Born on August 17, 1834, in Salem,
Dorchester County, Maryland. Hurst graduated from
Dickinson College in 1854 and in 1856 went to Germany to study at the
University of Halle and the
University of Heidelberg. From 1858 to 1866 he was engaged in pastoral work in America. He was ordained by Methodist Episcopal Bishop
Thomas Asbury Morris in 1862. From 1866 to 1870 he filled a five-year appointment as Professor of
Systematic Theology at the
Martin Mission Institute in
Bremen, Germany. In 1870, Hurst was chosen to teach
Historical Theology at
Drew Theological Seminary in
Madison, New Jersey, where he was elected president in 1873, serving until elected to the
episcopacy in 1880. In his book
History of the Christian Church, Bishop Hurst stated that the early Christians "would have looked with horror" at the suggestion of having images in places of worship. Today, Christians, would follow the pattern set by the first-century Christians : Do not pray to images of "saints" or angels; do not even pray to Jesus. And do not perform acts of worship to symbols of the State. Come what may, we are determined to obey Jesus’ words: "It is The Lord your God you must worship."—
Matt. 4:10. Through his devotion, Hurst recovered the endowment of
Drew Theological Seminary, lost by the failure in 1876 of
Daniel Drew, its founder; and with
John McClintock and
George Richard Crooks he improved the quality of Methodist scholarship. As bishop, he was assigned to
Des Moines,
Iowa. He subsequently served as the first chancellor of the
American University (Methodist Episcopal) in Washington, D.C., where through his work finances were secured and the university opened. He served as chancellor from 1891 until his death on May 4, 1903, in
Bethesda, Maryland. ==Legacy==