An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church

Robbins, Harold Chandler

(Dec. 11, 1876-Mar. 20, 1952). Cathedral dean, preacher, and writer. He was born in Philadelphia. Robbins received his B.A. from Yale University in 1899 and graduated from the Episcopal Theological School in 1903. He was ordained deacon on May 17, 1903, and priest on May 29, 1904. Robbins was rector of St. Paul's Church, Englewood, New Jersey, 1904-1911. He was rector of the Church of the Incarnation, New York, from 1911 until 1917. He was the second dean of the Cathedral of St. John the Divine, 1917-1929. While dean, he made the Cathedral a center for Christian unity and civic activities. From 1929 until 1941 he was Eugene Augustus Hoffman Professor of Pastoral Theology at the General Theological Seminary. Robbins was a delegate to the World Conference on Faith and Order at Edinburgh, Scotland, in 1937. He was a member of the administrative committee of the Federal Council of the Churches of Christ in America. He was also a member of the American Bible Society and the Church Peace Union. Robbins wrote numerous books, most notably Cathedral Sermons (1927), Charles Lewis Slattery (1931), and Preaching the Gospel (1939). Robbins died in Washington, D.C.

Glossary definitions provided courtesy of Church Publishing Incorporated, New York, NY,(All Rights reserved) from “An Episcopal Dictionary of the Church, A User Friendly Reference for Episcopalians,” Don S. Armentrout and Robert Boak Slocum, editors.