New-York tribune., 1919-05-20

dren at Elmsford, N. Y. To maintain
and to conduct all these and other
activities, the church had-as it needed
"a budget of more than s2OO.OoC 4
year.
He Watched the Details
Of this great and complex institution
and its multifarious activities, DR..
Greer might we'll have said that all of
it he saw and a great part of it he
was. He saw every detail of it. with
the eye not of a curious but detached
observer. but with the penetrating
vision of a responsible and authorita
tive supervisor. To every detail of it,
too, he gave the impulse and the i'm
press of his tactful, masterful, in
domitable personality.
At the same time he ranked among
the foremost preachers in a city rich
in ecclesiastical orators, and he found
time and strength to pay large de-
gree of, attention to civic affairs. His
conception of a Christian priest was
that of man interested in everything
that concerned humanity. 1t is not to
be wondered at that when there came
to him in the midst of such work the
three successive calls to the episcopacy
he returned the reply of Nehemiah to
Sanballat and Geshem: 81 am doing a
great work, so that I cannot come
down"
There came in time, however, call
which he could not decline, since it
meant not abandonment of his work
60
ment from a metropolitan parish to the
metropolitan diocese. He had been
rector of st. Bartholomew for fifteen
years when, in the autumn of 1908, the
Diocese Of New York decided to assist
the venerable Bishop Potter with a
coadjutor, and the election fell upon
DR.. Greer.
Call Was Unanimous
The circumstances were unique. The
nomination was made in the conven-
ton by DR.. Morgan Dix, the famous
rector of Trinity Church and the leader
of the High Church" party in the dio-
cese; 1t was seconded by DR.. William
R. Huntington. the equally famous rec
tor of Grace Church and the chef ex-
ponent of "Low Church" principles,
and the election was made by the
unanimous vote of the convention.
Such call could not be declined.
II did not seek it," said DR.. Greer,
truly, "and did not want it. But YOU
have called me-"
That was on September 23, 1903. He
remained at ST. Bartholomew's for
some months, until January 26 follow
ing. when he was consecrated coadiu-
tor Bishop of New York In that ca
pacity he worked most efficiently and
harmoniously with his associate and
chief, DR.. Henry Goldman Potter. until
the lamented death of the latter on july
21, 1908. Then he automatically sue
ccedcd him as bishop of the Protestant
Episcopal diocese of New York.
In that office he was the same man
that ne was as rector of st. Barthclo-
news He sought to extend through
out all parishes in some measure
Of the practical works in which he had
been so deeply interested there. He
remained as approachable as ever; and
his keen and active interest
in social and civic affairs. Even in per-
sonal garb he generally eschewed the
dlstinctively clerical attire and pre-
Ierred to appear the unpretentious, but
dlgnified and cultivated, man of af
fairs. He would not even wear an
episcopal ring or a pcctoral cross or
anything to distinguish him from Law
man. He was ever the hard worker
as bishop that he had been as rector
and the fruits of his energetic and
'actful labors were seen in great ad
'ancement of the interests of the
'hurch along lines which made for the
rood of the city, the state and the
lation.
DR.. Greer married, in 1869, Miss
caroline A. Keith, of Covington, KY.
ie received the degree of DID. from
Kenyon College, 1880; Brown Univer
ity, 1890; University of the South,
9O1, and Harvard University, 1915:
hat of STD. from Columbia Uni
ersity in 1904, and that of LID from
Washington and Jefferson College in