Alexander Garden (clergyman)
Alexander Garden was a prominent Anglican clergyman born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1685. He became a significant figure in colonial America, relocating to South Carolina in 1719, where he served as the rector of St. Philip's Church in Charleston, the oldest Anglican church south of Virginia. Garden was known for his opposition to the Great Awakening, a religious revival movement, and its leaders such as George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards. He maintained a more traditional theological stance, emphasizing the importance of good works and cautioning against the excesses of religious enthusiasm.
During his tenure, Garden faced various challenges, including conflicts with local Native American tribes and a religious rebellion. He also engaged in theological disputes with Whitefield, which culminated in the publication of "Six Letters to the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield," where he articulated his perspectives on faith and morality. Additionally, Garden defended the practice of slavery from a religious standpoint, arguing that mistreatment was uncommon and even establishing a school for enslaved individuals. After resigning as commissary in 1749, he continued as rector until 1754, eventually returning to Charleston after a brief time in England. He passed away in 1756 and is interred in the cemetery of St. Philip's Church.
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Alexander Garden (clergyman)
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- Born: 1685
- Birthplace: Edinburgh, Scotland
- Died: September 27, 1756
- Place of death: Charleston, South Carolina
Biography
Colonial American clergyman Alexander Garden was an outspoken Anglican opponent of the charismatic Great Awakening and its theological leaders, George Whitefield and Jonathan Edwards. Born in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1685 and educated at the University of Aberdeen, Garden traveled to South Carolina in 1719, the year that colony was established as a royal province. He quickly became the rector of the oldest Anglican church south of Virginia, St. Philip’s in Charleston, where he would spend the remainder of his ministerial career.
In 1726, he became the commissary of the parish, a general management position representing the bishop of London in the colonies. Garden exhibited administrative talents as commissary, holding annual meetings with the clergy during which he attempted to motivate them to righteousness and missionary work. Under his leadership the parish continued to grow and flourish, despite conflict with the native Yemassee tribes and a religious rebellion by the Scotch-Irish, in addition to hurricanes and an epidemic of yellow fever.
In the early 1740’s, as the Great Awakening was beginning, the Anglican clergyman George Whitefield visited Garden in Charleston and wrote a scathing pamphlet criticizing Garden’s reception of him. Garden had threatened Whitefield with suspension from the clergy because of his anti-Anglican rhetoric and refusal to use the Book of Common Prayer. Garden and Whitefield also disagreed on the issue of good works, which Garden felt were essential to a Christian life, although not necessary for salvation, and on the role of enthusiasm in faith. Garden strongly objected to the idea that conviction about God, or religious fervor, was a sign of piety and grace.
Garden had conducted interviews with the Dutartres family, a French protestant family in Marion County, South Carolina, who had been convicted of murder and incest. The family had been influenced by the traveling Pennsylvania priest, Michael Wolfhart, and they defended their actions by claiming they were directed by God and were following his instructions. Drawing on this experience and his own more deliberate theology, Garden objected to the Great Awakening’s emphasis on religious fervor, arguing that it was a kind of arrogance that could be easily used as an excuse for patently un-Christian behavior.
Garden summoned Whitefield before an ecclesiastical court, but Whitefield refused to acknowledge the authority of the court, and in 1740, Garden published Six Letters to the Rev. Mr. George Whitefield, in which he addressed most of their theological and other differences. In the sixth letter, Garden notably defended Southern slavery against Whitefield’s charge that slavery was inhumane. Garden also defended local slave owners, arguing that mistreatment of slaves was rare, and with funding from St. Philip’s, he purchased two young slaves and trained them to teach at a school for slaves he later established in Charleston. The school remained open until 1764, but it was not successful enough to become a model for similar schools in other parishes.
In 1749, Garden resigned his position as commissary, staying on as rector of St. Philip’s for five more years. He then traveled home to England but was unable to handle the cold weather and returned to Charleston in 1754. He died on September 27, 1756, and is buried in a vault in the St. Philip’s cemetery.