author
Phillips Brooks
1835–1893
Remembered as one of 19th-century America’s great preachers, he also wrote the beloved Christmas carol “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” His life joined public faith, eloquence, and pastoral warmth in a way that left a lasting mark on Boston and the Episcopal Church.
1 Audiobook
Addresses by the Right Reverend Phillips Brooks
by Phillips Brooks
About the author
Born in Boston in 1835, Phillips Brooks studied at Harvard and then at the Virginia Theological Seminary before entering the Episcopal ministry. After serving churches in Philadelphia, he became rector of Trinity Church, Boston, where his preaching drew wide admiration for its energy, clarity, and moral seriousness.
Brooks was known not only as a church leader but also as a gifted writer and speaker whose influence reached far beyond his own congregation. In 1891 he was elected Bishop of Massachusetts, though he served only briefly before his death in 1893.
Many readers know him best as the author of the words to “O Little Town of Bethlehem,” written after a visit to Bethlehem in the 1860s. That hymn helped preserve the warm, reflective side of a man who was celebrated in his own time as one of America’s most powerful and humane religious voices.