William Laurence Sullivan

William Laurence Sullivan

William Laurence Sullivan (November 15, 1872—October 5, 1935) was an American Unitarian clergyman, prolific author and literary critic, whose "Letters to His Holiness, Pope Pius X" (1910), was the last work by a U.S. author to have been placed on Vatican's list of prohibited books ("Index Librorum Prohibitorum").

A native of East Braintree, Massachusetts, Sullivan was born only a year after his parents had emigrated from the Irish town of Bandon in County Cork. Intent on becoming a priest, he studied, between 1892 and 1896, at Boston College and St. John's Seminary in the Brighton section of Boston. Ordained as a Paulist priest in 1899, he served the Church for ten years until, unable to accept its authoritarianism and its prohibition of Modernist thought, he resigned and, while living in Cleveland, became a member of the Unitarian Church.

In 1912, his first year as a Unitarian minister, Sullivan fulfilled duties at All Souls Church in Schenectady, New York, moving, the following year, to New York City's All Souls Church in Manhattan, where he remained for the next nine years, until 1922. During this period he also spent six years as a book reviewer for one of the most prestigious of the city's many daily newspapers, The Herald Tribune. Renowned for the eloquence of his sermons, he was much in demand as a speaker, especially after another of the city's papers, "The Evening Post", started publishing his sermons. An indefatigable preacher, he delivered over forty sermons during a single month in 1916, while traveling in the West Coast for the Church. At the close of his service in New York, he spent the following two years, 1922–24, preaching in 23 missions across the U.S. and Canada. During the 1920s, he led and participated in numerous theological discussions, disagreements and controversies regarding theism and the encroachment of humanism, which he opposed. From 1924 to 1928 he served as pastor in Missouri at St. Louis' Church of the Messiah, taught at Meadville Theological School and traveled as a lecturer.

William Laurence Sullivan married Estelle Throckmorton in 1913, and the marriage lasted twenty-two years, until his death, in Germantown, Pennsylvania, six weeks prior to his 63rd birthday. In 1929 he had accepted the Germantown ministry, his final one, where, after six years as a pastor, he was memorialized as "...towering in his ability to lift and to lead, yet warmly near in his tender concern for the smallest human suffering; a man oppressed by the problems of this world's evil, but radiant in his faith in a Kingdom yet to be".

References

*Sullivan, William Laurence. "Under Orders" (1944). Autobiography, published posthumously.

External links

* [http://www.hds.harvard.edu/library/bms/bms00467.html Papers of William Laurence Sullivan on repository at the Andover-Harvard Theological Library of the Harvard Divinity School]
* [http://www25.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/williamlaurencesullivan.html Fredette, Marc. "William Laurence Sullivan" on the Unitarian Universalist Historical Society website]
* [http://www.harvardsquarelibrary.org/uu_addenda/William-Laurence-Sullivan.php Harris, Mark W. "William Laurence Sullivan" in "Notable American Unitarians 1740–1900" from his "Historical Diction of Unitarian Universalism"]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Нужна курсовая?

Look at other dictionaries:

  • William Laurence Tierney — (* 6. August 1876 in Norwalk, Connecticut; † 13. April 1958 in Greenwich, Connecticut) war ein US amerikanischer Politiker. Zwischen 1931 und 1933 vertrat er den Bundesstaat Connecticut im US Repräsentantenhaus. Werdegang William Tierney… …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • William Sullivan — may refer to:*William C. Sullivan (1912 ndash;1977), United States security official *Billy Sullivan (American football) (1915 ndash;1998), owner of an original franchise, the Boston Patriots, of the American Football League *William H. Sullivan… …   Wikipedia

  • William Lawrence — or Bill Lawrence is a name shared by the following individuals:Political figures and noblemenEnglish and Australian*William Lawrence (Ripon MP) (circa 1723 ndash;1798), English Member of Parliament; Tory representing Ripon (1781 ndash;98) *Sir… …   Wikipedia

  • William Perkins (Puritan) — William Perkins (1558 1602) was a clergyman and Cambridge theologian who was one of the foremost leaders of the Puritan movement in the Church of England. Early lifePerkins was born to Thomas and Anna Perkins at Marston Jabbett in the parish of… …   Wikipedia

  • Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival — The Laurence Olivier Award for Best Musical Revival is an annual presentation by The Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial British musical theatre. From 1997 to 2007, the award was presented as Outstanding Musical …   Wikipedia

  • William Bridges-Adams (Theatre director) — For William Bridges Adams, author, inventor and railway engineer, see here. William Bridges Adams (1 March 1889–17 August 1965) was an English theatre director and designer, associated closely with the Shakespeare Memorial Theatre, Stratford upon …   Wikipedia

  • Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical — The Laurence Olivier Award for Best New Musical is an annual presentation by The Society of London Theatre in recognition of achievements in commercial British musical theatre. The awards were established as the Society of West End Theatre Awards …   Wikipedia

  • Chronology of stage, film and television performances given by Laurence Olivier — Laurence Olivier in the trailer for the film The Prince and the Showgirl (1957) This is a chronological list of the work of British actor Laurence Olivier, Baron Olivier. Although Olivier preferred the theatre, his film career flourished, making… …   Wikipedia

  • Arthur Sullivan — This article is about the composer. For the Australian soldier decorated with the VC, see Arthur Percy Sullivan. Arthur …   Wikipedia

  • Maureen O'Sullivan — Maureen O’Sullivan (* 17. Mai 1911 in Boyle, Irland; † 23. Juni 1998 in Scottsdale, Arizona) war eine irisch amerikanische Schauspielerin. Leben O Sullivan wuchs in London, Paris und Dublin auf. Ihr Vater war Major der britischen Armee. In London …   Deutsch Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”