American Protestantism's most respected figure in the last half of the 19th century, Phillips Brooks (1835-1893) derived his stature from his personal qualities rather than from his position as scholar, saint, or ecclesiastical statesman.

Phillips Brooks was born on Dec. 13, 1835, in Boston, the second of six sons of a family of affluence, respectability, piety, and learning. After graduation from Harvard and a brief, wretched teaching experience, he prepared himself for the Episcopal ministry at the Alexander, Va., seminary. Ordained a deacon in 1859, he served with growing distinction in two churches in Philadelphia, a city he loved. In 1869 he was called to Boston's Church of the Holy Trinity.

Brooks quickly became Boston's first citizen, knowing the sheer adulation of the worshipers who regularly packed Trinity to hear his compelling sermons and to view his serene yet radiant presence. His fame spread. In the entire annals of the Episcopal Church...