History of the Christian church (Volume 5) online

"Supernatural in Relation to the Natural," 1852, pro-
cured him his professorship at Belfast. His " Intui-
tions of the Human Mind " appeared in i860, and his
" Psychology of the Motive Powers" in 1888. His
philosophic system receives its clearest statement in
his "Realistic Philosophy," 2 vols., 1887.



Christian Church in United States. 639

The ability of Dr. McCosh turned the tide of stu-
dents toward Princeton ; their number rose from 264
to 603, and he often had 200 in his classes to hear his
lectures.

Dr. John Hall (1829-1898) was born in the county
of Armagh, Ireland. At thirteen, he entered the Bel-
fast College, and was there graduated. In

John Hall.

1849 he was licensed to preach. He
preached in Armagh, 1 852-1 858, and in Dublin,
1858-67. In the latter year he came to New York,
and was chosen pastor of the Fifth Avenue Presby-
terian Church. Their new church edifice, erected in
1875, cost over a million of dollars. Alexander T.
Stewart was his steady and influential friend. In 1882
he was chosen chancellor of the University of the city
of New York. He was selected to preach the funeral
sermon of the Hon. Salmon P. Chase. In 1875 he
delivered the Yale *' Lectures on Preaching."

Howard Crosby (i 826-1 861) was one of the most
scholarly preachers of his time. He was graduated
from the University of the City of New ^ ^ ^

- - Dr. Crosby.

York in 1844. In 1851, after years of for-
eign study and travel, he was called to the professor-
ship of Greek in his Alma Mater, 185 1 -1859. In the
latter year he accepted a call to the same position at
Rutgers College. There he remained for the next
four years, and also served as pastor of the church
in New Brunswick, N. J. In 1863 he was called to
the pastorate of the Fourth Avenue Presbyterian
Church in New York City, which he held at his death.
In 1 87 1 he delivered the Yale "Lectures on Preaching;"
in 1877 he was a delegate to the Pan-Presbyterian
Council at Edinburgh. In the same year he founded



640 History of the Christian Church.

the " Society for the Prevention of Vice." In 185 1 he
published an edition of Sophocles' '* CBdipus Tyran-
nus;" also Yale "Lectures on Preaching," 1871;
"The Humanity of Christ," 1880, and a Commentary
on the New Testatament, 1885. He wrote largely
for the Sunday-school Times. He stood against total
abstinence from intoxicants, to the regret of most of
the American Churches.

Samuel Irenseus Prime (18 12-1885) was the in-
fluential editor of the New York Observer, in these
years the organ of the Old School Presby-
terians, Dr. Prime received his education
at Williams College, and spent one year at Princeton,
when his health failed. He was licensed to preach in
1833. He was pastor at Balston Spa, 1833-1835, and
at Matteawan, 1 837-1 840. Then, on account of
chronic affection of the throat, he was forced to give
up the active ministry. In 1 840-1 885 he was editor
of The Observer. He traveled largely abroad in 1853,
1856-1857, and 1876-1877. He wrote more than forty
volumes, including many books of travel. He also
wrote the " Life of Professor S. F. B. Morse " and the
"Life of Nicholas Butler." Of his " Power of Prayer"
175,000 copies were sold.

Henry M. Field (1822-19 ")> brother of Cyrus W.
Field who laid the Atlantic cable, and of the distin-
guished jurists, David Dudley Field and
Justice Stephen G. Field, of the Supreme
Court of the United States, was a minister's son. He
was graduated from Williams College in 1838, and
studied theology at Windsor and New Haven the next
four years. From 1842 to 1847 he was pastor at St.
Louis. In the latter year he went to Europe. This was



Christian Church in United States. 641

the turning point of his Hie. There he married a culti-
vated French lady. On his return he published " The
Good and Bad in the Roman Catholic Church," and,
in 1 85 1, "The Irish Confederates, a History of the
Rebellion of 1798." He resumed the pastorate at
West Springfield, Mass., 1851-1854. In the latter
year he became editor of the New York Evangelist,
which place he retained for many years. He published
many books of travel. He enjoys an honored age.

More eloquent than any of these eminent men, and
in his own Church more influential, was Dr. Benjamin
Morgan Palmer (1818-1902), the founder,

, . ,. , , , , Dr. Palmer.

and in all these years the ablest minister,
of the Southern Presbyterian Church. He was gradu-
ated from the University of Georgia in 1838, and three
years later from the Theological Seminary at Colum-
bia, S. C. Entering the pastorate, he preached at
Savannah and Columbia, S. C, and in 1856 he went
to New Orleans, which was his residence until his
death in 1902. In 1847 he founded, and since then
edited or contributed to, the Southern Presbyterian J
Review. He published " Life of Dr. James H. Thorn-
well," 1875, and "Sermons," two volumes, 1875-1876.
In this period these Churches made steady and
substantial growth. They changed their Church
names to " The Reformed Church in Amer-

The Dutch

ica" and "The Reformed Church in the and oerm.n
United States," respectively. They have Reformed

' ^ . , , . Churches.

shown their zeal in Sunday-school work, in
education and in missions, and in Young People's
Societies. A large emigration from Holland to Michi-
gan led to the founding of Hope College at Holland,
Michigan.
41



642 History of the Christian Church.



The German Reformed Church celebrated the
tercentenary of the Heidelberg Catechism in 1863.
English Synods were organized in this Church, 1870-
1873. Soon there were five English Synods to three
German ones. The Liturgical Movement, which
opened with the ** Provisional Liturgy" of 1857 was
finally brought to a conclusion, after a sharp contro-
versy from 1863, by the adoption of the "Revised
Directory of Worship " in 1887. Most of the classes
in both Churches voted to a union of these Churches
in 1 886-1 892, but on technical grounds it fell through.
It is to be hoped that it will soon succeed, and join
both to the great Presbyterian Church.

In 1900, Presbyterians formerly included in the
Old and New School Churches reported 7,779 churches,
7,532 clergy, and 1,025,388 communicants.
This is a gain since 1850 of 3,576 churches,
3,533 clergy, and 677,837 communicants. There are
in the Sunday-schools, 1,058,110 scholars; total cur-
rent expenses and benevolences, $16,338,361.

In 1900 there were



5tasti5tic8.



Cumberland Presbyterians,

Cumberland Presbyterians, colored,

vSouthern Presbyterians,

Two Associate Churches

Four Reformed Churches

United Presbyterians,

Welsh Calviuists



CLERGY


CHURCHES


1.596


2,957


450


400


I.461


2,959


116


243


159


151


918


911


89


158



MEMBERS



180,192
39,000
225,890

2X,i34

15.335
1 15.901
12,152



Total in twelve bodies, 11,959 clergy, 15,157
churches, and 1,584,400 members.

This Church reported in 1900, 690 ministers, 619
churches, and 107,504 members. This was a gain,



Christian Church in United States. 643

since 1850, of 404 ministers, 320 churches, and 73-974
members. In the same year the German Reformed
Church reported 1,074 ministers, 1,653

, ^ 1 ATM • Dutch

churches, and 242,831 members. This was Reformed,
a gain, since 1850, of 774 ministers, 1,397
churches, and 172,831 members. Thus, at the close
of this era, the great Presbyterian family in the United
States numbered about 2,000,000 of communicants.

The Presbyterians have six well-endowed theolog-
ical seminaries, — Princeton, Western, Lane, Union,
Auburn, and McCormick. These, in 1900, Education.
had 6s2 students, and their buildings were Theological

^ - â– , At. c Tralnlnjf.

valued at $1,876,000, with $3,941,000 ot
endowment. Since then, Princeton has become the
wealthiest of American theological seminaries, with
an endowment of over $3,500,000. In 1900 there were
thirteen theological seminaries belonging to the Pres-
byterian Church. Two of these were for colored
preachers, and had 27 students. The eleven semi-
naries had 803 students, their buildings were valued
at $2,502,000, and their endowment was $4,618,000.
Five institutions of the Southern Presbyterians had
156 students; the buildings were valued at $290,000,
with an endowment of $738,000. The United Pres-
byterians had two institutions, 94 students, buildings
valued at $155,000, and endowment of $381,000. The
Cumberland Presbyterians had one institution, with
54 students, $50,000 in buildings, and $82,000 in en-
dowment. The Reformed Presbyterians had two in-
stitutions, with 15 students, buildings valued at $25,-
000, and an endowment of $107,000. The Reformed
Dutch had two institutions, with 63 students, the
buildings were considered worth $260,000, and the



644 History of the Christian Church.

endowment was $475,000. The German Reformed
had four institutions, with 127 students; their build-
ings were valued at $86,000, with $218,000 of endow-
ment.

That is, these Presbyterian Churches in 1900 had,
in all, twenty-seven institutions for theological train-
ing. These schools had 1,139 students, their build-
ings were valued at $3,368,000, with an endowment of
$6,609,000.

The Presbyterian Church had, in 1900, forty-four

institutions of college grade ; these had 3,914 students

in college work, and 1,506 in preparatory

Colleges. , ^ ',,.,. ^ , /

departments. The buildings and grounds
were valued at $10,206,000, and the endowment at
$7,992,000. The other Presbyterian Churches in the
United States, including the Dutch and German Re-
formed Churches, had twentj^-two institutions of col-
lege grade: these had in the college 2,203 students,
with 2,233 in preparatory work. They also have 102
academies, with 4,902 students.

The leading Presbyterian universities and colleges
in this country are Princeton University, New York
University, Rutgers College, Hamilton College, Frank-
lin and Marshall College, Lancaster, Pa.; I^a Fayette
College, Easton, Pa.; Wooster University, Ohio; and
Lake Forest University.

The Presbyterians give a generous support to local
charities, but have fine hospitals in the large centers
of population, at New York, Philadelphia,
Chicago, Cincinnati, Allegheny, Pa., and
other cities. The two hospitals at New York and
Philadelphia cost nearly $350,090 a year for running
expenses, and treat nearly 20,000 patients. The hos-



Christian Church in United States. 645

pital at Canton, China, was founded in 1838, the first
of foreign missionary hospitals.

Next to the Roman Catholics, the Lutherans have
profited most by the immense immigration of these
fifty years, which brought to the United
States nearly or quite seven millions of Lutherans.
people from Germany and Scandinavia.
There are in this country seventeen different kinds of
Lutherans. This era is marked by the decline of the
General Synod, the formation of the General Coun-
cil in 1866, and the advance of the Missouri Synod,
which became the Synodical Conference in 1872.

In this latter body there is no language for use in
the Church or in the transaction of its business but
the German, and as much attention is paid
to the school as to the Church. There are conJ^r'ln^.
no open questions in its theology, in which
it is quite predestinarian. All the symbolical books
of the Lutheran Church must be received. The books
used in all churches and schools must be of the strict-
est Lutheran pattern. There must be a regular call
of the pastors. The Church government is congre-
gational, yet there is a district president, who visits
all congregations, hears the preachers preach, and ex-
amines the schools and the details of the Church ad-
ministration.

All synodical resolutions, to be valid, must be rati-
fied by the congregations. The practical result of
this exclusive German and High Church tendency is,
that they fellowship with no other Christian Church.
They will have no mingling of Churches or faith.
They are the most exclusive and the most proselyt-
ing of all the Evangelical denominations. In 1850,



646 History of the Christian Church.

C. F. W. Walther resigned his pastorate in St. Louis,
and devoted himself to teaching theology in the theo-
logical seminary in that city. In 185 1 he revisited
Germany. In 1853 he established his theological
journal Lehre und Wehre. Those following his lead-
ership founded the Synodical Conference in 1872.
As the head and soul of this organization, Dr. Walther
wrought until his death in 1887.

The General Council of Lutherans was founded in
1867. Its leader was Charles P. Krauth, Jr. At first

it admitted pulpit exchange at the discre-
co^undi! ^i^^ of the pastor. Then arose the cry,

" Lutheran pulpits for Lutheran ministers
only; Lutheran altars for Lutheran communicants
only." In 1875 it was decided that all exceptions
were of privilege, and not of right, and the rule in-
cludes those who accord with the Word of God and
the Confession of the Church. An English Church
Book was published in 1868, a German Church Book
in 1877. The General Council has missions in India
and Muhlenburg College, at AUentown, Pa. It has
also a theological seminary in Chicago and at Mount
Airy, near Philadelphia.

The General Synod, formed in 1821, is the oldest
and most liberal of the larger Lutheran bodies. It

stands for American Lutheranism and ex-
syno'd.* change of pulpits. In 1866 the General

Synod lost half its strength by the with-
drawal of the Pennsylvania Ministerium, and that of
New York, and the Synods of Pittsburg, Texas, and
the English Synods of Ohio, Illinois, and Minnesota,
because a Synod was admitted to the General Synod



Christian Church in United States. 647

with only a prospective subscription to the Augsburg
Confession.

The statistics for 1900 show the immense prepon-
derance of the Synodical Conference. While the tide
of German immigration keeps up, this may

u • 4. • J Y 4. ^1, ^- -11 statistic*.

be maintained; but the time will come
when the language question will be one of life and
death. For that time the great Synodical Conference
is not ready.

The Synodical Conference reports 590,987 com-
municants; the General Council, 362,409; the General
Synod, 198,575. Independent Synods report 515,253
communicants. They claim a population in the
United States of 9,000,000, and in the world of 65,000,-
000 ; but these figures seem to be exaggerated.

The Lutherans in the United States have 24 theo-
logical schools ; these have 1,015 students ; their build-
ings are valued at $1,078,000, and they

1 * r./- 1 ATM Education.

have ^586,000 m endowment. The strong-
est of these are at Philadelphia, Gettysburg, Columbus^
O. ; and at Chicago, Springfield, 111., and St. Louis.
They also have 22 colleges, with 1,908 students in
college work, and 1,460 in preparatory departments.
These institutions have buildings valued at $2,124,-
000, and an endowment of $1,275,000. The largest
of these colleges is Augustana, at Rock Island, 111. ;
Capital University, at Columbus, O.; Wittenberg, at
Springfield, O. ; and the College of Pennsylvania, at
Gettysburg, Pa.

The Lutherans have been forward, according to
their means, in establishing Orphanages, Homes for
the Aged, and in Deaconess Work.*

*The IvUtheran Church has in the L iiited States more thau filly
Hospitals and many Orphanages and Homes for the Aged. No Amer-
ican Church has been more forward in these charities in proportion t.-.
its ability.



648 History of the Christian Church,

In 1893 the Ministerium of Philadelphia reported
115,000 communicants. The Liturgical and Confes-
sional controversy in the General Synod ended in the
adoption of the " Common Service" of 1888, and this
was included in the "Church Book" of the General
Council in 1891.

The Iowa Synod was formed by the pulpits of
Nettelsdau, in Germany ; it is more liberal in the inter-
pretation of the Church Symbols than the Missou-
rians. The Theological Seminary was founded at
Dubuque, in 1853. The Norwegian Lutheran Church
was founded in Wisconsin in 1853. Lars Paul Ebs-
jorn founded the Swedish Lutheran Church in the
United States in 1850; in 1862 he returned to Sweden.
The Danish Synod was formed in 1872. The Nor-
wegians and Swedes and Danes do not take kindly to
the Sy nodical Conference, as they prefer to have the
debates in Church Assemblies in English rather than
in German.

This young and vigorous Church made rapid

growth in these years. Its largest constituency is in

the valley of the Ohio River, and in the

The Disciples. , , , ^ - . , • ,

last decade of the century it made consider-
able gains across the Mississippi River. In 1875 it
entered into the common life of the Churches in the
organization of its Missionary Society. Its mission in
India was founded in 1882. In 1873 a Woman's Board
of Missions was organized, but mainly for work in the
United States. Its new educational institutions, like
Drake University, at Des Moines, Iowa ; Cotner Uni-
versity, near Lincoln, Neb.; and Carleton College,
Bonham, Tex., testify to this new life in the Church.
It also has its Young People's organizations, and is



Christian Church in United States. 649

doing good work in its Sunday-schools. In 1890 this
Church reported 6,528 ministers, 10,528 churches, and
1,149,982 members. This was a gain, since 1850. of
5,685 ministers, 8,632 churches, and 1,031,364 members.
The Disciples had, in 1900, three theological sem-
inaries,— one at Canton, Mo., one at Berkeley, Cal.,
and one at Eugene, Ore. These schools Disciples-
had 74 students. The buildings were val- Educational
ued at $16,000, and the endowment was
$50,000. The work in the colleges is older and better
established. In 1900 they reported 19 institutions,
with 1,620 students in college work, and 1,343 iii Pre-
paratory departments. These institutions had build-
ings valued at $1,171,000, and an endowment of
$1 ,049,000. The strongest of the colleges are : Butler,
at'lrvington, Ind.; Kentucky University, at Lexing-
ton, Ky. ; Hiram College, at Hiram, O. ; and Drake
University, at Des Moines, Iowa.

The growth of the Protestant Episcopal Church in
these years was not so rapid as some others ; but in
wealth and influence it has more than held protesunt
its place. It has been influenced by the Epjiscopai
changes in the Church life of the Church of
England. The same parties have been formed here as
there. During his life. Bishop Whittingham, of Mary-
land was the man of greatest weight and influence,
and,' following him, the Dean of the Episcopate for
many years, Bishop John Williams, of Connecticut.
These were both High Churchmen of the school of
Bishop Wilberforce. Bishop Whipple went to Minne-
sota in 1859, and made a distinguished name as a fron-
tier bishop, a missionary to the Indians, and a founder
of Church institutions. Bishop Perry, of Iowa, and



650 History of the Christian Church

Bishop Coxe, of Western New York, left their mark
upon Christian literature ; the former by his work on
Church history, and the latter as a poet, and by his
work in connection with Dr. Schaff in making access-
ible to American clergymen the Ante and Post Nicene
Fathers. Bishop Huntington, of Central New York,
and Bishop Phillips Brooks, of Massachusetts, repre-
sented the Broad Church element in the Protestant
Episcopal Church. Dr. DeKoven, of Racine, Wis.,
who died in 1879, was the leader in the ritualistic
movement in this Church. His party has had an in-
creasing following, though his favorite scheme to
make Racine College a great institution proved a
failure.

Perhaps after Phillip Brooks, Dr. Edward A. Wash-
burn was the most distinguished leader in the Broad
Church party. Here would belong Dr. Elisha Mul-
ford, author of "The Nation" and "The Republic of
God," works of permanent value when the controver-
sies of the time have passed away. With them, also,
would stand Dr. A. V. G. Allen, of the Episcopal
Divinity School of Harvard, whose "Continuity of
Christian Thought" is, at the same time, able and
brilliant.

In 1853, Dr. William A. Muhlenburg, whose life
work is connected with St. Luke's Hospital, presented
a memorial on Liturgical Revision. Dr. Muhlenburg
was a Churchman after the model of Bishop White.
This memorial began a movement which caused a
great deal of controversy, and which did not end until
the completion of the revision of the Prayer-book in
1892. This work occupied the twelve preceding
years.



Christian Church in United States. 651

The revivsion of the Hymnal was carried on from
1859, and found its completion in the same year that
saw the revised Prayer-book. The Revision of the
Constitution of the Church was finished at the Tri-
ennial Convention of 1899. The revision of the
Canons was in progress when the century ended.

The war, 1 861-1865, brought on a temporary sep-
aration of the Northern and Southern Dioceses.
Bishop Polk, of Tennessee, became a Confederate gen-
eral, and was killed at the battle of Kenesaw Moun-
tain while resisting Sherman's advance upon Atlanta.
In 1 87 1 the bishops issued a declaration affirming
that baptism *' does not determine that a moral change
is wrought " in the recipient. In 1873, Bishop Geo. D.
Cummins, of Kentucky, withdrew from this Churchy
and founded the Reformed Episcopal Church for those
Episcopalians who could not assent to the High
Church principles that were becoming predominant
in the Protestant Episcopal Church. This Church has
not grown largely in the later years of the century.
The sentiment seems among American Christians to
be not more, but fewer. Churches, and those larger,
more comprehensive, more efficient, and more worthy
of the name they bear. In 1874, a canon, restricting
ritual innovation, was adopted by the Protestant Epis-
copal Church. It forbade any elevation or act of
adoration toward the elements in the sacrament of
the Lord's Supper.

In 1874 was held the first Church Congress. The
Declaration of the House of Bishops, in 1886, on
Christian unity brought to pass the Lambeth Declara-
tion of 1888. Missions were establislied in Japan in
1859; in Hayti, in 1874; and, in Mexico, in 1879.



652 History of the Christian Church.

Berkeley Divinity School, Middletown, Conn., was
founded in 1850; the Divinity School at Faribault,
Minn., in 1857; the Philadelphia Divinity
School in 1862; and the Divinity School at
Harvard University in 1867. St. Stephen's College,
New York City, was founded in i860, and Hobart
College, Geneva, N. Y., in the same year took its
present name. The University of the South took its
beginning from i860 at Sewanee, Tenn. Lehigh
University was founded in 1865.

No Church in America possesses anything like the
position and power represented by the buildings at
Morningside Heights, in New York City. There are
grouped Columbia University, the wealthiest institu-
tion in resources in America, the marble buildings of
St. Ivuke's Hospital, and there future generations will
worship in the magnificent cathedral of St. John the
Divine.

In organizations the Protestant Episcopal Church
has partaken of the spirit and movements of the time.
The Woman's Auxiliary to the Board of Missions was
formed in 1871. The Church-building Society came
into being in 1880, and Brotherhood of St. Andrew for
young men in 1886. The Church also strongly pat-
ronizes "The King's Daughters."

Laymen of ability and wealth, like Seth Low,
Pierpont Morgan, and Andrew J. Drexel, as well as
families like the Astors and the Vanderbilts, give this
Church levers of influence which it is its mission
wisely to use. At the same time it has not been slow
to enter upon Rescue Mission work and work in the
slums.



Christian Church in United States. 653

In 1900, the Protestant Episcopal Church had
4,811 clergy, 6,421 churches, and 710,356 communi-
cants. This is a gain of ^,216 clerery,

, ^ ^ . ^^ Protestant

5,071 churches, and 620,997 communicants Episcopal

since 1850. The Reformed Episcopal church
rAi 1 . J • ^ r. statistics.

Church reported in 1900, 100 clergy, 78

churches, and 9,282 communicants.

The former Church, in 1890, had thirteen theolog-
ical schools, with 422 students. The buildings were
valued at $2,468,000, and their endowment

„ ata< r~< atai 1 Education.

was $3,256,000. The General Theological
Seminary in New York had, in that year, 127 stu-
dents, buildings worth $1,473,000, and an endowment
of $2,096,000. The next most influential schools are
the Theological School at Cambridge, Mass., Berkeley
Divinity School at Middletown, Conn., the Divinity
School at Philadelphia, and the Seminary at Alex-