William Edward McLaren

The Right Reverend

William Edward McLaren

D.D., D.C.L., LL.D
Bishop of Chicago
ChurchEpiscopal Church
DioceseChicago
ElectedSeptember 15, 1875
In office1875–1905
PredecessorHenry John Whitehouse
SuccessorCharles P. Anderson
Orders
OrdinationOctober 20, 1872
by Samuel A. McCoskry
ConsecrationDecember 8, 1875
by Samuel A. McCoskry
Personal details
BornDecember 15, 1831
Geneva, New York, United States
DiedFebruary 19, 1905(1905-02-19) (aged 73)
New York, New York, United States
BuriedRosehill Cemetery
41°59′08″N 87°41′05″W / 41.985564°N 87.684656°W / 41.985564; -87.684656
DenominationAnglican (prev. Presbyterian)
ParentsJohn Finley McLaren & Mary Bull McKay
SpouseMary Fake
Children3
SignatureWilliam Edward McLaren's signature

William Edward McLaren (December 15, 1831 - February 19, 1905) was the Bishop of Chicago (formerly Illinois) in the Episcopal Church from 1875 until his death in 1905.

Early life and education

McLaren was born on December 15, 1831, in Geneva, New York, the son of the Reverend John Finley McLaren, a Scottish Presbyterian minister. He was educated at the Western University of Pennsylvania and at the Jefferson College from where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts in 1851. In 1854 he earned his Master of Arts from Jefferson. Later he started teaching and was involved in journalism. He commenced studies for the ministry in 1857 at the Pittsburgh Theological Seminary, aiming to become a missionary in China. He was awarded a Doctor of Divinity from Racine College in 1873 while Sewanee: The University of the South awarded him with a Doctor of Civil Law in 1882.

Ordained ministry

McLaren was ordained a Presbyterian minister in 1860. He became engaged in missionary work in Bogotá, Colombia however he returned to the United States two years later due to ill health. In 1871 McLaren joined the Episcopal Church and on July 29, 1872, he was ordained a deacon in St. John's Church in Detroit. He was ordained a priest a few months later in October.

Episcopacy

McLaren's grave at Rosehill Cemetery

McLaren was elected Bishop of Illinois in 1875 and was consecrated on December 8, 1875, by the Bishop of Michigan Samuel A. McCoskry. He became the first bishop to hold the title of Bishop of Chicago after the name of the diocese was changed in 1877. He is remembered as being the founder of the Western Theological Seminary in Chicago, which opened in 1885 (and would merge in 1933 with Seabury Divinity School of Faribault, Minnesota, to form Seabury-Western Theological Seminary). He died in office in New York City on February 19, 1905, and was buried at Rosehill Cemetery in Chicago.[1]

Works

He was the author of several books, including The Practice of the Interior Life and Earnest Contention for the Faith:[1]

  • Catholic dogma, the antidote of doubt (1883),[2]
  • Earnest contention for the faith (1891),[3]
  • The practice of the interior life (1897),[4]
  • The holy priest (1899),[5]
  • Lenten soliloquies for private and public use (1904),[6]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Bishop McLaren Dead: Wife and Children at his Bedside when Death Came" (PDF). The New York Times. February 20, 1905. Retrieved December 13, 2013.
  2. ↑ McLaren, William Edward (1883). Catholic dogma, the antidote of doubt. The Library of Congress. New York, J. Pott & Co., Church publishers.
  3. ↑ McLaren, William Edward (1891). Earnest contention for the faith. University of Chicago. [Chicago].
  4. ↑ McLaren, William Edward (1897). The practice of the interior life. University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign. Milwaukee : The Young Churchman.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: publisher location (link)
  5. ↑ McLaren, William Edward (1899). The holy priest. Princeton Theological Seminary Library. Milwaukee : The Young Churchman; London : Sampson, Low, Marston.
  6. ↑ McLaren, William Edward (1904). Lenten soliloquies for private and public use. Milwaukee, The Young Churchman Co.


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