips Brookes of Boston rides on horseback from Jerusalem to Bethlehem; writes “O Little Town of Bethlehem”. |
| 1867 | The House of Bishops condemns “the usages of the Anglo-Catholics”. |
| 1867 | The first Lambeth Conference. |
| 1874 | General Convention condemns the practice of elevation and adoration of the elements at the Eucharist. |
| 1878 | Opening of the School of Theology at the University of the South. |
| 1888 | Adoption of the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral at Lambeth. The Chicago Quadrilateral had been adopted in 1886. |
| 1892 | A revised Book of Common Prayer. |
| 1896 | Leo XIII, Bishop of Rome, declares “ordinations performed according to the Anglican rite are utterly invalid and altogether void.” |
William Reed Huntington (1838-1909) was the chief architect of the 1892 BCP. Like William Augustus Muhlenberg, he was greatly interested in the unity of the Episcopal Church, as well as in ecumenism. Drawing on writings of F. D. Maurice, Muhlenberg, and others, he proposed that the Church should have a few great structural ideas, with liberty of interpretation and limited dogma. He proposed four points for church unity: 1) the Holy Scriptures as the word of God; 2) the primitive creeds of the church (Apostles and Nicene) as the rule of faith; 3) two sacraments of baptism and Eucharist; and 4) the historic episcopate, locally adapted, as the keystone of governmental unity. These were adopted with modifications at Lambeth in 1888 as the Chicago-Lambeth Quadrilateral.
From 1892-1911, William Porcher DuBose, dean of the School of Theology at the University of the South, writes major treatises on the New Testament, describing Scripture in Chalcedonian terms as being both human and divine. Like the modern Paleo-Orthodox theologians, he taught that the writings of the great Ecumenical Councils should be studied carefully. He also was an advocate of church unity and the ecumenical movement.
| 1866 | Saint Paul’s Church is vandalized, the carpets having been removed to the yard and several lamps taken away. Daniel Thomas is later convicted of this crime and sentenced to the chain gang for 12 months and fined $200. |
| 1866 | Parishioners of Saint Paul’s who have made permanent residences on The Hill, (a.k.a. Summerville) form an association for the purpose of building a new church. The Reverend William H. Clarke, Rector of Saint Paul’s, provides services. |
| 1866 | The Right Reverend Stephen Elliott, First Bishop of the Diocese of Georgia dies only a few days after visiting Augusta and is buried in Savannah on Christmas Day. |
| 1867 | The Reverend John Watrous Beckwith, Rector of Trinity Church, New Orleans, is elected Bishop of Georgia and was consecrated on April 2, 1868 in Savannah. He is a native of Raleigh, North Carolina. |
| 1869 | The Church of the Good Shepherd, Summerville, is admitted to the Diocese as a Parish. A board and batten Carpenter Gothic style building is erected on a lot donated by Artemas and Margaret (Gardner) Gould, formerly members of Saint Paul’s Church. Bishop Beckwith lays the cornerstone. |
| 1869 | “The first step toward the proposed enlargement and improvement of Saint Paul’s Church is nearly complete. The wall has been extended back sixteen feet, giving room for 26 new pews, and a more convenient chancel arrangement. The architectural beauty of the interior will be materially increased when the new windows are in place, the centre one being a memorial to the late Rector, Dr. Ford. We understand the church will be re-opened for public worship on Sunday, December 12th, the Vestry having decided to postpone the coloring of the walls and ceiling for the present, owing to the condition of the new plastering. Much interest is felt by the congregation in the mode for lighting the building from above, but we shall not speak further on this subject until the gas is on and we can see and judge from personal observation.” The Augusta Chronicle, December 4, 1869. (The group of Chancel Windows and the central panel with a figure of the Good Shepherd was given by the Ladies’ Aid Society in memory of The Reverend Edward Eugene Ford). |
| 1874 | A mission is started at Bel Air, 10 miles west of Augusta on the Georgia Railroad, and is principally served by the Reverend Edwin Gardner Weed of the Church of the Good Shepherd. A chapel is fitted out from what was formerly a stable. The Bel Air Mission becomes dormant in about 1885 with a shift of interest toward nearby Grovetown, which results in the erection of the Church of the Heavenly Rest in that village in 1889. |
| 1877 | The Reverend William H. Clarke dies and is buried under Saint Paul’s Church. Although a Northern man, he had served as Rector of Saint Paul’s faithfully during the Civil War. |
| 1878 | The Reverend Chauncy Camp Williams succeeds William H. Clarke as Rector of Saint Paul’s Church on January 13th. Williams is from New Orleans. |
| 1880 | Saint Paul’s is the fifth largest Episcopal Church in the Diocese, with 650 members and 360 communicants. The top six are: Saint Philip’s, Atlanta (2100-564), Christ, Savannah (1200-475), Saint John’s, Savannah (1017-452), Christ, Macon (900-334), Saint Paul’s, Augusta (650-360) and Trinity, Columbus (550-252). |
| 1882 | Christ Church is established as a mission of the Church of the Good Shepherd in the mill village of Harrisburg. The building is the original Church of the Good Shepherd, which was being replaced by a new brick structure. W. E. Platt, a member of Saint Paul’s Church, donates the lot. |
| 1886 | An earthquake centered in Charleston wrecks the interior of Saint Paul’s Church. |
| 1888 | Saint Paul’s Church is remodeled in reaction to the “Oxford Movement” in the church. Changes include the extension of the recessed chancel, in memory of The Reverend William H. Clarke, an extension of the Sunday School room, putting in a steam heater, new lighting fixtures, removal and renovation of the organ and other improvements. In addition paintings, statues and stained glass windows were installed. “Williams thought nothing was too good for the church.” The eagle lectern was given by The Reverend Oliver H. Raftery in memory of his wife, Mary Clarke Raftery, only daughter of The Reverend William H. Clarke. This was apparently when the Victorian Gothic millwork was installed in the church. |
| 1889 | Saint Mary’s Episcopal Church is now in operation thanks to a bequest in the last will and testament of former Saint Paul’s parishioner Mary G. Jones Harison, late wife of The Reverend William H. Harison (Rector of the Church of the Atonement) who died in 1863. Mrs. Harison wanted to establish a church for “colored” Episcopalians in Augusta. Saint Mary’s is located at 915 Telfair Street, and would later move to 1116 Twelfth Street in about 1928. |
| 1890 | Bishop Beckwith dies November 23, 1890. |
| 1891 | The Reverend Chauncy Camp Williams is nominated for Bishop of the Diocese of Georgia. The Reverend Thomas F. Gailor is actually elected, but declines to serve. The Reverend Cleland Kinloch Nelson, Rector of the Church of the Nativity, South Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, is subsequently elected and consecrated in Atlanta on February 24, 1892. |
| 1892 | Under the leadership of William F. Harris, organist, the first vested choir in Augusta consisting of 50 men and boys are now seated on both sides of the chancel. Previously a quartet sang behind a curtain in the rear gallery. |
| 1893 | The 1861 Jardine organ is extensively reworked by Farrand and Votey of Detroit at a cost of about $3,000. It would now have electric action, making an organ blower no longer necessary. However, as late as 1895, there are still problems with the newly renovated organ and problems continue with it into the new century. |
| 1901 | The Celtic Cross is erected in the rear of Saint Paul’s Churchyard by the Georgia Society, Colonial Dames of America to commemorate the founding of Augusta and the location of Fort Augusta. |
| 1906 | After writing and publishing a history of Saint Paul’s Church, The Reverend C. C. Williams resigns as Rector after 29 years of service. |
| 1907 | The Reverend George Sherwood Whitney becomes the Rector of Saint Paul’s on January 1st, and remains until his death in 1924. |
| 1907 | The Church Bells, a parish newsletter, begins publication, the first in the Diocese. |
| 1907 | The Diocese of Atlanta is created, dividing the northern part of Georgia from the southern portion of the state. Frank H. Miller, a parishioner of Saint Paul’s, is the Chancellor of the Diocese and legally guides the separation. Saint Paul’s Church joins with all other parishes in supporting the separation with the exception of Saint Luke’s Church, Hawkinsville. |
| 1908 | Saint Paul’s is the third largest church in number of communicants in the Diocese of Georgia (now excluding the Diocese of Atlanta). Christ, Savannah (698), Saint John’s, Savannah (616), Saint Paul’s, Augusta (465), Saint Paul’s, Savannah (356), Saint Mark’s, Brunswick (306), Good Shepherd, Augusta (240), Saint Paul’s, Albany (237). All other parishes in the Diocese had less than 100 communicants. Augusta area missions (with number of communicants) were Christ (115), Saint Mary’s (19), Saint Andrew’s (7) and the Church of the Heavenly Rest, Grovetown (4). |
| 1908 | The Reverend Frederick Focke Reese, Rector of Christ Church, Nashville, Tennessee, is elected new Bishop of the Diocese of Georgia, Bishop Nelson having gone with the new Diocese of Atlanta. Reese would remain Bishop until his death in 1936. At the same convention, William K. Miller of Saint Paul’s, Augusta, is elected Chancellor of the Diocese of Georgia. He is the son of the former Chancellor, Frank H. Miller. William K. Miller would later author a history of Saint Paul’s drawing largely upon and adding to the one written by C. C. Williams in 1906. |
| 1912 | The cornerstone of the new Parish House is laid on June 11. The total cost of the new building is about $16,000. In 1915 the church still owes a debt of $2,400 for construction costs associated with the Parish House. |
| 1912 | A new window is dedicated on December 15th to the memory of Harriet Phinizy Mays by her mother, Mrs. Charles H. Phinizy. |
| 1913 | A cover for the baptismal font made of oak and brass is dedicated to the memory of Mr. W. H. Crane, late beloved Senior Warden of the church. |
| 1913 | In response to several floods of the Savannah River, most notably in 1888 and 1908, the City of Augusta begins the construction of the Savannah River Levee on top of Bay Street, which is the northern boundary of Saint Paul’s Churchyard. |
| 1913 | Miss Eliza Phinizy leads a group of ladies by opening a Tea Room for the benefit of the Parish House Fund. The Tea Room is located on Jackson Street (now 8th), three doors from the Grand Opera House. |
| 1914 | “The Pilcher Organ Company of Louisville, Kentucky is now at work on our organ, trying to put it in such condition as will last us another year or two. We do not propose to spend any more on it than is absolutely necessary to keep it going until we can see our way to the purchase of a new one.” |
| 1916 | Saint Paul’s Church is destroyed by fire in the great Augusta conflagration of March 22. |
