Presbyteriamsm

3821

Presbyterianism

administered both to infants and adults,
either by sprinkling or pouring, and the
Lord's Supper. Scripture reading, non-lit-
urgical prayer, the singing of hymns, and
preaching constitute the usual service. The 1
irreducible unit in Presbyterianism is the;
congregation, in which there are three classes 1
of officers—the pastor, the ruling elder-, and j
the deacons, who are elected by the congre-
gation. The congregation is governed by the
church session, composed of the elders, pre-
sided over by the pastor. This body is under
the authority of the next higher court—to
wit, the presbytery, in which all the cong-
regations within a certain defined district are
represented, each by its pastor and an elder.
Over this is placed the synod, comprising the
presbyteries, within a large province or sec-
tion of the land; while the supreme court
of Presbyterianism is the General Assembly,
to which all the presbyteries in the church
send representatives.

The first step in the organization of the
Presbyterian church in Scotland was taken in
1557) when the barons of the land bound
themselves by the First Covenant to combat
Roman Catholicism and to support the Re-
formation. In 1559 John Knox, returning
from Geneva, instilled new life into the
movement; and in 1560 papal jurisdiction
and the mass were abolished by Parliament,
and the Reformed Church duly established,
In 1577 a logical and thorough presbyterian
system of church government was outlined.
A century of conflict with episcopacy fol-
lowed, which was brought to an end b}T the
Revolution of 1688 and the formal re-estab-
lishment of the Presbyterian Church (1690).

The Secession Church of Scotland, begun
in 1733 by the withdrawal of the Established
Church of Ebenezer Erskine and three other
ministers, as a protest against lay patronage
and the Socinian tendencies of the church,
enjoyed considerable popularity, those who
limited the power of the state to secular mat-
ters being called 'New Lights,' and the others
'Old Lights.' Of the four bodies thus formed,
the New Lights continued as separate church-
es until 1847,.when they united with the Re-
lief Church to form the United Presbyterian
Church. The Old Lights of the Anti-Burgher
division formed the Synod of the Original
Seceders, while the Old Light Burghers re-
joined the Established Church.

The United Presbyterian Church was
formed by the union of the Relief and Seces-
sion churches on May 13, 1847..It continued
to do effactive work till, by tie union with

the Free Church in 1900, it was merged in
the United Free Church.

The Reformed Church of Scotland, or Re-
formed Presbyterians, was descended from
the Camcronian? and Covenanters, who
withdrew from the church in 1712 because
of the interference of the state in ecclesiastical
affairs. In 1876 the majority united with the
Free Church; the minority continued, as
Reformed Presbyterians.

The Free Church of Scotland dates from
the 'Disruption' of 1843, though the cause
of its separate existence was the restoration
of lay patronage in 1712. On Oct. 31, 1900,
the Free Church was joined with the United
Presbyterian Church, the new body taking
the name of The United Free Church of
Scotland. After the establishment of William
on the throne many Scottish settlers made
their homes in the n. of Ireland, which there-
by became strongly Presbyterian. Defection
on doctrinal grounds weakened the church,
which later sustained further losses by em-
igration to America. In 1840 union was ef-
fected between the parent synod of Ulster
and that which had seceded, and the Pres-
byterian Church of Ireland was organized.

The earliest Presbyterian churches in the
United States were established in New Eng-
land, Maryland, Delaware, and Virginia, and
were largely of English origin. In 1801 a plan
of union with the Congregational bodies of
New England was agreed upon, which al-
lowed the interchange of Presbyterian and
Congregational ministers and the formation
of churches composed of members of both
denominations. Disruptions occurred over the
question of slavery, resulting in the forma-
tion of new organizations in the South.

The Presbyterian Church in the United
States of America has undergone consider-
able change in its administrative organiza-
tion, as the result of the consolidation of a
number of its boards and agencies.

The Cumberland Presbyterian Church
grew out of a revival in the Cumberland
Valley in Kentucky and Tennessee, which
resulted in a dearth of ministers for the
churches and the irregular ordination of men
without the customary training. The Synod
accordingly dissolved the Cumberland Pres-
bytery, suspended some of the ministers, and
attached the rest to another presbytery, In
1810 an independent body was organized as
the Cumberland Presbytery j its doctrine be-
ing moderately Calvinistic, In 1906 the Gen-
eral Assembly of the Cumberland Church
united with that of the Presbyterian Church