William Dawson was appointed commissary following Blair's death. Many
historians of Virginia believe that the Reverend John Clayton served briefly
as the colony's first commissary. As for a bishop of North America, some
documents suggest that ca. 1723 Bishop Gibson wanted to make Blair the
suffragan bishop of North America: “His L[or]d[sh]p seems fully convinced of
the Expediency of having Suffragan B[isho]ps on your Side of the Water, and if
Mr. Blair were on this Side now, I believe he would not return without such a
Character if he would accept it.” And Gibson apparently planned to use the
commissariat as a means of getting the colonists to accept a bishop: "They
having been already used to a Commissary, A Bishop will come in upon them more
insensibly.”
As commissary, Blair faced significant opposition from the parish
vestries. The church in Virginia had been ignored by the Crown and the Church
for nearly 65 years when Bishop Compton appointed Clayton commissary. When
Blair filled the post about five years later, vestries were extraordinarily
reluctant to relinquish any of their powers. Blair also faced opposition from
the clergy. They challenged the validity of his ordination. They suspected
he was most interested in "worldly concerns" than piety and pastoral care.
They also realized that he held his appointment at the pleasure of the current
bishop of London and had to be reappointed each time a new man was elevated or
translated to the see. On at least one occasion wayward clergy refused to
submit to discipline at Blair's hands because a new bishop of London had not
yet reappointed Blair as commissary. Another factor that limited Blair's
power was his approach to solving problems. Rather than rely on persuasion
(and he was a gifted writer who could use this approach when he chose to),
Blair tended to rely on the authority of his position in an overbearing
manner.
Edward L. Bond
Alabama A&M University
>===== Original Message From Discussion of research and writing about Virginia
history <[log in to unmask]> =====
>Linda: Thanks for the clarification on Blair -- I always assumed his
>ecclesiastical authority was most limited by the power exercised at the
>local parish level by vestries, but you're saying that the position
>itself was more one of reportage to the Bishop of London than his agent
>-- do I have that right?
>Here's another question, did anyone replace Blair as commissary after
>his death? I know there was an on-going debate about the establishment
>of a bishop for British North America in the late colonial period -- an
>unpopular sugestion to the vestries which reasonably feared a
>diminishment of their autonomy should a bishop be appointed.
>
>David Kiracofe
>
>David Kiracofe
>History Department
>MAK 1060
>Grand Valley State University
>Allendale, MI 49401
>[log in to unmask]
>>> [log in to unmask] 03/31/05 11:01 AM >>>
>The English Act of toleration came in 1689 after the Glorious
>Revolution. Virginia's General Assembly cited the English Act of
>Toleration in a 1699 statute, by which time burgesses had long since
>made concessions to Quakers in Virginia, such as allowing them to affirm
>rather than swear oaths in court.
>
>Blair was certainly a force to be reckoned with, but his position as
>Commissary of the Bishop of London gave him only limited authority in
>church matters. Divinity students from the College of William and Mary
>had to go to England for ordination, and Blair did not have the ability
>to consecrate churches, confirm the newly catechized, control vestries,
>or regulate colonial clergy.
>
>Linda H. Rowe
>Historical Research
>Colonial Williamsburg Foundation
>757-220-7443
>
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