Today the Episcopal Church remembers William Porcher DuBose, a priest and a theologian, who has been called “the greatest theologian that the Episcopal Church in the USA has produced.” DuBose was born in South Carolina on 11 April 1836 and died on this day in 1918. He spent most of his career as a professor at the University of the South in Sewanee, Tennessee.
DuBose attended the Citadel (South Carolina Military College), and it was there that he experienced his “conversion experience”; he wrote:
I lept to my feet trembling, and then that happened that I can only describe by saying that a light shone about me and a Presence filled the room. At the same time, ineffable joy and peace took possession of me which it is impossible to either express or explain.
In 1856, DuBose entered the University of Virginia where he graduated with a Master of Arts in 1859. Later that same year, he entered the South Carolina diocesan seminary in Camden, South Carolina. It was during DuBose's seminary studies that the Civil War broke out. He served as a chaplain during the war.
After the war, DuBose served St. Stephen's Episcopal Church near his home of Winnsboro. While there, he also taught Greek at nearby Mt. Zion College.
In July 1871, DuBose's name was given to the Board of Trustees of the University of the South to serve as Chaplain of the School and Professor of the School of Moral Science and the Evidences of the Christian Religion. Among his work at the University of the South, DuBose helped to establish the Theology Department, which would later be known as the School of Theology at the University of the South. He served as professor there from 1877-1893. In 1894, DuBose was elected as Dean of the Theology Department where he served until 1908.
DuBose was arguably the major Episcopal theologian in the United States. During his lifetime he published The Soteriology of the New Testament (1892), The Ecumenical Councils (1896), The Gospel in the Gospels (1906), The Reason of Life (1911), and Turning Points in My Life (1912).
Here is a quote from one of DuBose’s articles:
God has placed forever before our eyes, not the image but the very Person of the Spiritual Man. We have not to ascend into Heaven to bring Him down, nor to descend into the abyss to bring Him up, for He is with us, and near us, and in us. We have only to confess with our mouths that He is Lord, and believe in our hearts that God has raised Him from the dead — and raised us in Him — and we shall live.
Let us pray: Almighty God, who gave to your servant William Porcher DuBose special gifts of grace to understand the Scriptures and to teach the truth as it is in Christ Jesus: Grant that by this teaching we may know you, the one true God, and Jesus Christ whom you have sent; who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit, one God, now and for ever. Amen.
CALENDAR REMINDERS
The Feast Day of St. Augustine and our 130th Anniversary: Sunday, 24 August 2014 with Eucharist Rite II and a brunch following. Please invite everyone to this festive and historic occasion.
Blessing of the Backpacks: Sunday, 31 August 2014.
Seaside Seniors: this Thursday of the month from 11:00 A.M. until the fun stops! The theme is “Cool Summer Salads.”
Please remember everyone on our Prayer List, especially Lee’s mother, Lee and his family, Gladys, Pat, Patricia, Lloyd, Liz, those in war torn areas, and for all those persecuted for their faith.
Your servant in Christ,
Fr. Chester J. Makowski+
St. Augustine of Hippo Episcopal Church
Galveston, Texas 77550
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