New-York tribune., 1919-04-14

came to his church to see him face to
face and to sit under the spell Of his
voice.
There was nothing sensational about
his methods or about any phase of his
ministry. His success was built upon
painstaking effort. 1t was no momen-
tary triumph, for no less than four op-
portunities came to him to be elevated
to the bishopric.
Finally. in the New York diocesan
convention, when Bishop Henry Cod
man Potter, then very feeble, had re
questcd episcopal assistance. the Rev
DR.. Morgan Dix, rector of Trinity
Parish, nominated DR.. Greer. The nom
ination was seconded by the Rev. Dr.
William II. Huntington, rector of
Grace Church. The significance of the
emergcncc of these two rectors as ad-
vocates of Dr.. Greer is apparent when
it is stated that DR.. Dix was the ac-
knowlcdged leader of the High Church
party within the diocese and DR.. Hunt
inEton OF the Low Church faction
In DR.. Greer they had found a man
upon whom they could agree. He was
elected bishop coadjutor, which, ac-
cording to Episcopal Church practice
meant cum jurc succosoncs, or with
the right Of succession. SO in due
time Bishop Greer became the head of
the New York diocese, the most i'm
portant in the church.
Parish Strengthened
At the time of his election, in 1904.
he had transformed St. artholemew's
from a weak and struggling parish
into one of the strongest in the citv.
Its strength is best illustrated bv
figures There were 2,545 communi-
cants and 452 members of a Swedish
Chapel whic had been started during
his incumbe. y. The annual income
OF st. Bartholomew exceeded $500
600 Finally he turned over to the
church parish house, one of the larg-
est parish church institutions in
America. This house conducted an
employment agency, boys and girls
clubs, surgical clinic, an eye and ear
dispensary, loan association and n
penny provident fund, a free coal and
wood depot, roof garden, q seaside
cottage for children, and grocery
store whero foodstuffs were sold to
the poor at cost.
1t was with tears in his eyes that
Bishop Greer accepted the call to the
coadjutorship. To the notification
committee he said: ~ was happy and
contented in my field of work and
hoped in that field l would fill up the
tIO
and my fellow men. 1t breaks nv
heart to leave it, But you have called
me-"
Conventions Disregarded
The new Bishop Coadjuter showed
his disregard for conventions by de-
clining to receive an episcopal ring
and pectoral cross, explaining that
he already had ring which would
serve all the purposes of ceremony
and emphasizing that he would moi
wear the cross in any circumstance
These symbols of office, he said. were
out Of date, and especially out of keep
ing with the layman's attire which he
would continue to wear
Geographically Bishop Greer repre-
sents no single section. He was born
in Wheeling, w. Va, March 20, 1914,
received his education at WASHINGTON
and Jefferson College, Pennsvlvnnia
and Kenyon College, Ohio, following
which he studied tor the ministry
at the Protestant Episcopal Seminary.
Gambler, Ohio.
In 1866 he was made deacon by Bishop
Bedell, and was ordained a priest
in 1868 by Bishop Whipple, of Virginia.
Following his ordination he served in
pulpits in Clarksburg, W. Va. and
Covington, KY. From Covington he
went to Providence.
Recently Bishop Greer has assumed
place Of leadership among the advo-
Gates Of church unity. This afternoon
and every afternoon this week cxccpt
Saturday Il minister Of some Commu-
nion other than the PROTESTANT Episco
PAL will occupy the pulpit of the ca
thcdral OF st. John the divine. A
priest of the Roman Catholic Church
was invited
Despite the fact that on March 90 he
celebrated his scvcnty-tifth birthday.
and that tho duties OF his high once
are constantly increasing, Bishop Greer
finds time and inclination to keep
abreast Of world movements and some
times nhoad of them
He has studied the social unrest in
parts Of Europe and tho predicted
unrest in America, but no views the
situation with conviction that the
"old-f fashioned, tolerant. liberal, patri-
otic Amcricnnism" Ia a sure means Of
coping with whatever Tendencies NAV