ENPages
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THE ORDER FOR THE REINTERMENT
of
THE RT. REV. LEONIDAS POLK, D.D.,
and
in
WEDNESDAY, MAY 2, 1945
At Five o'clock in the Afternoon
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{portrait of a young Leonidas Polk holding a bible}
THE RT. REV. LEONIDAS POLK, D.D. First Bishop of Louisiana 1841 - 1864
Joy, sainted soul! Within the veil Of Heaven's great temple is thy blissful dwelling; Bathed in a light to which the sun is pale, Archangels' hymns in endless transport swelling. Joy, sainted soul! Back to her altar which he served The Holy Church her child is bringing. The organ's wail then dies away And kneeling Priests around him pray As "De Profundis" they are singing.
From - SIMM'S WAR POETRY OF THE SOUTH.
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THE SERVICE
PROCESSIONAL HYMN 464---The Church's One Foundation.
THE OPENING SENTENCES
Thou that hearest the prayer, unto Thee shall all flesh come. Let us now praise famous men and our fathers that begat us. The souls of the righteous are in the hand of God. As gold in the furnace hath He tried them and received them as a burnt offering.
Then shall be sung
PSALM 1 (page 345 in the Prayer Book)
THE LESSON : Ecclesiasticus XLIV, 1-15.
MAGNIFICAT
THE APOSTLES' CREED
Minister: The Lord be with you.
Answer: And with thy spirit.
Minister: Let us pray.
Minister: O Lord, show they mercy upon us.
Answer: And grant us thy salvation.
Minister: O Lord, save the State.
Answer: And mercifully hear us when we call upon thee.
Minister: Endue thy Ministers with righteousness.
Answer: And make they chosen people joyful.
Minister: O Lord, save thy people.
Answer: And bless thine inheritance.
Minister: Give peace in our time, O Lord.
Answer: For it is thou, Lord, only, that makest us dwell in safety.
Minister: O God, make clean our hearts within us.
Answer: And take not thy Holy Spirit from us.
Here shall follow the Lord's Prayer and other prayers.
HYMN 295---For all the saints, who from their labours rest.
THE SERMON.
The sermon being ended, the Bishops and Clergy will go to the tomb for the Committal, and the people will stand.
PRAYERS AND BENEDICTION.
RECESSIONAL HYMN 530---Onward, Christian Soldiers.
Persons Taking Part in the Service:
THE BISHOP OF THE DIOCESE---The Rt. Rev. John L. Jackson, D. D.
THE PREACHER---The Rt. Rev. Frank A. Juhan, D. D., Bishop of Florida and Chancellor of the University of the South.
ASSISTING CLERGY:
The Very Rev. William H. Nes, D. D., D. C. L., Dean of the Cathedral.
The Rev. Girault M. Jones, President of the Standing Committee.
The Rev. Philip P. Werlein, Rector of St. James' Church, Baton Rouge.
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THE LEONIDAS POLK MEMORIAL COMMITTEE
The Very Reverend William H. Nes, D. D., D. C. L., Chairman
The Rev. Philip P. Werlein Miss Josephine Nicholls
The Rev. Frank L. Levy Mr. Joseph Merrick Jones
Miss Emily H. Huger Mr. Harold L. Sims
Dr. Warren Kearney, Secretary-Treasurer.
COMMITTEE ON MEMORIAL SERVICE
The Very Reverend William H. Nes, D. D., D. C. L., Chairman
Mr. Horace Renegar, Vice-Chairman Dr. Warren Kearny
The Rev. Robert H. Manning Mr. Raymond J. Martinez
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH
Born in Raleigh, North Carolina, April 10, 1806, Leonidas Polk was destined for a military career; but although he graduated from West Point with honors he had already announced his intention of resigning his commission after the required year of service. At the military academy he had undergone a profound religious experience which prompted him to enter Virginia Theological Seminary in 1828. Less than a month after his ordination in 1830 he was married to Miss Frances Devereux of Raleigh. He became the assistant to Bishop Moore in Monumental Church, Richmond, Va., where his untiring labors brought about a breakdown of health sufficient to force his retirement from active ministry for a time. In 1834 he returned to the active ministry, taking charge of St. Peter's Church, Columbia, Tenn., apparently without remuneration.
At the Convention in 1835 Polk was evidently regarded as a leading Clergyman of the Diocese. He was chosen as Clerical Delegate to General Convention and a Trustee of General Theological Seminary, a member of the Standing Committee and of other important committees of the Diocese. But again he threw himself into strenuous work and again in 1837 his health forced him to retire to his plantation. Yet, although he was unable to be present at General Convention when a Missionary Bishop for the Southwest was to be elected, he was with "impressive unanimity" selected for the office, and was consecrated on December 9, 1838.
His title was limited to Arkansas, but his jurisdiction actually included Mississippi, Alabama and Louisiana; and as though this were not enough, he was "requested to give Episcopal oversight" to the Republic of Texas. At the meeting of General Convention, October 16, 1841, he accepted election of the newly-formed Diocese of Louisiana and became its first Bishop.
His quarter-century as Diocesan is distinguished by a remarkable expansion of the work of the Church throughout the State, and of this work the outward monument is 33 churches built by him. Among his outstanding characteristics was his tolerance of other faiths, and his desire to better the condition of the slaves. But not least of all the elements of his greatness was his devotion to the cause of Christian culture in the South. His grandfather had founded the University of North Carolina and it was the Bishop's dream to found an Episcopal University. He therefore took the initiative in projecting the University of the South at Sewanee.
In 1861 the insistent solicitations of the leaders of the Confederacy called him to be a General in the Army. With profound searchings of conscience he made his decision. Criticized by some, misunderstood by many, he took, not the easy way, but what seemed to him the right way. In 1864 it brought him to a soldier's death.
He was buried beneath the altar in St. Paul's Church, Augusta, Ga. His close friend, Bishop Elliott, at the end of his funeral oration said that the Diocese of Georgia was honored by the custody of the body of Bishop Polk "until the Church in Louisiana claims it as its rightful heritage". It is therefore with the generous cooperation of St. Paul's Church in Augusta and with the approval of Bishop Polk's descendants that his body and that of his wife are now brought to rest in the Cathedral Church of his beloved Diocese.