Battell Chapel Virtual Tour

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Theodore Woolsey

The windows in the west gallery are in honor to Dr. Theodore Woolsey and in memory of his ancestors and relatives. Dr. Woolsey had retired from the presidency in 1871 and was part of the dedication of Battell in 1876. These windows serve as a fine example of the pressed English glass used throughout the building. The conventional foliage and fruit on the trees are each a separate piece of glass. No two fragments are the same hue. The effect is to avoid a flat and dry effect, and somehow transform it into a perception of depth. Woolsey served during a particularly tumultuous time during American history. Throughout the 1860's, the effects of the Civil War brought a closer relation between the church and the Divinity School. Four ministers rotated the pulpit; Woolsey spoke with the greatest authority. He held fast to his Calvinistic beliefs, often combating the growing secularism and new theology from the pulpit. In his last public prayer to the graduating class, he issued a charge which encapsulated his view:
 
"May these graduates go forth to bless the world, as men of principle; may this faculty feel that life is higher than learning; may these students be manly, truthful, honorable, able by their strength to resist the debasing influences which are abroad in the land; in short, may they be true Christian gentlemen."
 
The inscription as it appears on the window:
 
IN HONOREM THEODORI DWIGHT WOOLSEY
 
QUI DISCIPVLVS TVTOR PROFESSOR PRAESES PER QVINQVQGINTA ANNOS IN HOC COLLEGIO VERAM DOCTRINAM PROMOVEBAT
 
translation:
In honor of Theodore Dwight Woolsey, who as pupil, tutor, professor, president, for fifty years advanced genuine learning in this college.
 
The adjoining window contains the names of several ancestors and relatives of Dr. Woolsey, who are among the alumni of the college.