Reginald Heber
Reginald Heber became the second Anglican Bishop of Calcutta in 1823, taking charge of a diocese that stretched, on paper, across India, Ceylon and Australia. Rather than rule from a chair, he set out on vast visitation journeys, ordaining clergy — including some of the first Indian Anglican ministers — and recording what he saw. He is remembered today less as an administrator than as a hymn-writer, author of 'Holy, Holy, Holy' and other enduring hymns. He died suddenly at Trichinopoly (Tiruchirappalli) in 1826, only three years into the work.
- Toured an enormous diocese and ordained clergy, including early Indian Anglican ministers. Heber
- 1783Born in Malpas, Cheshire, England. Heber
- 1823Consecrated Bishop of Calcutta; began his visitation journeys. Heber
- 1826Died suddenly at Trichinopoly (Tiruchirappalli), South India. Heber
Heber's brief, energetic episcopate helped organise the Indian church and encourage an Indian clergy, and his hymns are still sung worldwide.
His famous missionary hymn 'From Greenland's Icy Mountains' — 'where every prospect pleases, and only man is vile' — carries the colonial condescension of its age, and is worth naming honestly rather than passing over.
Wikipedia — Reginald Heber
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