[3] He presided over the Diocese during a period of expansion and was instrumental in the creation of numerous parishes, but is best remembered as one of the most controversial figures in the history of the Episcopal Church of the United States.

[6] In the late 1830s, Onderdonk pressured Isaiah DeGrasse, an African American college graduate and aspiring deacon, to withdraw from the General Theological Seminary.

Carey, a candidate for the ministry acknowledged even by his detractors as being of superb intellect and dedication, and also of an excellent Christian character, was like Onderdonk greatly influenced by the Oxford Movement.

The dispute did not end there, and a number of letters were published accusing Carey and ultimately Onderdonk of being overly sympathetic to Roman Catholicism.

[5] Whether the trial was an appropriate act to punish a Bishop for improper behavior or a conspiracy to silence a proponent of the Oxford Movement may be ultimately unknowable.

His sarcophagus, now ensconced at Trinity Church in New York City, depicts him lying in repose yet crushing a serpent labeled "Scandal" beneath his heel.